Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9160LL/A (Silver) OLD MODEL
by Apple Computer
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Our Price: $304.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $34.99 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9160LL/A (Silver) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Impressive, with minor bugs
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased my green apple ipod mini a few months ago and overall have been extremely impressed. The sound quality is impeccable, and the controls are intuitive and quick. A few minor bugs, though.Pros: First and foremost is sound quality. Even with relatively low bitrate(120-140) i rarely noticed any static. The new clickwheel works amazingly well, especially well when used one-thumbed (compared to other mp3 players.) Its small size and easy synchronization with your computer and iTunes are pluses as well. I have a PC, and Apple finally got something right. It is a breeze to add songs from cd's into itunes and then onto my ipod. It will usually open up itunes and update it for you. It also pops up as a portable hard drive which is very useful in lieu of a flash memory drive. While on the matter of transfer, it was extremely speedy, even with USB 1.1, taking only about 20 minutes for 400 songs(i have a rather limited library). USB 2 is much faster, so keep that in mind if transfer speed is an issue. It rarely (if ever) skips, thanks to 32mb of flash memory that it stores the music on, thus it has nothing that moves and skips while it is playing. The most aesthetically pleasing thing about the mini is its aluminum (colored!) case. IT resists scratches very well, and does not smudge at all like the original. Another perk of the mini is it comes with a usb cable and not just a firewire one like the regular one, which would set me back another 30=40$. Finally, I love the screen. It is clear, even at its size, and the backlight works fantastically.
Cons: THe biggest problems I had were swallowing the big price tag and small battery life. 250$ seems like a lot when you can get a similar device for 50$ less. While the whole unit is remarkably small, in order to get it this size the manufacturers cut out battery size. THis is usually not a big problem as long as you remember to plug it into your computer or a wall outlet, but it is cumbersome on trips because you always need to bring the power cord along. Also, The ipod never shuts off. This is a bit of a mixed blessing as there is no start up time, but coupled with its small battery life, it can only go a few days without being recharged, even if you do not play any music. Plus, it has a relatively small hard drive, holding only about 1000 songs, paling in comparison to the larger ipods. But I don't have any use for a 40 gig ipod, so this is good for those who don't have a large amount or music. It freezes occaisionally, but this is not a suprise, as it is a computer and computers do that. The scroll wheel is occaisionally finicky if you want to move down say, one item, which would not be a problem with another mp3 player with buttons instead. The games are also difficult on this small screen (especially solitaire) but again, not something to base your purchase on. Finally, I sometimes found that it was too small, specifically too flat for its width and height. I usually keep the included belt clip on it, just so it feels bigger and sturdier in my hand.
As a whole, I was extremely satisfied with this purchase, with just a few small bugs that are few and far between. I highly recommend it if you do not have a large music collection or are looking for something for excersize, etc. i also recommend the Sony MDR-EX70LP Earbud Headphones for use with it. Tey are an excellent match.
Customer Review: 3.5 Stars actually. Great but still far from perfection.
Summary: 3 Stars
Before buying, do research. Google for ipod dirty secret. Other must see venues are ipodlounge and macfixit.Anyone buying any kind of ipod should be wary of the battery. Is apple purposely making these batteries irreplacable so that they eventually wear out? Very shady...
On the plus side, it's everything you loved about the regular ipod, but in a smaller size. The storage capacity is enough for most casual buyers, but very pricey (time magazine reports the profit from one ipod sale around $170US). If it were any cheaper, it would kill the sales of the regular ipods. The itunes software is actually more impressive than the device itself. I cannot emphasize that enough.
More critically speaking....
WHY no radio tuner? Especially at this price! It would be so simple to add one too. Radio is essential for NPR, BBC or your local public radio station for news.
The earbuds are actually kind of large, and were painful to keep and remove from my ears after less than an hour of usage. And why no button or dial on the unit itself to control the volume directly? The reason is to make you buy the wired remote with volume control and pause/play buttons, for $40US. And why the strange adapter on the bottom to connect to your computer? Surely they could have put USB or 1394 (firewire) ports on the device itself. The reason is to make you buy their proprietary cables if you ever lose them or need extras.
