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Grrrr, iPod mini!

Powerbook G5

Powerbook G5

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 23, 2003
3,974
1
St Augustine, FL
So I ordered an iPod mini for my girlfriend's birthday this morning...7-8 week estimated ship date! I have been looking for it everywhere for a month now since her birthday is on July 4 and figured that'd give me plenty of time, but I finally gave up and ordered from Apple Online Store. How come this thing is so impossible to find? I still have yet to see one in person and not a single store I have been to has had one. Has anyone actually gotten one, and if you have, how the heck did you? I'm going to have to just send her a birthday card and give her a phone call on her birthday since it may be a week or two afterwards before she receives her iPod, which sucks, because I am going to fly up to see her a week before and was hoping to give it to her in person.

I swear, someday Apple is going to finally learn to gauge customer demand on one of their products...someday...
 
yeah, I got mine yesterday, a silver one. It was ordered on April 16, so it took about 5+ weeks. It seems to be worth it, at least that is my initial impression. We'll see if it holds up. Some people have had problems start to show up about a month after they own it. Hopefully that won't happen. But I am pumped anyway. It really is a tiny little package, and I much prefer the controls over the current regular iPod. BTW, I ordered through the Apple Education store online.
 
Circuitcity.com has them from time to time it seems. If you check daily after a while you should be able to get your hands on one. If you are searching for a color specific one, you might have to wait longer. There is always ebay. The mark up isn't to bad right now I think anyways.
 
When they first released them on Feb. 20 I went to the Apple Store in Roosevelt Field and waited an hour for my beautiful blue iPod mini :)
 
I saw plenty of demo ones in the Apple Store when I visited the US last month but there were signs in each saying they were sold out (not in Pasadena, CA, mind).

I believe the drives are the limiting factor - Hitachi or whoever makes them can't make enough. Surely, the only other alternative would have been for Apple to delay annoucement until a month or two ago but they needed interest to keep up didn't they?

Look on the bright side though, our original launch date on this side of the pond was pushed back from April to the end of July and, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if it was delayed again. I'm still semi-hopeful of iTunes Music Store launching next month though, as Napster 2.0 has just launched in the UK...
 
Powerbook G5 said:
I swear, someday Apple is going to finally learn to gauge customer demand on one of their products...someday...
Click to expand...

i *do* recall most of us uttering how ridiculously expensive the Mini is and how it won't sell at all for the price back in Jan... ;)

good luck getting hold of one.
 
HD's are the biggest problem, Hitatchi can't make em fast enough so we have a trickle supply. I have seen some distributors who have 10,000 backorders. You could actually make a profit off selling the HD's in the mini for $600, a 4gb Microdrive will fetch a lot on ebay. So all you have to do is buy a lot of mini's gut em and sell the HDs:)
 
HURRAH!

I just picked up my beautiful silver iPod mini! :)

They have a lot at the Apple Store Fashion Valley here in San Diego. All colors!

And I was soooo worried they wouldn't have them in stock! :D


Maybe there is no market for iPod minis in San Diego? I checked the other Apple Store in UTC, and they had quite a few of silver iPod minis.
 
Yeah, I was looking at Compusa, Circuit City, and just about any place that sells electronics. On the bright side, the Apple Store for Edu is $30 cheaper and I got it laser engraved, which I didn't even think of, so I guess even though the wait is long, it will be personalized for her to make it that much more special. I couldn't decide between silver or blue, I'll probably get a silver once they are easier to come by, but I figured I'd get her the blue since it looks kind of nice online. If anyone has a blue mini, how do you like the color? Is it rich or pale? I was worried about buying online simply because I'd like to see the color in person.
 
I have a silver mini that I got around march 1. The apple store in KoP, PA had plenty of them. I guess supplies have really dried up since then...
 
Yep I got in on February 21st, i should say i was a lucky one because if you didnt buy it the first week, it will be a wait to get one
it is a great player, check ebay for them if you really want one fast, but prepare to pay for the product
good luck it is an amazing player though.


Powerbook G5 said:
So I ordered an iPod mini for my girlfriend's birthday this morning...7-8 week estimated ship date! I have been looking for it everywhere for a month now since her birthday is on July 4 and figured that'd give me plenty of time, but I finally gave up and ordered from Apple Online Store. How come this thing is so impossible to find? I still have yet to see one in person and not a single store I have been to has had one. Has anyone actually gotten one, and if you have, how the heck did you? I'm going to have to just send her a birthday card and give her a phone call on her birthday since it may be a week or two afterwards before she receives her iPod, which sucks, because I am going to fly up to see her a week before and was hoping to give it to her in person.

