iPod Minis - Feb 20th

Well still a few more months until they come over here (England)...

Why in the world would someone actually buy an iPod Mini?

Well, it does look better than the regular iPod IMHO and I don't need the extra space. I was ready to buy this tomorrow, this sucks. What's the source for the date change? Let the flames begin!

It's hard for me to tell without seeing them in person first, but unless they're alot smaller than the reg. iPod they don't appear to be a good value... Of course that all depends on your needs, but at $249 I don't think I'd consider one...

i am really an Apple dude, but for that price u can get this

http://www.nomadworld.com/products/Jukebox_ZenXtra/

40 g and the same price.

As much as i love Apple i think i would buy me a G5 first, that seems to be a good value, but then again, i would buy the iPod for 50 dollars more.

If the mini was around 199, then i would consider it.

Originally posted by macmax
i am really an Apple dude, but for that price u can get this

http://www.nomadworld.com/products/Jukebox_ZenXtra/

40 g and the same price.

but NOT the same physical size.



by the same argument, why would you get a 17" PowerBook for $2999 when you can get a PowerMac G5 for the same price?

for that matter... why did anyone buy the original iPod when you could get the Archos player (bigger storage, bigger physically) for the same price?

arn

Aaaaugh! I'm going to the Ginza store tomorrow (first time to an Apple store in my life), and I was hoping to see them! Well, they may still have demo models, but it's not the same as knowing that, if I had the impulse, I could buy one. I probably won't get down to the Apple store again anytime soon (perhaps never)! It costs quite a bit for transportation. By the time I see an iPod mini, PowerBook G5s will probably be out! This is aggravating!

I was the source for this item (well, at least one of them). I was in the Towson Maryland Apple Store on Saturday and asked one of the floor people when the iPod minis would be in stock. She said "we'll have them here, available for purchase, at 6 p.m. on Friday February 20th."

She also offered to put my name on a list for a color preference with no obligation (i.e. no $ deposit). I was in a hurry, so I didn't ask her any followup questions, such as whether there would be an event at 6 p.m., how the "voting" on the colors was going, etc. Anyone who's going to be in an Apple Store soon may want to ask.

As for why I would consider the mini over an admittedly larger-capacity 3rd Gen whitePod:

1. Ergonomics. In our family, we have two of the original iPods, both with the buttons arrayed around the scrollwheel. I may just be a curmudgeon, but I don't like the button placement at all on the 3Gs. If the smaller scrollwheel with the integrated buttons feels right when I try one out, that may be what pushes me over the edge.

2. Size. These are not enormously smaller in actual size, but they "feel" a lot smaller. For the total geek experience, CDW has a printable .pdf that your can cut out and assemble to get an approximation of the mini's size.

http://www.cdw.com/webcontent/hubs/MW/family/ipod.asp

3. Storage is really irrelevant. With smart playlists and some careful selection for a 2 gig permanent collection, I can have an effectively unlimited number of songs on any iPod. I plan to create a 500-meg playlist of recently-added tunes and a 1.5 gig playlist of songs I haven't played in the past month. With a 4,000 song iTunes library, that should keep me in "new" music for a good long time.

My only concern with this approach would be wear and tear on the drive as I sync, as I imagine this will lead to a fair amount of swapping songs in and out of the iPod. Should this be a worry?

Styling also goes into it a bit, but as my iPod spends most of its time in a pocket or my car, that doesn't matter too much. Although it would be nice if the new brushed aluminum finish is scratch and fingerprint resistant.

My plans? Go to the in-store, try out the mini and decide then and there which way to go.

Originally posted by Perceptes
Why in the world would someone actually buy an iPod Mini?

Because I like the pink color. Because it will be a cool fashion item. Because it's going to fit in my purse (and my smaller hand) better than an iPod. I couldn't care less about the smaller capacity.

Why is the fact that the minis are fashionable and girly (unlike lots of other crappy engineer's gadgets) and therefore hits an underserved market hard to understand?

I really don't understand those who keep asking "why would anyone buy an iPod mini." I ordered one when they were first introduced, so I guess I get it.

First off, most people thought that the original iPod was crazy - too expensive was the main complaint. So keep that in mind before you act too indignantly towards the mini.

I've had a 5gb iPod since they were first introduced. 5gb is, really, plenty of music for me. I've never scrolled through my iPod and thought, "you know, I just don't have anything worth listening to between these 1000 songs." If you're someone who must carry around every song you own, then great, the big iPod is for you. If you're someone like me, for whom ~83 hours of continuous music is plenty, then the mini is the better choice. It is cheaper, smaller, lighter, (seems) more durable, etc.

People buy 2 seater cars, 2 megapixel digital cameras that fit in a shirtpocket, etc. and you don't call them crazy. My point is simply that, for those of you who don't get it, try to understand that there are people out there who don't value the same things that you value in a portable mp3 player.

I'm not saying that the mini will be a hit, and I'm not saying that it isn't a bit too expensive. I'm just saying that the iPod mini is not a product that completely defies logic.