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I Just Changed My iPod mini Order, To a 15GB iPod, Here's why...

LaMerVipere

LaMerVipere

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
971
1
Chicago
As with most people, I was totally caught up in all the excitement and fervor surrounding the mini, and last friday placed my order for a silver iPod mini from MacMall. Well just now, I called up and changed my order to a 15GB iPod, here's why:

As much as I love the form factor of the mini, I already have 3.7GB of music on my computer, and plan to get a lot more. I don't feel like every day shuffling playlists onto and off of my iPod, forever worrying about not having enough room etc... And I know you can't listen to thousands of songs in 8 hours, or even 200 songs, but I at least, would like knowing that I have all of my songs on hand for whenever the mood strikes me.

I know that the iPod mini is a very beautiful product, with an arguably better designed scroll wheel and buttons, but the iPod to me is just as beautiful, if not more so. The iPod is more than a music player, it's a whole state of mind in a way, it has its own culture and identity which the mini just doesnt have. (at least not yet) I also know that the iPod mini is more than fine for a large market of consumers, I guess it's just not for me, although for a few days I thought it was.

I encourge everyone who has ordered an iPod mini but hasn't had it ship yet to please re-consider your order, I did, and I think I made the right decision. :)

Just my 2 cents.
 
Re: I Just Changed My iPod mini Order, To a 15GB iPod, Here's why...

Originally posted by LaMerVipere

I encourge everyone who has ordered an iPod mini but hasn't had it ship yet to please re-consider your order, I did, and I think I made the right decision. :).
Click to expand...

To each his own - but I hope you had a chance to see the iPod Mini vs the 3rd Gen iPod in person before deciding.

arn
 
I second arn's comments. I am sure this has been said before, but the mini's are seriously sweet. I can't put mine down. While it may not have an established identity yet, it certainly well have a great one in a hurry. Anyways congrats on the 15 GB purchase, you will love it.
 
iPod is a "state of mind?" The only state of mind I was privy to was obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The iPod's, to me, are too beautiful. Almost a cosmetic trinket. Thumbprints on the rear acryllic, and you get depressed. The potential countdown of the battery life (literally) and you get depressed.

A scratch on the touch-sensitives, and you get anxiety ridden. A whole peripherals industry has been capitalizing on our panic-disorders over ruining the aesthetics and cosmetics of our iPod.

We have to buy iPod polish, cases (100s to choose from), presentation docks, etc. And in the long run, we never use it to death, only LOOK at it to death.

I want a rough, rugged player, to-go. The mini's at least appear to have that potential. Otherwise, the only state of mind I'm engaging in with the regular iPod's are of the idolatrous/cultic variety.
 
Re: I Just Changed My iPod mini Order, To a 15GB iPod, Here's why...

Originally posted by LaMerVipere
As with most people, I was totally caught up in all the excitement and fervor surrounding the mini, and last friday placed my order for a silver iPod mini from MacMall. Well just now, I called up and changed my order to a 15GB iPod, here's why:

As much as I love the form factor of the mini, I already have 3.7GB of music on my computer, and plan to get a lot more. I don't feel like every day shuffling playlists onto and off of my iPod, forever worrying about not having enough room etc... And I know you can't listen to thousands of songs in 8 hours, or even 200 songs, but I at least, would like knowing that I have all of my songs on hand for whenever the mood strikes me.

I know that the iPod mini is a very beautiful product, with an arguably better designed scroll wheel and buttons, but the iPod to me is just as beautiful, if not more so. The iPod is more than a music player, it's a whole state of mind in a way, it has its own culture and identity which the mini just doesnt have. (at least not yet) I also know that the iPod mini is more than fine for a large market of consumers, I guess it's just not for me, although for a few days I thought it was.

I encourge everyone who has ordered an iPod mini but hasn't had it ship yet to please re-consider your order, I did, and I think I made the right decision. :)

Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I couldnt agree with you more. The ipods are small enough and for only 50 dollars more your getting 11 more gig. I bought the old 5 gig a while ago and constantly have to re adjust my list. Its not that annoying but there isnt a day that goes by that i dont wish i had gotten more memory.
 
The definitely prefer the iPod over the mini. The mini just doesn't have enough storage for me. I have seen both (including all the mini colors, i was at MWSF). To me the iPod is small enough, i dont need anything smaller.

While I would agree about not wanting to get your iPod dirty, that goes away after a month or so. I have had an iPod (in varying sizes) for almost 2 years now and I don't think I could use one that only has 4 gigs of storage on it. I just love having the variety of music available without having to worry about reloading new music every couple of days. The only thing I have to worry about is if it is charged or not. The battery on my oldest iPod is still running stong.

