Would it be silly to buy an iPod mini now?

[florencevassy]

I am getting tired of my iPod Shuffle because I really would like to have a screen and more disc space.

Due to a combination of being too cheap and wanting to wait for new iPods to come out, I think that a good compromise would be to buy one of the refurbished iPod minis that the apple store is selling. They are about $149.

My only concern would be the weight since I like to wear them around my neck. Let me know your opinions. Thanks.

[Marky_Mark]

A bit heavy I'd say. I thought that when I first got my Mini, but it gains sidewards momentum when you walk along and swings around like buggery. Comes with a really nice heavy-duty and very attractive belt clip though. I always thought they should have shipped one with the larger 'pods too. I could really do with one for my 5G

[devilot]

I agree.

I think a mini would be too cumbersome to wear around the neck. I know it's not as cheap as the mini, but through Amazon a Nano is still free shipping and NO sales tax. Right now the 2GB is right at $179, and the 4GB is $240. Sometimes they have a further reduction. Ooh, or if you use the A9 search tool a few days in a row (register for it first), then you get an additional 1.57% off.

[StarbucksSam]

Not at all - they are the best. I only sold mine b/c I was almost out of space. I'll buy a new iPod post 4/1.

[florencevassy]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[micha10589]

Since no one mentioned that - as the Mini has an aluminum body it is extremely scratch resistant and apparently very robust. Mine fell at least 5 times quite dramatically on a hard floor and it is working fine and apart from some bumps on the edges looks quite ok after one year. Also, sitting down with it in your trousers' pocket is something you will do without a doubt sooner or later. And this seems to be very hazardous for the Nano.

As I got some sort of pouch with a strap for it for Xmas I can report that I didn't find it too heavy to wear around the neck. At least with winter clothes (collar shirt and/or sweater).

One thing that annoys me about the Mini is - and that is a big Plus of the Nano - that it doesn't display the name of the album. I have a lot of CDs from some artists (e.g. R.E.M.) that I rediscovered through the iPod and it annoys me not to know from what album one particularly good song is. If you want to know you have to look at the title and then scroll to Artist and Albums and check every one of them. Tiring.

In any case the available disc space should not be an issue. With Autosync and rotating playlists (least recently played, low playcount etc.) 2GB are sufficient. I have the 6GB version and don't really need it.

[topgunn]

I have a iPod mini and I wouldn't trade it for any other iPod. The nano is too small and seems frail. The mini is an aluminum encased brute. It has been dropped a number of times onto concrete and tile without a mark to show for it.

Now, if I had to wear it around my neck, I might look towards the nano or shuffle.

[Chundles]

You should see some of the scratches on my mini, some good dings in it too.

Still keeps playing though - it's great but I'm lusting over a nano to replace it.

[student_trap]

for around your neck, go with a nano or a shuffle. Otherwise, go for the mini...its easily much better than the currect nano's.

[Stampyhead]

You can get a 1 Gig Nano for $149. Doesn't hold as much music as the Mini but would be a lot more comfortable around your neck.

[Chaszmyr]

Originally Posted by student_trap

for around your neck, go with a nano or a shuffle. Otherwise, go for the mini...its easily much better than the currect nano's.

Better how?
-Larger storage capacity? Okay, yes
-Smaller? No
-Lighter? No
-Better battery life? No
-Better screen? No
-More attractive? Subjective, but I'd say no
-More features? No
-Better conversation piece? No (People who have never seen a nano before are almost always impressed by how small it is)

[mwpeters8182]

The mini was rated at 18 hrs of battery life, and the nano at 12, so the mini does have better battery life.

I prefer my mini to the nano, which I used for about a week. I usually have it in my coat, so I don't really notice the weight difference, and I find the size to be what I'm looking for. Since I now have a shuffle for the gym, I'll probably replace the mini with a 30GB+ iPod in the future.

[student_trap]

Originally Posted by Chaszmyr

Better how?
-Larger storage capacity? Okay, yes
-Smaller? No
-Lighter? No
-Better battery life? No
-Better screen? No
-More attractive? Subjective, but I'd say no
-More features? No
-Better conversation piece? No (People who have never seen a nano before are almost always impressed by how small it is)

OK I was a little brief... so here goes...

-smaller/lighter: is relative, for me and some people I have spoken to, the nano is too small, yes its a marvel of technology, but I think that it is ergonomically flawed; it is too thin for its width, causing some to break in peoples pockets when sitting down etc. The mini was small/light enough for me (and many people), and felt solid in your hand. (I said in my original post that it is probably to heavy to wear round your neck)

-Battery life: I’m sorry but your wrong here: the nano offers 14 hours http://www.apple.com/uk/ipodnano/ whereas the mini had 18 hours, which actually was a gross underestimate from apple, as it often achieved up to 26 hours (see www.ilounge.com)

-Screen: the nano's screen is better in that you can see the album name and album art, but I think that there was nothing wrong with the greyscale mini one, in fact, I’m rather partial to the greyscale screens.

