Opinion: iPod mini First Impressions
On Tuesday, January 6th, Apple introduced a new member to the iPod family; the iPod mini. The new iPod is a third smaller than the 3g iPod. It also comes in a variety of colors and holds one thousand songs. If your iPod is for long trips, then the iPod mini is what you take to the gym. It is full featured and Apple definitely put some time into developing this mini marvel. Despite its sleek design and range of colors; the price is a bit depressing. At 249, the iPod mini is only a bit less than the 15Gb larger iPod.
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The features are identical to the 3g iPod. Apple did an amazing development by joining the scroll wheel into the buttons. Since the iPod mini is smaller than its larger brother, apple put the buttons on the solid-state jog wheel. You scroll down to your selection, and then press the appropriate button to make your selection. It only took a few minutes to get used to this. Another thing is the design. It is more rounded than the larger iPod. The iPod mini will stand up by itself because the top and bottom are flat, but around it, the iPod mini is more or less like a thin oval.
Comparing the size of the iPod mini and 3g iPod is obvious. Without seeing the numbers, you can tell that the iPod mini is significantly smaller. It is 3.6� tall compared to 4.1� on the big brother. It is 2.0� across and the other iPod is 2.4�. The iPod mini is a tenth smaller from .5� down from .62�. When I heard Steve Jobs giving the specs of the iPod, fear struck that I (with my big hands) could not handle it. Well, I tried a mini for myself and it worked well. After finding the proper keys and getting used to the placement, I was going strong. The screen was well made and although smaller, was easy to use. The colors are a nice touch in my opinion. Now the very fashionable can match and iPod to every day of their work week. With five colors, and a slim design everyone will own one or two.
When it comes to specs, they are pretty close to the other iPods. The battery life is 8 hours, the screen is 1.67 inches compared to 2 inches on the 3g iPod, and it plays the same files. The iPod mini only ways 3.6 ounces and has a capacity of 4 gigabytes. The OS is the same, too. If you can do smart playlists, access your calendars, and set an alarm on the 3g iPod, moving to the iPod mini is exactly the same. Now the only hard part will be deciding which color to get that matches your attitude or maybe favorite color.
With the features and good points out of the way, now comes my opinion of the iPod mini. The deciding factor for most of us is price. If we can�t afford it, then we don�t buy it. Steve Jobs had a great point because the flash based players were 50 dollars less and were nothing like the iPod mini; but the 15gb iPod is 50 dollars more than the iPod mini. If you are a special agent or perhaps a model and your motto is, �the thinner the better�, then the iPod mini is for you. For �the rest of us�, the 3g iPod will be suitable. If I had a choice between one thousand songs at $249, and four thousand songs for $299, well I did choose the 3g iPod. If you like it, then get it, but honestly Apple is going to drop the price or see the death of the iPod mini. There is not enough special agents or models to keep this iPod alive. Maybe Apple should change the slogan from, �Little. The next big thing.� To, �Little. The next big price tag.�
