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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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9160LL/A (Silver) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: More or less met my expectations.
Summary: 4 Stars
As with most high-end products, you'll hear both good and bad things about it, in equal quantity. I held off buying the iPod mini until the price went right down, and with that time now here, I went online and bought one right away. I chose the green one, in case you're interested. Overall, I am very pleased with it, and the pros definitely outweigh the cons.
With that in mind, here is my breakdown of my iPod experiences thus far. Keep in mind that I have had it for about one month at the time of writing this.
PROS:
- Excellent build quality and durability. It is almost like Murphy's Law with me, that the most expensive gadgets I buy will always be the first to get dropped. I have dinged my iPod around, and it has sustained absolutely no damage. The nice finish doesn't attract smudges and fingerprints like the regular iPods do, and the tactile quality of the click wheel (much better than on previous models) is excellent.
- The sound quality is excellent, and I have compared it against many other jukebox MP3 players, as well as many flash-based ones.
- The iPod and iTunes supports AAC, which offers good compression of your songs without the sound quality suffering.
- 4 GB may not be on par with the 40 GB model, but I found it to be all that I need, and I am a big music collector. I have no need to take ALL of my music with me.
- The iTunes software is much better than Windows Media Player or the proprietary, copyright-protected nightmare that is Sony's burning software. Importing and transferring has been relatively hassle-free. Loading songs onto your iPod is simply a matter of drag and drop.
- The "Cool Factor." This is an iPod after all.
CONS:
- The battery life. This is a common complaint, and the only real caveat I have against the iPod Mini. The player boasts "up to" 8 hours, but that is under ideal conditions. Ideal meaning that you do not use the backlight, the EQ, or skip through songs too much. On average, I get around 6 hours total...but I am a song-skipper, and I like to have the volume cranked right up.
- Make sure your thumbs are clean while using it. The white click wheel can get dirty rather easily.
- The songs will transfer super-fast over USB 2.0 or Firewire, but don't even think about doing it on a USB 1.1. Most computers don't have the aforementioned ports as a standard, so you will probably have to shell out more money for an expansion card for your PC.
- Those trademark white headphones might make you a tempting target for muggers. Use generic ones instead.
Despite the few drawbacks, I am happy with my purchase. Some other reviewers have commented on everything from bugs, skipping, to downright freezing or dying, which I have no experienced despite heavy use so far.
Customer Review: What every jogger needs to know!
Summary: 1 Stars
Not sure if you've heard about it - but Apple Company may have a much bigger customer relations debacle on the horizon than the recent battery life problem. Personally, after what I've been through, I'm ready to launch a campaign to let everyone know that Apple is blatantly misleading the public about their newest hot item - the iPod Mini. Here's my story:I purchased a Mini, along with the arm band accessory for the express reason of listening to music while jogging. At first, I loved it - the sound was great, it was very easy to use - and of course, very cool to look at and show off to friends, etc. Then, on my sixth use, the iPod completely "froze." No sound, no nothing. None of the buttons worked and it would not reset. It had completely locked up. I called Apple immediately, and explained the situation. The Apple representative, who apparently had heard of this problem before, quickly let me know that, "...As shocking as this may sound, the iPods are not made to jog with." I could not believe what I was hearing. I indicated that the Apple website specifically suggests jogging as a recommended activity with the Mini. Apple even advertises the Mini with people break dancing - which is even more "high impact" than jogging! Furthermore, they sell a Flexible Armband for the iPod that clearly states to be used for JOGGING (which I was using when it died).
I have since spoken to numerous Apple representatives to find one who would agree to help me with my problem. They've made comments like, "The mini is similar to your home computer, and you don't jog with that, do you?" Another Rep added, "...yes you can jog with it, but we cannot guarantee it's performance." And my favorite, "We are striving to produce a Mini that you can jog with, but we have not completely perfected the Mini." I indicated to them, that they are CLEARLY engaging in false advertising, but unbelievably, they responded with, "No, we're not, because the Mini
will work fine for approximately 20 minutes of jogging, before it may "freeze."
The only "fix" they have offered is, when the iPod "freezes" let the battery completely die (which could take hours), then re-charge it and try it again. If it is still frozen, I will have to call Apple and re-boot the Mini's hard drive - which will cause me to lose any music saved on it.
Evidently Apple did not adequately test their iPod Mini product before putting it on the market, and now, they have decided to continue their deceptive advertising practices to promote a product which they now know is not suited to an activity which many customers will assume is an acceptable use. Clearly, they do not stand behind their products and do not offer acceptable solutions to their customers' problems.
Customer Review: The latest news about iPod mini and more...
Summary: 5 Stars
**** LATEST update to iPod family ****
- iPod & iPod photo lines merged; no more iPod photo 30 GB
- iPod comes in two capacities - 20 GB ($299), 60 GB ($399) with color screen & photo support
- U2 iPod (20 GB) down to $329 from $349 - with color screen & photo support
- iPod shuffle 1 GB down to $129 from $149
- iPod 60 GB down to $399 from $449
- new version of iTunes (4.9) that support podcasts
Apple announced a major upgrade to the iPod lineup today (23 Feb 2005) and here is how it affects the mini:
The biggest advantage is the reduction in price ($ per GB) and improvement in battery life. Another significant change is that USB 2.0 is being emphasized although FireWire continues to be supported. AC adapter is USB based instead of FireWire and the FireWire based AC adapter still sells as a separate product for $29.
> A new model, iPod mini 6 GB is introduced for $249
> iPod mini 4 GB now priced at $199 ($50 down from earlier price)
> Change in colors - now mini is available in new shades of Silver, Blue, Pink, and Green (the Gold color is discontinued)
> Major improvement in battery life - up to 18 hours (was 8 hours earlier)
> AC adapter ($29) and firewire cable ($19) no longer ship with mini (have to be bought seperately if you need)
> iPod mini 4 GB and 6 GB now ship with only three things: earphones, belt clip, and USB 2.0 cable
> The indicators on the click wheel now match the color of the iPod mini
Also, the higher models of iPod have been upgraded:
> iPod 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 30 GB (new product) replaces the 40 GB iPod photo and the regular iPod 40 GB
> iPod photo 60 GB now costs $150 less -- $449 instead of $599
> iPod photo 30 GB costs $349 ($150 less than iPod photo 40 GB and $50 less than regular iPod 40 GB)
> iPod dock ($39), AV cable ($19), carrying case ($29), and firewire cable ($19) do not ship with iPod photo (you may not really need them)
> Now we get three things with iPod photo: earphones, USB based AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable
> In additon to the above, a firewire cable continues to ship with iPod 20 GB & iPod U2 edition
> iPod photo Camera Connector is introduced - this can be used for connecting your digital camera directly to the iPod
With these changes, there is an interesting $50 gap between:
> iPod 20 GB and iPod photo 30 GB
> iPod mini 6 GB and iPod 20 GB (as earlier)
> iPod mini 4 GB and iPod mini 6 GB
> iPod shuffle 1 GB and iPod mini 4 GB
> iPod shuffle 512 MB and iPod shuffle 1 GB (as earlier)
I am sure iPods are going to win more and more friends.
Customer Review: Recommended, but With a Few Caveats.
Summary: 3 Stars
When Apple launched its aggressive marketing campaign for the iPod, I reacted with a degree of resistance. Why bother getting an iPod? I own hundreds of CDs, and the disc player I already have is fine as it is. But once I got my hands on the mini, it instantly changed the way I listen to music. The iPod mini is a nice way to listen to/store your favorite tunes, and it deserves both praise and criticism.
THE PROS?
It's easy to install. All you have to do is recharge your iPod mini, connect it to your computer, transfer your music library on your hard drive to iTunes (which you will need to install either from the website or the enclosed CD), and you're ready to play your iPod. It's that simple. If a dolt like me can operate this thing, so can you.
Store up to 1,000 tunes. But that figure assumes that the average song you load is 4 minutes long. Because I like to listen to a lot of extended dance remixes that are 6 minutes or longer, I really have only 700 tunes max on my iPod. Still, that's a lot of music to carry.
Easy to carry and you'll look cool. The iPod mini is my new buddy at the gym, where almost everybody has one. With the right accessories (sold separately), you can clip it to your pants, wear it with an arm wrist, or carry it in the palm of your hand while running.
THE CONS?
Flimsy headphones. The iPod mini has decent sound quality, but you wouldn't know it by using the headphones, which deliver a thin and hollow sound. Not only that, but one of the speakers has already blown out after only a week's worth of use. Apple should be ashamed of themselves for manufacturing such weak headphones.
8 hour battery life? I don't think so! Battery life is such a controversial issue with the iPod, because so many people have claimed that it's much less than 8 hours. If you don't use the click wheel and keep the volume at a low level, then I'm sure you may get 8 hours if you're lucky. But I like to turn up the bass on mine, use the equalizer, and set the volume relatively high - all of which gave me a battery life of only 3 hours. So, the more features you use on your iPod mini, the less likely you'll get anything close to 8 hours. (Note: the new iPod minis now have a battery life of up to 18 hours, which is more than double that of the one I currently have)
THE BOTTOM LINE:
All in all, I like and recommend the iPod mini to anyone with a fairly large CD collection and an up-to-date computer. But it comes with its flaws so consumers should be advised before jumping in. And depending on how often you listen to music, you way want to skip this and get the 20GB, the new 30GB iPod photo or even the 40GB for just a few dollars more. Overall, it gets my green light.
Customer Review: A Brilliant Idea
Summary: 5 Stars
The iPod Mini is quite possibly one of the best birthday presents I've ever received. That it allows you to have such a mixture of music, all of your favorite songs and artists, in one compact player is amazing and so very necessary to a music lover's life. To never again have to cart along tons of CDs on vacations and road trips, etc., is such a joy. The cost, initially, is indeed overwhelming--especially for someone who wasn't so lucky as to get one as a gift--but if you really think about it, the product compensates for the cost in a week.
Able to fit comfortably in the smallest of my pants' pockets, the Mini is perfect for use at any time. And even though it doesn't have as large a storage capacity as the slightly larger iPod's, it still mantains a good size collection that, even if you were to listen to it straight for a number of days, you'd never run out of new songs.
My one main complaint with the product is the battery life. As another reviewer mentioned, the eight hour battery life you are quoted when you go to purchase one is indeed a myth. I can get three, maybe four, consecutive hours tops out of mine. And the battery icon is a little deceiving because when it gets down to the end of a charge it jumps a couple of times as though it can't quite figure out how much life it has left. It can go either way: you may get more time out of it than you expect, but you may also get less. It seems unbelievable that there is no true way to actually shut off the iPod, and you have to be aware that you may not actually be sending it into some kind of hibernating mode when you hold that pause button. Now, granted I'm not big time into technical gadgets--though I do find that I enjoy them--and I only recently have been using the product. There may be a way to make sure it "shuts off" to the best of it's ability, but I still advise that you be conscious of what you're doing else you will lose more battery life than you'd like. If you are taking the iPod along on a vacation it is definitely advisable to bring the charger because you will undoubtedly need it at least once during the trip. Also, as another reviewer mentioned, it's a good idea to have the lock on when you are not actively using it. The touchpad is indeed very, very sensitive (not to mention a little erratic when it's being used to search.) As a side note, I have also heard that the warranty package offered by Apple is a wise investment.
The iTunes software is easy to use and navigate, which is a definite plus, and there are a number of accessories available that will allow you to personalize your iPod. I'm sure as time passes I will run into little problems here and there, but so far I am more than pleased with this product. I can't imagine not having it in my life.