Good choice on going with the 15 over the mini. I dont think you will be disappointed
 
The "original" iPod and iPod mini serve completeley different purposes in my views. I wanted a "full sized" iPod to put my entire music library AND use several GB as an external FW HD. I bought my wife an iPod mini because I don't want her running with a $500 piece of hardware with every song I own on it when she runs. She has no need for ~3500 songs bouncing around. The mini has PLENTY of capacity for her and the size (and pink-ness) works well for her. I would not consider both of them for the same purpose. My $0.02
 
i agree that the mini and "original" ipod serve different purposes...

the mini is meant for people with a small music collection and/or people who want something that is smaller/tougher than the original

the regular ipod is all about having all your music and making a fashion statement at the sametime

so you should pick which one you want according to which group you fall into
 
Originally posted by Soma_Addict
The definitely prefer the iPod over the mini. The mini just doesn't have enough storage for me. I have seen both (including all the mini colors, i was at MWSF). To me the iPod is small enough, i dont need anything smaller.
Click to expand...

Not to pick on you, Soma_Addict, but your post contained a couple of things that keep coming up and keep getting under my skin.

First, the matter of the amount of storage on the mini versus a full-sized iPod. It reminds me of the complaints some critics of the iTunes Music Store have, that the songs aren't ripped at a high enough bit rate and that they want the cover art and the liner notes that come with a CD. To them I keep thinking, "Fair enough, but what's the dilemma? Keep buying CDs then. You get the art and the notes, plus you can rip the tracks in a manner to your own satisfaction. Other people have other wants and needs, though, and the iTMS appears to scratch their itch." I have the same response to the "the mini just doesn't have enough storage for me" argument. Fair enough, but what's the dilemma? Buy a full-sized iPod. I have one myself; the extra room is great. Other people have other wants and needs, though, and the iPod mini is for them.

Which brings me to my second point: The physical size. That's one of the factors in the want/need equation. The iPod *is* tiny. But in an arena where people obsess over a couple of ounces of difference in weight between PowerBook revisions, I'd think people would be a little more sympathetic to the desire some people have for something even tinier. My girlfriend, for instance, is considering a mini because the cumulative weight of her cell phone, her PDA, her iBook, and all of the accoutrements of femininity that she carries with her has her looking for any possible opportunities to shave off a couple of ounces here or there to reduce the overall load. Having to shuffle songs back and forth, onto and off of the iPod mini, doesn't really bother her. In fact, she's kind of excited about the prospect of creating specific playlists for specific situations, kind of like a mega-mix-tape.

(Again, Soma_Addict, no offense meant. You just happened to conveniently put those two points right next to each other in your post, which made it easy for me to quote.)
 
As much as I love the form factor of the mini, I already have 3.7GB of music on my computer, and plan to get a lot more. I don't feel like every day shuffling playlists onto and off of my iPod, forever worrying about not having enough room etc...
Click to expand...

And I believe you made the right decision considering your situation. I bought a 20GB in 01/02 and was hesitant to run/work out with it. So I've been hauling this $10 walkman around trying to get some adrenaline off FM radio which has become nothing short of a joke these days. What I needed was a small mp3 player to supplement my iPod. I tossed around spending $100-150 on a flash-based POS with zero GUI but then the minis came out so I bit (silver). I think all of this mini versus 15 gig debating would be cut 90% if Apple would have released a 2GB mini instead of a 4. Nonetheless, as I have posted before these minis are unreal.
 
Originally posted by Macophile
(Again, Soma_Addict, no offense meant. You just happened to conveniently put those two points right next to each other in your post, which made it easy for me to quote.)
Click to expand...

No problem.
 
Originally posted by phrancpharmD
The "original" iPod and iPod mini serve completeley different purposes in my views. I wanted a "full sized" iPod to put my entire music library AND use several GB as an external FW HD. I bought my wife an iPod mini because I don't want her running with a $500 piece of hardware with every song I own on it when she runs. She has no need for ~3500 songs bouncing around. The mini has PLENTY of capacity for her and the size (and pink-ness) works well for her. I would not consider both of them for the same purpose. My $0.02
Click to expand...

I dont know about this... I feel that my music library as well as other people i know has grown quite a bit since aquiring an ipod. When i got my 5 gig thats all i needed, now its kind of a hassel to decide what i feel like putting on there. I think that alot of people with minis will soon find themselves in a similar situation and may be kicking themseleves in the ass for not shelling out the extra 50 for 11 extra gigs.
 
