Help! iPod owners: does the size of the iPod ever distract/bother you?

[thabridawg]

Does it feel too bulky when you put it in your pocket?

Is it too big that sometimes you choose not to bring it places?

I ask because I got an iPod Mini last week.

I have ~30 GB of music, but only 3.5 GB of that has a playcount greater than 1.

I went to the Apple store again and compared my Mini with a 4G iPod, the size was noticable but I'm not sure if it would make a difference in bringing it places. I wonder why they don't put at least one Mini on the same table as a 4G.

So what would you do if you were me? Keep the Mini or exchange it for a 4G iPod?

 

[Pomme]

Hi, thebridawg!

My 4G 20GB iPod arrived yesterday afternoon, so I've only had a day to play with my new toy. But the iPod's accompanied me in the car, around the house, on a brief jaunt to Target, and on a lengthy walk with my dog. I love it too much to put it down! It's really very small and thin. I had a Creative Nomad Zen before this, and next to the iPod, it looks like a brick!

I thought long and hard about whether or not to buy the mini or the 4G. In the end, I decided to pay the extra money and get the extra storage space. My music collection isn't huge, but it's growing quickly. I like having the option of using my iPod as an external hard drive, and the size difference between the mini and the iPod was minimal when I held them both in two hands.

Of course, once you put your iPod in a case, it bulks up a bit. Ask yourself if, should you go with an iPod, the scratches on the white plastic and stainless steel would bother you. Would you be compelled to keep your iPod in a case, or could you take some scratches in stride? The mini has a much more durable, scratch-resistant body, so a case doesn't seem as necessary.

If the size issue is what is primarily bothering you, try to visit a store where you can hold both the iPod and the mini at the same time. At the CompUSA near my home, the two are displayed all of six inches from one another, and you can judge size differences for yourself.

I love my iPod. It's not too big, and it's not too small. I'm a small young woman, and I haven't got enormous pockets in large, baggy pants to cart my iPod around in... but my iPod fits comfortably in nearly all of my pockets! That said, the mini is a BEAUTIFUL little machine. If it had the larger hard drive, I'd have bought it in a second.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[musicpyrite]

I can speak for the 15 Gb 3rd gen iPod.

No, I do not find it in any way to be to bulky, and it fits in my pocket extremely well, and I would imagin the mini even more so.

The only thing I have a problem wtih is the size of the 30/40Gb iPods.

If you want to try them out, put them in your pocket, and actually see them for real, go to an Apple store, or a re-seller, and try them.

 

[PlaceofDis]

my iPod's size is never an issue, the only thing that ever deters me from bringing it anywhere is whether or not i feel it is safe (paranoid about someone stealing it) so i do carry it in my pocket all the time walking around from class to class or in a bag or whatever, its really not all that much bigger than a pack of cards

what it really boils down to is if the mini has enough storage or not for you? if it does (meaning you do not need to have all of your music with you) then keep the mini but if you need to have all of that music with you get the larger iPod

personally i could never get myself a mini, i have 14.5 gigs of music right now and that equates to about 3800 songs so i cant keep all of my songs on my pod (about 200) but im always getting new music so this is an issue for me; basically i need an upgrade soon

 

[Abstract]

The ONLY reason to get a mini is if you either work out, or if you buy things because they're fashionable.

The Mini is quite a bit smaller, actually. I read it was somewhere around 40% smaller than the 3g iPod. Its deceiving because if you see them together, the Mini doesn't look too much smaller, but have you ever held them? Dude, the Mini is tiiiiiny. Also, it weighs over 33% less than the Mini. When I'm jogging, it makes a difference. I own the 4G, and I use it all the time and never find it to be a problem. However, when I'm jogging, hell yeah, I wish I had the Mini's size and weight. I can just grip the iPod so that my fingers wrap around the iPod perfectly. However, if it was smaller, I could hold on to it much much easier.

Its quite a specific market when you're talking about the functionality of a Mini over an iPod, and believe that the iPod is what most people should get. But that doesn't take appearance and trendiness into account.