The click wheel is a very good idea, but it somehow feels kind of cheap and chalky to the touch. Undoubtedly, the button labels will scratch off with use and the wheel is still (over)sensitive as ever. Grazing over the wheel to reach and press the wheel in for the buttons, it can scroll accidentally much the same way many laptop owners move the mouse trackpad while they are typing.
The address book, calendar and PDA functions only work with Apple computers with OS 10 ical and addressbook. If you have a Palm Pilot of some kind with palm desktop, you need palm2ipod, which a hobbyist created. This utility only exports palm desktop calendar and address book so far (no "to do" list or notepad yet). Ideally, Apple should create this kind of support for PC users, not some grassroots DIY movement.
The belt clip that it comes with is a plastic shell with a dot of rubber behind it to help keep it in place. It snaps in from the top, and feels somewhat secure. I could see it loosening and being unusable after some time of being snapped in and out constantly.
The unit itself feels very sturdy, almost like I could stand on it without breaking it. It is actually much heavier than it looks. It's not too small, where it would be really easy to lose (and people lose their cell phones and keys all the time). The texture is a matte finish that does not glare and get smudgy fingerprints all over it. I wouldn't trust it on a jog or workout at the gym, since it has moving parts that could potentially be damaged. When will ipods be totally shockproof and waterproof?
The LCD screen is a little bigger than most cell phone screens, and readability will vary by person. In light of that, the "Now Playing" view, does not display the name of the album. The backlight only lights up the screen but very nicely so.
If this device is the best of it's kind (it is), then the competition is really, really awful.
Customer Review: Worst Customer Service I ever seen for a company
Summary: 1 Stars
I would surely wait until they have this thing working, or get ready for hours on the phone. I have three different computers, so its not the computer, its either thier software or unit.This is my letter to Apple:
I cannot begin to convey the frustration I have encountered with your company this past week. Over the past two days I have been on hold and spoke to a total of seven techs, non of which could solve my problem.
Bought an I-POD mini directly from you, had it engraved, waited a month, received it yesterday.
Have been on the phone to customer service 4 times for 4 hours and 7 different techs (once being hung up on after an hour on hold). After all that, my final answer was, "send an email to iTunes". (I did receive a reply from Itunes, they said contact Apple technical support again, and they have no voice technical assistance).
After 4 hours on the phone, reloading software, downloading software from websites, resetting the unit twice, trying different computers, my answer and solution is "send an email to iTunes? You got to be kidding?
My names is XXXXXX(age 46), my serial number is U2XXXXXXXX. Now I have to wait at least another 24-72 hours for a response from i Tunes, this is poor customer service to say the least.
I know this is wrong, I called customer technical service again, this time for one hour and fifteen minutes, I just asked can I just send this back. "NO" You will be charged a restocking fee. "Maybe its not defective" "I will talk to an engineer and call you back some time next week" (I guess I am suppose to wait by my phone?)
You know, I really don't care about the restocking fee, even the total cost of the ipod. My time is for exceeded $300. At this point I am just ready to throw it in the trash. I bought it from Apple for $250, downloaded 60 songs at $60 dollars, but to be treated like this is not excusable. What it has shown me is that you service is terrible and there is no respect for my hours and hours of time. What seems to be more important is putting me and your new product through test after test that you should have done before sending out the product.
There is no way I would ever buy another Apple product or buy your stock (foolishly believing that you may have a good product and service with iTunes and ipod). (By a dell, sony, etc., there is no hours and hours of hold times and "we will call you back next week")
If you cannot resolve the technical issues with this, I will charge back my credit card for the purchase and you can tell me where to ship the unit back to. If not, I'll take the three hundred dollar hit and spread the word to other potential customers and stay away for life. I have kept a copy of this request and this terrible service for my credit card provider also.
Signed,
XXXXXX
After all these hours and money and time I have invested, could not someone at least call me?
Customer Review: never thought I'd get the mini
Summary: 4 Stars
I scoffed at the price of the mini when first announced likethe typical software geek "Why the heck would I buy this thing
when I can get the 15GB iPod for $50 more?". Then I went to the gym
while using my Nike PSA Play 120 with 128MB of flash. I'm tired of wrestling
with the crappy rio music manager software that always crashes, or
windows media player which sometimes will recognize my device
and sometimes won't. I want something that I can use at the gym as well as
use for walking around that is small enough to strap on my arm and fit in my pocket with
my phone.