I swear, someday Apple is going to finally learn to gauge customer demand on one of their products...someday...
Click to expand...
 
Minis Are Available in Baltimore

I got a silver one for my wife on Thursday, the 20th at Circuit city (Arundle Mills, near Baltimore). Plus, our apple store (Towson Towne Center) had them Friday (silver and gold)... wish I had gotten it there, could have saved 20 bucks with student discount.

Anyway, I was surpirsed to see them, that's why I picked it up as soon as I did.

It is a really cool product, definately worth the $250. (most people can live with 4gb in my opinion... it's still like 75 cds)

That being said... I'm holding out for a G4 'big' ipod to hold all of my music.

-alywa
 
This is a little off topic, but since we are talking about iPod minis here, I was wondering if it was necessary to calibrate the battery for best performance on these minis like it is on powerbooks and ibooks? Does anyone know? I am curious, as I have not read anything about it, but it would seem that what was good for one would be good for the other?
 
yoda13 said:
This is a little off topic, but since we are talking about iPod minis here, I was wondering if it was necessary to calibrate the battery for best performance on these minis like it is on powerbooks and ibooks? Does anyone know? I am curious, as I have not read anything about it, but it would seem that what was good for one would be good for the other?
Click to expand...

I believe iPod lounge did an iPod mini battery test that showed the iPod mini got the best battery performance once the battery was drained and charged about 9 times. Look Here
 
Capt Underpants said:
I believe iPod lounge did an iPod mini battery test that showed the iPod mini got the best battery performance once the battery was drained and charged about 9 times. Look Here
Click to expand...

Thanks, I think that more or less answers my questions. I am going to use it and not worry about it. Looks like battery will improve for a little while and settle into normalcy. I must remember ipodlounge. Thanks again. :)
 
While we are talking...

about batteries, I would like to ask:

What exactly do you do when an iPod mini runs out on its battery (like 1-2 years from now)? Do you take it to an Apple Store? Is it relatively easy to replace?

Also, even though you didn't buy the iPod at an Apple Store, can you take it to an Apple Store to replace the batteries? :confused:
 
diehldun said:
about batteries, I would like to ask:

What exactly do you do when an iPod mini runs out on its battery (like 1-2 years from now)? Do you take it to an Apple Store? Is it relatively easy to replace?

Also, even though you didn't buy the iPod at an Apple Store, can you take it to an Apple Store to replace the batteries? :confused:
Click to expand...

If you have applecare, you can have the battery replaced free up to two years out from purchase. If not, I believe it costs 99dollars otherwise, or if your applecare has expired. And yes, you can take it to the applestore, even if you didn't buy it there
 
Weird, eBay has then for $249 plus shipping, and they ship when the auction ends! I've had three of my friends at college bid and win them on eBay, pay when the auction ends (3-5 days), and then get them a week after that!

Could you cancel your Apple order and try eBay?
 
Last time i was at the apple store in Cleveland,OH i saw some guy buy a silver one.
 
DONT BUY MINI

I have an iPod mini in blue, got it the day after its release, and I COMPLETELY REGRET GETTING IT. I definately should have gotten the 20 gigabyte iPod. It looks nicer, it's cooler, the buttons light up...and it just looks nicer! The iPod mini isn't ugly, but whenever my friends pull out their clean white iPods I get annoyed. I really wish I had known about http://www.colorwarepc.com/ because they have shiny black, red, blue, pink, any-color-you-can-name-and-even-some-you-can't colored iPod regulars, only 45 dollars more than the iPod when you buy it from Apple!

Don't get the mini. The only reason I did was because everyone else got a regular iPod for Christmas, and I didn't want to be just regular. If you buy from colorwarpc.com, you will have an original iPod too (no I do not work for them and I am not affiliated with them in any way)
 
Powerbook G5 said:
So what are you saying? The mini isn't worth it because the buttons don't light up? You can give me your mini...
Click to expand...

Sorry about my little rant there...I just really wish I didn't buy the mini. It doesn't look as nice as the other iPod...you can't beat the silver and white in my opinion.
 
wide said:
Sorry about my little rant there...I just really wish I didn't buy the mini. It doesn't look as nice as the other iPod...you can't beat the silver and white in my opinion.
Click to expand...

This is why Apple makes various models of iPod. I am a fan of both of them, but I am really taken with my mini. But you can't go wrong with either as far as I am concerned.
 
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