 

[SolidGun]

I have owned many iPods (everything except 1G) and in my opinion, the Mini is significantly more portable and comfortable to use (I own all versions currently, other than 1G, and use them all). No matter what the dimensions say, I feel that the MINI is more portable because I don't notice it in my pocket, unlike other players.
Mini has its advantages and disadvantages, but only take advices from people that have used all the items extensively. I hate people judging (not simply commenting) on products that they have never used.

 

[thabridawg]

I have owned many iPods (everything except 1G) and in my opinion, the Mini is significantly more portable and comfortable to use (I own all versions currently, other than 1G, and use them all). No matter what the dimensions say, I feel that the MINI is more portable because I don't notice it in my pocket, unlike other players.
Mini has its advantages and disadvantages, but only take advices from people that have used all the items extensively. I hate people judging (not simply commenting) on products that they have never used.

how much music do you have? if you could only have a 20 GB iPod or a Mini, what would you pick?

are you saying that the basic difference in size is... the 20 GB iPod will be noticable but not bulky in your pocket, whereas the mini disapear in your pocket?

 

[slughead]

My iPod is so small, it's actually DISCOURAGED me to bring it to places because it's the perfect size/mass to fall out of the pocket at maximum velocity.

That's why I built this:
[edit: it had a curse word in the url so I had to make one of these:
http://www.6URL.com/IPODMAN ]

So small, it fit within a walkman

 

[SolidGun]

Sorry, i am not replying quick enough. I am away from home so I have to use dial-up and that gets me lazy on checking back on many topics.

I have about 156 Albums on CDs. I have encoded the ones I like to 192kbs for the iPods. I use Ogg for iHP-120.
That turns out to be only 14GB of music.
I use playlists to keep my Mini healthy and I am using it mostly for Audible.

Looking at the specs, you wouldn't think that Mini is all that much smaller, but when I put one or the other in my pocket and walk around, it is significantly noticeable. I don't realized that I have my Mini in my pocket most of the time (this worries me as to how soon it is going to break because I do something stupid).
I have zero scratches on the Mini after almost two months of use, and I bought my 4G the first day it was on sale on Apple.com, and only after 5 hours later I received it, I got light scratches (I have no idea how that happened with my extremely careful use).

But 20GB may be better for many because you can dump most of your collections on to it and choose what you need without coming back to resort/sync.

You may not have a lot of music now, but it grows quick. My collection grows 4 CDs every two weeks (I only buy it bi-monthly to save money, I know if I go every week....).

 

[vraxtus]

Does it feel too bulky when you put it in your pocket?

Is it too big that sometimes you choose not to bring it places?

I ask because I got an iPod Mini last week.

I have ~30 GB of music, but only 3.5 GB of that has a playcount greater than 1.

-_-

Try owning a 2G 10GB 'Pod... it's TWICE the size of the new ones...

 

[mashinhead]

my 2 cents

I orginally had a 3G 15gb and traded it for a mini. For four reasons. It was smaller. Second the Battery life which, at the time was less than a mini. This should be a huge factor in your decision. Third was the anodized aluminum which doesn't scratch, and click wheel, which is so much better, you can control the whole thing with your thumb, but apparently thats not an issue now. And the third was that my 15 gb never had more than 3 gb of music on it anyway. THis isn't cos i dont have a lot, its cos i haven't gotten around to ripping my collection yet. Mainly because i have a laptop and i don't want to take up all the HD space.

So i got the mini instead. The mini, on a recent vacation, fell in the pool and its gone. So I'm in the same situation you are right now, and this weekend i'm going to buy a new ipod, most likely the 20, i would get the 40 but its bigger. Here are my thoughts:

How will you use your ipod. Size here isn't the issue, obviously smaller is better. If you travel a lot or don't use the computer everyday or change playlists etc daily go for the big one, you won't outgrow it as fast.

The mini holds more than enough miusic for a day or two, so if your taking it out with you and charging it at night, basic cell phone style usage, it will be find for you. also if you excercise.

But if i had to choose one i'd say take the 20, cos ipod mini's, well over time they're only gonna hold more music. Take the 20 now and when the refresh the minis, in the nex 3-4 mos, if you feel like you need one pick one up. That way you'll have all your ipod needs covered.

 

[Chaszmyr]

imo, the mini is only a good solution for people who have less than 4gb of music that they care about

 

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says...as someone that used to carry around old cludgy walkman cassette players in the pre-iPod days (daze) I certainly have never found the size/weight of my 1G iPod to be of any concern - fits in my shirt pocket, inside coat pocket, wherever...oh yeah!