LaMerVipere, are you trying to convince us, or yourself? Good choice either way, but everyone else has their own reasons too, and can make up their own mind. I don't get that everyone has to be in agreement, and IF some of us are 'thinking different' and choosing the product they want for WHATEVER reason - price, size, power, colour - they are wrong. Not really, they are making a choice.

That is not aimed at you in particular LaMerVipere, apart from the first comment, it just get's boring.

Marc
 
Depending on my mood, I like everything from George Strait to Ice Cube and back around to Green Day and a little bit of Fuel. I need a large capacity iPod. My twenty gigger is almost full already. (Should that be gigga, so it doesn't have the racist meaning?) My wife, on the other hand, doesn't listen to a whole lot of music. She could use a way to bring her religious music to work with her, and she likes some country and pop, but she doesn't usually jam to rap and rock unless she's with me. And, she loves the pink mini. She'll be getting one for her birthday, I hope.
 
I originally had a 10GB but I took it back because the 15GB was released after some thought about the price/GB I bought the 40GB. The reason is because I want to be able to store my entire home folder on the drive and that takes up nearly 40GB by itself. The point is the space on a iPod isn't useless if you aren't using it for music. Remember this is an external hard drive you are buying.
 
I ended up selling my 30GB iPod to get a Mini for a single reason, working out. Yes both are small, but the Mini lends itself to running and lifting weights. Small capacity doesn't matter unless your workout lasts an entire day. Apple knows that the Mini will be a hit with the workout crowd. Why else would there be an Apple-branded armband as a launch accessory? If all you want is to carry all of your music, get an iPod. If you take your music to the gym, seriously consider the Mini.

Hickman
 
Originally posted by Brian Hickman
If you take your music to the gym, seriously consider the Mini.
Click to expand...

I was getting ready to go running last night and I thought "Wow, an ipod mini would be great for this." but then I realized that they're $250.. there's no way I'm dropping that change for a running companion.

yet. :)
 
Originally posted by markjones05
I feel that my music library as well as other people i know has grown quite a bit since aquiring an ipod.
Click to expand...

That's why I got the 40GB: my music takes just over half its capacity, and I have ~16GB to spare, effectively doubling the available HD capacity of my iBook at that time. Prior to the 30's coming out, I did not even consider an iPod for reasons you state, and I wouldn't consider the mini as my PRIMARY music repository for those same reasons now. But not everyone has such capacity requirements. :)
 
I encourge everyone who has ordered an iPod mini but hasn't had it ship yet to please re-consider your order, I did, and I think I made the right decision.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you're trying to validate your decision here to me.

To each his/her own. I dumped my 3rd G 15gigger after getting my mini Saturday. I have short playlists (no more than a couple of hundred songs each) and 1,000 song capacity is plenty for me. Personally, I feel the size and the durability of the new mini are worth more to me than the extra capacity of the larger iPod. It's going to be pretty hard to scratch up this new mini, whereas you could scratch the iPod just by looking at it wrong.
 
Originally posted by arn
To each his own - but I hope you had a chance to see the iPod Mini vs the 3rd Gen iPod in person before deciding.

arn
Click to expand...

Ditto.

Just because you crave the extra space doesn't mean other people think like you. As advertised and shown at MacWorld 2004 @ SF, the mini iPod is worth every penny for its size. You really need to see it, feel it, and use it in person to appreciate the mini iPod. Personally, the I think the entire shell of the mini being anodized instead of the plastic front and mirror back fo the regular is more appealing and will take a better beating. The mirror thing's just asking to be scratched up. Aside from that, there's not enough battery life in one charge to play all 3800 tracks on the 15GB, so why bother? 1K on the mini is plenty.
 
Originally posted by FriarTuck
Ain't it great to have a choice between two great options?

What a beautiful situation for Apple. And us.
Click to expand...

That is the best summation of the whole mini-vs-ipod debate I've seen so far. :)

I'm really hoping I can get the time to run by an Apple Store soon and see the mini for myself (resellers like Target & Best Buy don't generally offer the same "try it out" experience).
 
My wife wants an iPod, but there is no way that she is going to have more than a few GB of songs (she isn't going to want to manage the, rip them, etc etc). Even if she did store 5-10-15GB of songs on her iBook, she'd never listen to them all. Plus, she didn't even blink at the price --- to her, 4GB is "a lot" of music, and my iPod cost $300, so $250 is less than that, and that's good. Plus, the mini is smaller, and, it comes in pink.

That being said I, I just got her a 10G 3Gen (see this thread). ;) I may be buying her a mini this summer, but hey, that's the breaks.

To my wife, 4GB, 10GB, heck, 40GB is just all tons and tons of song space (too much probably). To her, size, style and price are important, so the mini is (almost) the best deal.
 
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