iPod Color vs. iPod Mini

[SRSound]

Who has the new color ipod? Is it worth the extra $$? Does anyone have both and can compare them?

[Capt Underpants]

Well I'm about to sell my mini for an iPod color. I hope I'm making the right decision :eek:

[acedickson]

If the money is no problem it's definitely a smart buy to go for the extra storage space and the bright color screens.

[SRSound]

There isnt a difference in sound quality is there? I assume it's the same hardware. (I dont mean the bit rate of the song file)

[ReanimationLP]

Sound is amazing on them. I was playing with my friends for a while, and it was AMAZING. They're the same thickness as the 2nd Gen 10 GB iPod, which is what I have, which may sound fat compared to the B&W, but its less than .08 of an inch. You are NOT gonna notice the difference. Besides, the beautiful and bright color screen certainly makes up for the tiny extra thickness.

[QCassidy352]

I soon will be getting a new computer for school and will have to make this choice. I'm leaning towards the color ipod but only because I already have a shuffle for when I don't feel like carrying a lot or am using it to work out. If I could only have one ipod I'd go mini over color because it is a real difference in physical size.

[japasneezemonk]

my girlfriend has the mini and i have the 40GB iPod Photo, i prefer the mini. I find that i never listen to all the songs on the iPod anyway, so the smaller the better. However, the color display is a plus. :)

[MUCKYFINGERS]

Most of the time, are you going to be looking at your ipod mini when you listen to the music, or daydream while you rock out with your favorite band?

I think the iPod mini is great for me, because A) i don't listen to ALL the songs on my ipod mini (i listen to certain bands over and over again), and B) i love the lightness/thinness of the thing. Color display is nice, but honestly, are you going to keep staring at your ipod while you're playing the music?

Both are great, but for my purposes, the mini is great. :)

[evolutioneight]

I say mini....for me it's all about the battery life. If you plan on making any huge long trips without your lappy loaded with all your tunes, then I can see the advantages of the colour models. But if you're spending most of your time around town, commuting, or just using for walks and bike rides or whatever I think the mini is just a better device because of size/battery. Plus, you play around alot watching slideshows and whatever and your gonna drain power fast.

[Diatribe]

It's amazing how many threads we have on that topic...

Just get the 20GB.

- about the same battery life
- not THAT much larger/heavier
- A LOT more storage
- A LOT nicer screen
- you get the AC adapter/charger with it
- photo capability
- relatively small price difference to the 6GB

[DarkNetworks]

Get the colour..more storage n u can view photos... :D

[SRSound]

wow good arguments for each. Does anyone have an ipod photo and find that they use the photo capabilities often? I think it would be nice to have a place to store my photos besides my internal hard drive, but I dont know when I would need them.

[SpaceMagic]

When my mum decided earlier this month to get an iPod herself, I was considering giving her mine and me getting a photo. However, we both just really like the iPod mini. When I hold an iPod and then hold a mini I prefer the mini ten fold. No one needs more than 1000 songs on the go so every time just upload what you'll listen to, or let iTunes do it itself.

Personally I know which I'd go for, I don't want a colour screen because it's just slightly gimmiky for me.

[crazydreaming]

It's amazing how many threads we have on that topic...

Just get the 20GB.

- about the same battery life
- not THAT much larger/heavier
- A LOT more storage
- A LOT nicer screen
- you get the AC adapter/charger with it
- photo capability
- relatively small price difference to the 6GB

Cons:

-Scratches easier
-costs more
-do you really need all that music with you?


I used to have a mini. It was my first iPod. I then sold it for a 10GB 3rd Gen. iPod. Thinking I'd like the full size, larger capacity iPod more. Well, a little over a month ago, I sold the 10GB because I want to go back to a mini! IMO based on my own experiences, the mini is the better choice. For me anyway. All depends on YOU!

[zelmo]

I have a 60GB iPod and a 1GB Shuffle. The 60GB is nice for toting around to show off pics on TV's and such, and it is nice to have whatever I might want to hear always at my fingertips. I use the Shuffle when I don't feel like toting the big dog around, like for yardwork and quick trips to the market.