-More attractive- your right it is subjective, but I’d disagree, again the nano is a wondrous piece of technology, but the mini is beautiful with its individual bright colours better resilience against scratches. In my opinion, the nano appeals to techno/gadget lovers because everything has to be small small small, whereas what your average person seems to like is to be able to pick from a range of colours, throw it around and listen to it.

More features: its a music player, everything else is bells and whistles. The games are a little pointless on a tiny screen (on both ipods), ok with the nano you can have world clocks and stuff, but these are superfluous - battery life and storage capacity are far more important. The nano does have a radio though, which is a useful bonus

Storage - mini is 2 gigs larger (but the same price), which enabled loads of people to just about put their whole library on it, the nano is a device that is too small for this...its in shuffle territory. Nano uses flash though, i think that this is actually one of its greatest redeeming features - having hard disks in portable decives has always struck me as a rather silly idea, intended to bridge the gap untill cheaper flash memory became available.

Better conversation piece - if you mean as a general remark on how technology is moving fast, while you pull out your old sony walkman from back in the day, then ok (the mini is just as much of a talking point from this point of view), if however you are talking about needing an ipod to impress, then remember you should buy for yourself, not others

OK thats it, remember that what suits better depends on your particular requirements, and if you want to hang it round your neck, get the nano, however if like me you don't mind the size, the mini is a really good option, and at its rebate price, it makes me wish I lived in america, because i would buy one in a flash!

[topgunn]

Like I said before, I love my mini and I would choose it today over any other iPod. However, another selling point of the Shuffle and Nano are the lack of moving parts. If you plan on jogging or spending a lot of time at the gym, the mini may not be the best bet.

[alamar]

Originally Posted by Marky_Mark

A bit heavy I'd say. I thought that when I first got my Mini, but it gains sidewards momentum when you walk along and swings around like buggery. Comes with a really nice heavy-duty and very attractive belt clip though. I always thought they should have shipped one with the larger 'pods too. I could really do with one for my 5G

one nice thing about the mini was that you never really had to buy a case as the belt clip rocked and if you were careful the screen wouldn't get hurt. I'd buy one now, but not to put around my neck. I'd just get a new nano for that, and a mini just to hold wikipedia.

[shadowmoses]

get a nano instead, you won't regeret it, I have had mine since there launch and love it, its just so sexy and small......the mini's are getting old,

SHadow

[sam10685]

get a new Nano. the mini's are hard drive-based so it's bad to have the moving around alot. the nano (and the shuffle) are both flash-memory based, u could drop them from 20 feet up and not loose the data. (although, i don't think i'd recommend doing that.)

[mrichmon]

Originally Posted by florencevassy

My only concern would be the weight since I like to wear them around my neck. Let me know your opinions. Thanks.

I suggest that your concern should be about the life of a mini swinging from your neck. The Shuffle and nano are solid-state devices that is, there are no moving parts at all. This makes them lightweight and resiliant to knocks, bumps and being swung around.

The regular iPod and the ipod mini contain a hard drive. The hard drive spins up every few songs to cache the audio data. Hard drives are mechanical and have some parts that are very, very close to the data surfaces. A bump at the wrong time can render the hard drive (and thus the ipod) useless.

[eXan]

It's never silly to buy something you like

[mannix87]

one thing i didnt like about the mini was the aluminum surface w/c scratched rather easily. that's why i had to keep it in a case most of the time. the back light is rather dim compared to the newer iterations of the iPod.

[elisha cuthbert]

Ive got 3 of the minis and they are the best ipods ive ever had and ive been through about 15 of them the only thing that bugs me is that they dont have enough space on them.

[student_trap]

you've been through 15 of them

[elisha cuthbert]

Originally Posted by student_trap

you've been through 15 of them

Not all minis
1x 5GB 1st Gen
3x 20GB 2nd Gen
7x 40GB 3rd Gen
3x 30GB 3rd Gen
1x 4GB Mini 1st Gen

[redAPPLE]

Originally Posted by elisha cuthbert

Ive got 3 of the minis and they are the best ipods ive ever had and ive been through about 15 of them the only thing that bugs me is that they dont have enough space on them.

that is what i call a Fanboy. dedication is what is missing in our society today.

[elisha cuthbert]

Originally Posted by redAPPLE

that is what i call a Fanboy. dedication is what is missing in our society today.

yea and all the stuff i had i paid for it all myself and i am only 16