8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
An excellent product for music lovers
Date of Review: Feb 19, 2005
The Bottom Line: Recommended because of quality build, ease of use, and size.
I have had an iPod mini ever since they came out a year ago. It has gone through much and gone to many places. This is also the first Apple product I have ever owned as well. I am extremely pleased with its performance so far.
The sound quality is excellent. Although rather poor with the earphones that come with the iPod, it is much better with some good (moderately priced) headphones. I can listen to my iPod on the Metro (DC subway) and still hear the music clearly without too much background noise from other people and the train itself.
It is a very simple product to use. You can operate it with just one finger. It has a wheel that you swivel around with your finger and a button in the middle that you use to select items. The menus are clearly marked and easy to navigate. It is also very small and fits almost anywhere. And you can't beat (about) 1,000 songs weighing only 3.6 ounces!
This thing is built rock solid. I dropped mine on a ceramic floor (OOPS) from about 3-4 feet in the air. All that happened was a slight dent in the corner by the hold button. See, I have a problem with people who drop their iPods and then complain they're poorly built. I somehow doubt an iPod could break by falling onto carpet unless it has spikes or something on it. But if you're careful enough or have enough common sense you won't drop it. This isn't cheap, so take care of it. Get a warranty also. I got one for only $50 more for two years from Best Buy. Luckily, I haven't had to use it yet.
The iPod mini is very comfortable to have while on the go. As I said before, it fits very easily into almost anywhere and is extremely light. It is the most convenient mp3 player above a gig out there.
The battery life is not as long as advertised, but cranking it up to full volume isn't going to let it last that long. And it can't be good for you to listen to music for 8 hours straight.
Over a year's use, I have had no problems. It has survived trips in my backpack to downtown DC, New York, even Europe, without too much more than a scratch on the LCD screen. I am extremely pleased with it, especially since it is my first Apple purchase.