If I was only going to have one iPod, I'd probably split the difference and get a 6GB Mini.

[Diatribe]

Cons:

-Scratches easier
-costs more
-do you really need all that music with you?


Scratches... oh well it's an item you use, so whatever.
Costs more... only marginally if you count in the AC adapter you get.
Do you really... even at 20GB I can only lug half of my library around. At 6GB I would consistently miss songs. If they ever bring out a 10-15GB mini I'd buy one in an instant. I need at least 25% of my library with me.

[sushi]

Who has the new color ipod? Is it worth the extra $$? Does anyone have both and can compare them?
If I had a choice between the Photo and Mini, I would choose the Mini I think. I am drawn towards the Mini's small size and light weight.

While others would say they are almost the same, I would say that there is a huge difference in the two. To each his/her own.

Now if Apple came out with a Shuffle that had a small screen, I would go with that in a heartbeat. I have a Shuffle and love it. I also have an original 10GB model. Good iPod, but much too big to carry. The Shuffle is just right. If you wear a shirt with a pocket, the Shuffle will easily slip inside the pocket. No need for a lanyard. The Shuffle practically takes up no space. And it weighs next to nothing.

Right now, I would say that of the HD iPods, the Mini has the best form factor and weight by far. YMMV.

Sushi

[shane-o-mac]

Ipod Color is way cool and I noticed it updates superfast! However the added bulk is a consideration. Def does not bother some but I like the compact portability of the mini. Fits much easier into my jean pocket and scratches a lot less. I returned my ipod photo for a mini. Be carefull the color ipod scratches extremely easily.

[xmozx]

I've been reading all these comments about "do you really need all that music?" My answer is hell yes.

I have a 3rd gen 40gb and I listen to almost everything at least once in a week. It allows me to put whole albums rather than just songs. Plus, it makes shuffling way better. Shuffling through 6000 songs is a wild ride!!! Just my two cents. I say go for the bigger and brighter. When they come out with the 80gb is when I'm upgrading to color.

[wide]

the ipods with bigger HDs can also be used as external hard drives. i actually think i will use my 20gb to transfer all my stuff from my Dell to my iBook whenever the ibooks come out...

is there a difference in reliability (i.e. will files get corrupted?) between my iPod 4G 20gb and a 7200 RPM 120GB Iomega hard drive that i would use otherwise? both would transfer using USB 2.0....

[EJBasile]

Scratches... oh well it's an item you use, so whatever.
Costs more... only marginally if you count in the AC adapter you get.
Do you really... even at 20GB I can only lug half of my library around. At 6GB I would consistently miss songs. If they ever bring out a 10-15GB mini I'd buy one in an instant. I need at least 25% of my library with me.

I think its nice to be able to fit your entire library of music plus you can back up files by enabling the HD mode (unless its like my 3rd gen. iPod that randomly changes setting- i've tried reinstalling, restoring, etc yet nothing works)

[MUCKYFINGERS]

I've been reading all these comments about "do you really need all that music?" My answer is hell yes.

I have a 3rd gen 40gb and I listen to almost everything at least once in a week. It allows me to put whole albums rather than just songs. Plus, it makes shuffling way better. Shuffling through 6000 songs is a wild ride!!! Just my two cents. I say go for the bigger and brighter. When they come out with the 80gb is when I'm upgrading to color.

Yeah, but how many times are you gonna do shuffle and end up skipping a song because it's not a song you exactly want to hear? Then you end up cycling until you find a song form a particular band you like, and in which case, you could have just played their album and just listened to the songs straight from that individual album's playlist anyway =P

[SRSound]

it still doesnt sound like very many people use the photo capability.. am i wrong?

[Diatribe]

I think its nice to be able to fit your entire library of music plus you can back up files by enabling the HD mode (unless its like my 3rd gen. iPod that randomly changes setting- i've tried reinstalling, restoring, etc yet nothing works)

I'd need a 60GB for that and I must admit they feel kind of clunky and big.

