iPod The Death of the iPod Mini... big mistake.

[prp134]

Well I dunno about you guys, but I LOVE the Nano!!!!!!!!! I just seen it at the store yesterday and Im going to replace my boring ipod mini this Nano is way cooler than the Mini, oh yeah just to touch on the storage capacity, I have a couple of friends that have iPods the HUGE ones and they havent even reached their capacity, I had a Mini and I was never able to fill it completely not even half way so the capacity issues is not a problem for me.

YAy! Nano and now the wait for the Macintels......

 

[ReanimationLP]

Refurbed iPod minis can be had for 160 on Apples Refurb site.

 

[0098386]

Happens all the time.

apparently its cool to downgrade. mobile phones got nice and small (maybe in some cases too small) but grew to giant proportions with 3G rearing its ugly head. then along came UMD; lower resolutions, costing more, restricted to small screen etc over DVD.

nah. this happens all the time now. we don't want progress, seemingly. we want to pay more for less.

all they needed to do was stick a colour screen in the Mini range. thats all they needed. it'd be cheaper, the battery would last longer. i like the Nano. i commend the team who developed and designed it. but its no Mini

 

[the_freddinator]

Well I dunno about you guys, but I LOVE the Nano!!!!!!!!! I just seen it at the store yesterday and Im going to replace my boring ipod mini this Nano is way cooler than the Mini, oh yeah just to touch on the storage capacity, I have a couple of friends that have iPods the HUGE ones and they havent even reached their capacity, I had a Mini and I was never able to fill it completely not even half way so the capacity issues is not a problem for me.

YAy! Nano and now the wait for the Macintels......

Not everyone is like your friends. The functionality of a large-capacity iPod is not only that you can hold 20k songs, but at the same time, you can back up information to it, use it as a portable hard drive, etc. People commenting on the size on this forum are for the most part not quite as concerned with what's 'new' and 'in' but rather the functionality and reliability of the device. The Nano having a 2/4 gig flash drive raises an eyebrow. (Most) people can come to the quick realization that this is for the most part an accesory. Sure, you could argue that the large-capacity ipods are accesories, but they're much more useful accessories than the new Nano.

I for one have used my iPod as a portable drive- much less now than before because I've run in to loads of iPod problems. but at the same time, I have 11 gigs of music (and album art).

In short: The functionality of the Nano is not nearly as useful (for some people) as the regular ipod line, and not quite as useful (or durable) as the minis.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

In short: The functionality of the Nano is not nearly as useful (for some people) as the regular ipod line, and not quite as useful (or durable) as the minis.

You obviously did not see the stress test on ARS Technica. Nano Stress Test To say the nano is not as durable as the nano is not based in fact. Truth is, because the nano is flash based, not hard drive based, it is MORE durable than the mini. It also contains MORE features than the mini like color screen, photo viewing, screen lock, better battery life, etc. The ONLY feature the mini has over the nano is firewire.

As for comparing the nano to the full size iPod...that is like comparing the merits of a $50,000 BMW 530 to a $50,000 BMW 330c convertible. Both are great cars but each serves its own demographic.

Personally, I've got one of each and have a use for the different form factors and features.

 

[the_freddinator]

You obviously did not see the stress test on ARS Technica. Nano Stress Test To say the nano is not as durable as the nano is not based in fact. Truth is, because the nano is flash based, not hard drive based, it is MORE durable than the mini. It also contains MORE features than the mini like color screen, photo viewing, screen lock, better battery life, etc. The ONLY feature the mini has over the nano is firewire.

As for comparing the nano to the full size iPod...that is like comparing the merits of a $50,000 BMW 530 to a $50,000 BMW 330c convertible. Both are great cars but each serves its own demographic.

Personally, I've got one of each and have a use for the different form factors and features.

Sorry- by durable I meant that it gets scratched just as easily as the normal iPod line (seeing as it's the same polished material). The mini's body is made of a different material.

 

[Nanda Devi]

i still love the mini- the anodized aluminum is fantastic. shame they didn't have a color screen. i imagine they'll become a bit of a collectable now.

My thoughts exactly... when I heard they were being discontinued, I was just glad I had bought a mini while they were available and now I have something that's sort of a rarity. The finish on the mini is great because it's much more durable than the plastic, and it's small enough for me to run/work out with so I've really got no complaints. Not having a color screen isn't a drawback for me, either.

The Nano looks sweet of course, and I'd buy one if I had a need for it, but I've got my mini for workouts and my fist gen. for my home stereo, so I'm all set iPod-wise.

If anything, I wish I would have waited on the mini and bought a Shuffle instead when those came out, because I basically use my mini just like a Shuffle at the gym -- I have one playlist on shuffle and rarely look at the screen, just skip through songs until one I feel like listening to comes up.

ND

 

[chi4julia]

I think more than anything else Apple is trying to avoid standing still (and therefore being an easier target). By introducing a new player it makes it harder for competitors to catch up. I agree that the mini was nice, and that the colors were an attraction, but it's not like Apple can't reintroduce colors in the future. Keep changing.

In the long run though, I think Apple realizes that iPods will become less and less important as mobile phonese become effective music players. Dominating that market is the real competition in years to come.

YES! Change indeed. As everything, iPods should change and evolve.
I would really like for iPod to become what "Pod" stand for.

 

[Lacero]

Did you notice Apple was the only company capable of creating an iPod mini killer? I mean, they really outdid themselves.

I like the mini form factor of smooth continuous anodized aluminum. Not prone to smudges and scratches. The clean finish of the nano is a step backwards in my opinion.

The belt clip of the mini was also ingenious. Can't believe they didn't carry something like that forward onto the nano design. Apple is so frustratingly weird in that sense.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

The nano's awesome for me, as I like the smaller size. I dislike taking my 20GB to school, or other "risky" places. I had a 512 MB shuffle, but I sold that to a friend for $80 to help fund my nano purchase. The color screen and larger capacity mixed with its small size is the real selling point for me.

 

[servognome]

Did you notice Apple was the only company capable of creating an iPod mini killer?

I think that is a great point, Apple's biggest competition is Apple.
Apple has pretty much taken the HD MP3 market. A 6GB mini with color screen is great, but all it would be is the "low end" iPod. It wouldn't really grow the marketshare.

The only way to grow is to go after the flash market. Now with the nano, Apple has created a "high end" flash based product. It blows away its direct competition, the other flash players, and with the 4GB limit does not directly compete with the HD based "high capacity" product line.

By creating more distinct product lines, Apple can also get multiple sales to the same customer. People are more likely to own a shuffle/nano and an iPod, than a mini and an iPod