The Apple iPod Mini MP3 Player: Worth the $250.00 Purchase Price?

Have you gone crazy for the Apple iPod like everyone else? Have you decided that you wanted to wait until the price came down or the iPod shrunk? Well, now you have a few more reasons to look at the Apple iPod; the company has now rolled out a mini iPod that is now smaller than a cell phone.

My wife is a big fan of music and loves having something of her choosing to listen to when she works out. All of which means that she ran out to buy the Mini iPod literally as soon as it went on sale. She got home and opened the package (Which contains all sorts of goodies.)and dug in immediately. Of course this was also when the, "Honey, can you come here" calls begin. In other words, she needs my help to help get the thing set up and working correctly.

More on that in a minute, but first the particulars:

* Weight of 3.6 ounces
* Size of 2" x 3.6" x .5" inches
* 4GB able to hold up to 1000 songs
* Eight hour battery life on three hour charge
* Supports MP3, AAC, WAV, MP3 VBR, Audible (6), and AIFF
formats
* MAC and Windows compatible
* FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces
* iTunes software
* Package containing earbuds, belt clip, AC adapter,
FireWire and USB cables

In other words, the Apple iPod contains most everything that the it's bigger sisters had. Well, everything except for the size. As always, with my electronics reviews, I may not speak in the most technical language, but I can tell if something well and what is good or bad with a given product.


WHAT I LIKE:

1. The fact that this is a cool piece of equipment. It has not been that long since the iPod was the head turner, but now the iPod Mini results in people turning their heads and wondering what it is that you have in your hand. The cool factor is a draw, though not that you purchase the mini for.

2. The Mini is mini. The mini is advertised as being smaller than any cell phone on the market. I do not know if this is true, but it is very small. You can almost get this to fit in the change pocket that is inside the pocket of your jeans. Amazing. Simply amazing.

3. The power behind the iPod Mini. I cannot imagine storing 1000 songs, but it is nice to know that you can if you want to. Knowing my wife, she will accidentally leave a thousand on the iPod Mini. Or, perhaps worse yet, she will erase everything, but that is another discussion. The bottom line is that as cheap as storage is, you have to have this kind of storage if you want people to purchase your product.

4. The iPod Mini is amazingly easy to use. I was expecting the mini to be difficult to use because it was so small. In other words, fingers bumping the wrong buttons and fumbling around in order to try to do what I wanted to do. This is not the case for a couple of reasons.

For one, all of the buttons and controls are well spaced so that you will not have this problem. In addition, the number of controls are so limited that fumbling around is not likely to happen. Most of the time you will working from the ClickWheel, rather than from buttons. The ClickWheel is basically a round button that has four arrows and directs you through where you need to go. You will find that you can navigate your 1000 songs via the ClickWheel and, let me tell you, that this makes life much easier.

The bottom line is that the Apple is quite easy to navigate, whether with the wheel or with the couple of buttons.

5. The iTunes web site and store is very easy to negotiate and contains enough songs to last a lifetime. The iTunes store contains music from virtually all of the major labels and a number of independent labels (Over 100,000 independent artists and songs) so it is almost surprising when you go on the site and cannot find a song.

Once on the site and ready to download, you pay just $.99 per song. While this feature is cool, what I think is really cool is the parental allowance feature. Think of it this way: You can set up a monthly amount that a child can spend on the web site so that he/she will not go wild and spend all of their money on music. Additionally, you can purchase and send gift certificates. These are both huge pluses in my mind. My wife may not agree; I give her one month and guarantee that she will be on an allowance.

6. The ability to autosync with your MAC and Windows in just seconds is a nice feature. This comes in handy when you burn CD's on your PC and then want tr transfer them to the mini. We have autosynced a number of times already in order to download a few songs that we had on the PC. The process is quick and easy.

7. A new feature that I think is kind of cool, but have not tried is the ability to download books. In other words, you can get your audio books on the mini. I am not a fan of audio books in general, but I think it is good that Apple decided to include them for those who do enjoy audio books. The iTunes site contains a few hundred listings.

8. The iPod Mini seems to be well made. Apple usually does produce a good product and the mini is no different. Though tiny, it seems to be solidly built and the buttons are close to flush with the frame so they are not likely to get knocked off. The aluminum casing is scratch resistant and comes in the following colors: Silver, gold, blue, pink, green. All of the colors are metallic looking- like what you may find with an automobile. Additionally, the mini comes with a case that protects it when it not in full use.

9. The backlit screen is surprisingly easy to read and displays the full name of the song and artist that you are listening to. I like this as I do not always know who I am listening to- there are so many one hit wonders- but, I may want to listen some of their other offerings. The mini allows me to see who is singing and, therefore, I can check out other songs by the artist. However, the main thing with regards to the screen is that I was surprised that I was able to read it so easily. The light made it easy to read and did so even in bright daylight.

10. Performance. Yeah, I almost that the reason we buy these things is in order to listen to tunes. The mini provides very clear and crisp sounding results. I am impressed.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE:

1. The size. Ok, this is not my complaint but my wife's. She actually has trouble finding the mini when it makes it's way into her purse. Ok, this could mean too much junk in the purse, but I can see where she would have trouble. The mini is very small.

2. I can do without the games, calendar, and notepad features. If there was no such thing as a cell phone, I would like these features. Alas, everyone has a cell phone. Hence, I do not know why I need another calendar. Between the mini, the phone, the PDA, and the PC you will never be able to figure out what note or date you put where. Syncing is one thing, but what if there are programs that are not compatible? I do not need all these extras.

3. I wish the battery was a little better. You can listen to for up to eight hours without needing a recharge. Once you need the recharge, you can get fully juiced in a matter of three hours. Not bad, but this is about the same as the original model. I was hoping for an improvement.

4. The mini is a little on the expensive side. At $250.00 you are paying a decent amount. I would not hesitate to wait a few months and see how much the price falls.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The Apple iPod Mini is a wonderful MP3 player. The fact that it is so small and hooked into the iTunes store make it even better. The mini is designed well and provides everything that I look for in an MP3 player. I highly recommend the Apple iPod Mini.