[Nickygoat]

Yeah, but how many times are you gonna do shuffle and end up skipping a song because it's not a song you exactly want to hear? Then you end up cycling until you find a song form a particular band you like, and in which case, you could have just played their album and just listened to the songs straight from that individual album's playlist anyway =P
Not that often. I've filled half my 40GB photo but it's only the odd song that I don't like. I deliberately haven't ripped some of the stuff I know I won't listen to. The stuff I do jump tends to be songs my g/f has put on. For some reason she has an attachment to Michael Learns To Rock - the rest of her taste is flawless, and it's patriotic so I can't complain :p

[Tahko]

I jumped in Apple bandwagon with iPod mini month ago and I love it.. I wouldn't buy colour-screen music player if I had a choice. Go outdoors with your colour mobile-phone and tell me can you read thy SMS's clearly in bright sunlight?

For the very same reason I sold my Nokia 3200 and bought cheaper 1100 instead, sunny days rule! And if your pal calls you 3 AM and you look at the coloured screen having as many candelas as a Maglite you know my second reason to prefer monochrome displays above coloured ones.

[MacNut]

The iPod is really not much bigger then the mini, I love my 20gb all my music and it fits in my pocket. Id go with the color.

[MUCKYFINGERS]

Not that often. I've filled half my 40GB photo but it's only the odd song that I don't like. I deliberately haven't ripped some of the stuff I know I won't listen to. The stuff I do jump tends to be songs my g/f has put on. For some reason she has an attachment to Michael Learns To Rock - the rest of her taste is flawless, and it's patriotic so I can't complain :p

Heh heh, well for me, on my 4 GB mini, I almost exclusively listen to Oasis, the Beatles, and lately (okay, they ARE good, but their U.S. image is totally butchered by the damn cartoon show) Puffy, mostly during my 20-25 minute commute to work or school. I hook it up into my tape deck in my car, and voila, a car mp3 player that is pretty much perfect.

[Dafke]

it still doesnt sound like very many people use the photo capability.. am i wrong?

I wanted to use the photo capabilty on my holliday to Cuba, but the damn thing crashed after 4 days! I got the "sad iPod icon". So i will never again rely on storage room on an iPod again, next time i'll just buy some extra memory cards, much more reliable!!

Luckily Apple is going to replace/repair it, they said its a HD failure.

By the way, i wasn't really impressed with the quality of the colour screen, the lcd on my 2 years old digicam (canon powershot s50) is a lot better!

[nagromme]

The color UI is just really cool. Album art, photos on TV with music, the works. I put non-photo images on it too--my design portfolio, maps to refer to, whatever. I have an "Other" folder in iPhoto ready to drop in anything.

I do like the portability of the Mini a lot, and would love to see a color-screen Mini. But I needed 60 GB to boot OS X, so that was that.

The 20 GB is thinner than my 60, so I think it's a great compromise between the 60 and the Mini. (And somehow I really like the black one with the color screen.)

[sushi]

I've been reading all these comments about "do you really need all that music?" My answer is hell yes.

I have a 3rd gen 40gb and I listen to almost everything at least once in a week. It allows me to put whole albums rather than just songs. Plus, it makes shuffling way better. Shuffling through 6000 songs is a wild ride!!!
Understand your point about wanting to carry all of your music. However, some folks don't need/want to so the Mini or Shuffle can be an alternative solution.

BTW, I find it hard to belive that you shuffle through 6000 songs a week. For example, if the average song is 3.5 minutes, that is enough music to last you 24/7 for over 14.5 days.

Anyhow, some folks only need a few hours of music at a time and can easily use their Mac to DL different music each day/week.

Sushi

[mad jew]

I wouldn't buy colour-screen music player if I had a choice. Go outdoors with your colour mobile-phone and tell me can you read thy SMS's clearly in bright sunlight?.


Good point. I'd never thought of that since all my "outside" gadgets are black and white. Thanks for the tip Tahko since I was seriously thinking of a new colour iPod.

[justgrand]

well supposedly their coming out with new minis in october supposedly color and some small features. i might just get one of those babies.