I purchased this mini yesterday at the new apple store here in
SF (was surprised they had it in stock). The only problem I've
had (thus the reason for only 4 stars) is that it locked up twice
within the first couple of hours. It's been another day and while it hasn't
locked up again I think I'll still take it back and swap it out.
Other users have reported the same problem with the mini so beware.
If you do a google for "ipod mini diagnostic" you can find out how to run diagnostics and checkout
the drive and the disk to make sure all is OK.
At any rate, the quality of this player is very nice all things
considered assuming there isn't an epidemic with the lockups.
I haven't tested how many hours of battery I get but
I've had it on here and there all day today and am halfway
drained as I type this at 9:10 PM. The sound is of decent quality to me at least.
(I listen only to MP3s at 192 or higher bit rate and have a good quality stereo, HK AVR520 and Cambridge
Soundworks Newton Series? MC300 speakers and P500 Powered
Subwoofer, and headphones (Sony MDR-V700DJ)) This gives a
reference for all you audiophiles out there so you know where
my opinion scales. For small audio buds the sounds is very
good (among the best I've heard, usually I throw the headphones
out that come with any portable).
The user interface is of course the best that can be had in
a portable device and better than the iPod due to the buttons
being integrated with the scroll wheel, meaning you never have
to leave the confines of the wheel searching for the right
button to press. I'll go for a run tomorrow with it to test
out the armband but I don't envision any problems. The
construction is very solid and though it doesn't weigh a whole
lot it feels very solid and of high quality.
ITunes is a great piece of software and you can have it just
pick a bunch of random songs to dump on to your player if you
have more than 4 gigs like I do. I get about 680 songs on the
player with my high bit rate rips. 4 gigs is plenty of room
and won't annoy me to change music every once in awhile.
Customer Review: The more competition there is, the less great it seems
Summary: 3 Stars
A lot of what you pay for with the iPod of any sort is the name, and the design. Apple is excellent at making a streamlined design, and if that's what you're looking for, they've got you covered. So far as features to price ratio, however, they're not really that great.
I have had four or five iPods in the last few years, so I'm hardly one to say they're not worth the price. While I do love my iPods, I realize they're not really for everyone. I got the mini for working out -- the armband that you can get for it fit my arm a lot better then the behemeth sized one for the regular iPod.
They minis are only about 4 gigs in size. When I say "only", I mean in relation to other MP3 players. 4 gigs is actually enough room for just about anyone. After all, not many people listen to every track of every CD they own. However, if you do, the mini probably is not for you. For me, personally, it's fine, because the music I listen to is dependent on my general mood -- I'll listen to the same "set" of songs over and over for a week or three, then I'll cycle it out for something new, but I *never* listen to all my music at once.
The mini, in addition to just playing your music (but not your WMAs!), will also do some basic calendar, contact, and notes functionality, along with a couple of games. It sort of wants to be a PDA, but it doesn't really cut it. I'll stick to carrying around an extra device for that functionality, so for me those are more "throw away" features.
I don't like the new click wheel. I find myself, more often then not, changing my selection right before I click, so I end up with the wrong song, or menu item. It often takes me two or three tries. I'm not sure if it's because the wheel is overly sensitive, or maybe my nails make it harder to operate (and my nails are not terribly long, especially for a girl).
I've also had a problem with the iPod Mini locking up on me, usually after I've used it in my car. I will unplug it from the audio jack in my car (not the power adapter) and bring it inside, and it will no longer power on. I'll have to press some combination of play and menu, hold for 10 seconds, before it will come back to life. In fact, I returned a previous Mini because of this problem and the new one seems to suffer the same issue.
On the other hand, all the iPod's I have had have stood up very well to the tests I've put them through. I've kept my iPod Mini in an "iSkin" in the entire time I've had it, which may help, but either way, it has taken a beating in my purse, at the gym, and dropping off the treadmill. Definitely well built in that way.
For me, the positives outweigh the negatives, mostly due to the fact that it takes a beating and is small but not too tiny. However, it's probably not the best choice for everyone.