 

[Bhennies]

no problems with mine. Quite a nice weight actually- just heavy enough so you know it's still there.

 

[Kingsnapped]

If I'm skating or something, I have to have it in a belt-pouch thingee, just so it doesn't bounce against my let. Otherwise, the only qualms I have about putting it in my pocket is if there might be things in there that are mean to my iPod. I'm not too worried about little scratches on the back, but I don't want a big ole' gouge across its face.

 

[budaapple]

my 2 cents

OK yea the mini is cool looking and all but why anybody would not spend 50 dollars more for twice the storage in the 10 gb is beyond me.

 

[kirk26]

Does it feel too bulky when you put it in your pocket?

Is it too big that sometimes you choose not to bring it places?

I ask because I got an iPod Mini last week.

I have ~30 GB of music, but only 3.5 GB of that has a playcount greater than 1.

I went to the Apple store again and compared my Mini with a 4G iPod, the size was noticable but I'm not sure if it would make a difference in bringing it places. I wonder why they don't put at least one Mini on the same table as a 4G.

So what would you do if you were me? Keep the Mini or exchange it for a 4G iPod?

Nope, just matches the usual buldge in....

 

[homerjward]

i have a 3g 15gb and its just the right size. it's just a tiny bulge in my pocket so i know it's there and it's the perfect size for my hand; the mini would be too small for me to grip tightly. plus the buttons are better

 

[Jovian9]

No, the iPods have never seemed too big. And I had the biggest (2G 20GB) which I worked out with a lot. They've only gotten smaller since then.

 

[JDOG_]

Based on needs..

I just picked up a mini yesterday with some of my paycheck and have been enjoying it thoroughly. I've owned a 3G 30 gig, 4G 20 gig (returned) and have found with my 20 gig music library that I'll never be able to have all my music on something at one time without it being too big. It was nice to have the 30 while i was in Europe for six months, but now that I'm back to being a college student I just need something I can load up with some classical & chill stuff for studying & some harder stuff for going to the gym.

I think it's all based around your needs dude. Minis are just a bit tougher despite their small size and if you're not worried about messing them up go for a new 4G 20 or 40...but go play with some at an Apple store & then buy from Best Buy with a warranty. I had to get mine from the Apple store because no stores have had minis in stock here for the last six months and I also got that nice edu discount

 

[mpopkin]

keep the mini!!!.

Does it feel too bulky when you put it in your pocket?

Is it too big that sometimes you choose not to bring it places?

I ask because I got an iPod Mini last week.

I have ~30 GB of music, but only 3.5 GB of that has a playcount greater than 1.

I went to the Apple store again and compared my Mini with a 4G iPod, the size was noticable but I'm not sure if it would make a difference in bringing it places. I wonder why they don't put at least one Mini on the same table as a 4G.

So what would you do if you were me? Keep the Mini or exchange it for a 4G iPod?

 

[AliensAreFuzzy]

I've got a 10GB 3G, and I'm very happy with it. I would sometimes like a larger amount of storage because I sometimes transfer large uncompressed DV movies and those take a lot. But overall I'm happy

 

[Capt Underpants]

When I owned my 3g 10 GB iPod, it did feel bulky sometimes. I only had a gig of music, so I sold it when the mini's came out, and went with the blue mini. I've been ahappy mini owner for a long time now. I can't imagine having anything bigger than the 20 GB 4G. The 40 GB seems, to me, to be unmanagable. I LOVE MY MINI!!!!

 

[amin]

I have a 3G 10GB ipod and the size is fine, but the mini size would be much better in my opinion. It's not just for fashion in my opinion. The size/weight difference makes a real difference for everyday use to me. That said, I'd rather have a 4G ipod than a mini.

 

[quackattack]

I have a 3g 30gb ipod. Its slightly larger than the ones with smaller capacities. The only time the size bothers me at all is when I'm jogging. I put it under a sweatband and it seems kind of bulky on my arm. For other uses when I'm just walking around the size has never bothered me AT ALL. I would say go with the bigger one unless you are really active and want something that won't weigh you down.