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: Apple Deserve a GOLD for their Mini-Silver iPod! A Great Buy
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know a great deal about everything, however I've been a huge fan of every iPod model since my very first purchase. I kept notes from that first purchase and every upgrade purchase I've made since then. After finally getting my Apple 4GB iPod Mini Silver M9160LL/A, I decided I would take the time to pass on my thoughts in the form of a review on Amazon.com.
I didn't ever think I would become a member of this sort of "technology cult", however Apple has just blown my mind away with their ability to consistently improve quality and impress me with style and functionality. Apple really pushed the envelope with their design and choice of color schemes.
Perfect? Not perfect, but pretty close considering I've only had a few problems with it-all of which can be taken care of with a sort of "Re-Boot"-all you need to remember is to hold down the SELECT and MENU buttons for just under 10 seconds. It seems to take care of any small issues I've had. I'll bet that most people don't put their machines through the sort of consumer testing that I do. But if you ever DO run into any problems, you can "Re-Boot" or go to the Apple website and locate your particular situation and they've convered all basis with great responses. If for any reason at all you can't locate your problem ,or if a "fix" doesn't work, simply email Apple and you'll likely have an educated response within just a few hours or less.
You will be extremely impressed with the quality of sound you'll hear on your iPod Mini. You will also notice an increase in volume as well. A salesman told me that I could expect a difference in sound but Apple wasn't really advertising each facet of this great device. He also informed me that this model will not likely have problems jumping around or skipping-improvements were definitely made and I can't imagine what any future models will have to offer!
Remember to enjoy your iPod and to not worry about anything going wrong. It's likely that you'll never run into a problem. Be certain to follow the instructions and charge for 4 hours. The rest is all about enjoying great music and being able to depend on awesome sound quality and volume improvements.
I hope this review helped and I'll be sure to keep in touch with any future developments along the iPod line. It's hard to believe all of this coming from a PURE-PC Person. That was before I discovered Apple and especially the iPods!! The truth is that I've been converted! Thanks APPLE!
Enjoy!
Pete Cannice
from Scottsdale, Arizona
Email: Horsepete@aol.com
Customer Review: The gadget of the decade
Summary: 5 Stars
I wouldn't go as far as Will Smith to hail the iPod as "the gadget of the century'", but certainly the iPod mini, along with my new Apple Powerbook, is one of the loveliest electronics gadgets I've owned over the last decade.
Since my aging Dell laptop was dying, I considered buying an external hard disk to secure my data to a new machine. Then it occurred to me that I might as well invest in the iPod to do the transfer and enjoy music at the same time. I checked both 20G white iPod and pink-colored mini at the Apple Store in SoHo. The choice was obvious: the mini had so appealing design and form factor that I couldn't resist it despite insufficient storage - my music library is about 5Gb and still growing.
It was a pleasant experience just to open the cube-shaped package, something I never felt with Dell, IBM, and even Sony.
- Mini comes with both USB and Firewire (so does the new 20Gb iPod), works with both my old PC as well as Apple Powerbook - so much for blaming Apple for its closed architecture.
- Sound quality is good, especially with AAC music format. I agree with many people that AAC offers better quality than MP3 and WMV.
- I crammed about 800 songs into Mini's 4Gb storage. Once you start building the music library, it starts growing quickly. The rumor has it that Toshiba's new 6Gb disk may be used in the next generation mini. Any increase would be welcome.
- The mini got hung up several times and I had to "reboot", but the problem disapppeared after the recent iPod software upgrade.
- Battery doesn't last for 8 hours as Apple claims. Especially when I skip/fast-forward songs often, it consumes more power. I'd say 4-5 hours, based on my experience.
In conclusion, the mini has a trade-off compared with the white iPod. You sacrifice storage and battery power for a charming design and a petite form factor. If you need more than 10Gb storage, it's better off to get the 20Gb iPod.
iPods come with higher price tags than players from Dell and Rio. But I'm willing to pay a premium for Apple striving for design and engineering perfection.
iPod has changed my perception of music listening once and forever. It's mind-boggling that I can carry my entire music collection wherever I go, in a gadget as small as a business card. Another score for Jobs & Co.
p.s.) Having said all the good stuff about ipod, I admit that nowadays I try to stay away from it, at least when I need to get work done. Otherwise, endless sweet melody, one after another, would put me into a serious sugar coma for the whole day...
Customer Review: Not perfect, but an excellent new product
Summary: 4 Stars
Since the mini's introduction, people have had a lot to say about it, but actually getting one in your hands and using it is a whole new experience. It feels better in the hand than my 3G iPod, and is roughly the size of my Sony Ericsson T616 phone.The casing is solid and looks very classy, with an aluminum finish that resists scratches and fingerprints in a way older iPods could only dream of. In the box you only get the basics; a FireWire cable, USB2 cable, earbuds (no remote), belt clip, and power adapter.
The touchwheel is truly a marvel, integrating the solid-state navigation wheel with pushable control points to save space. It makes controlling the mini easier than my 15GB unit, but at times the wheel can be too sensitive and adjust the volume as you're switching tracks.
Even though the mini has a lower screen resolution, it's still very readable, but the album name is now omitted from the Now Playing screen. The backlight is even brighter than my recently purchased 15GB unit!
As is the case with Creative's Muvo2, the iPod mini uses the 4GB Microdrive from Hitachi. Spin-up times are a bit faster with the new drive, so the delays when a song isn't in the buffer are reduced. However, file and song transfer speeds are noticeably slower over both USB and FireWire. The regular 3G iPods walk all over the mini in this respect, and since I use the data storage capabilities of the iPod quite a bit, this is a bit of a bummer.
You won't find a user-replaceable battery on the mini, it's sealed inside like it's big brothers. Apple does offer a battery replacement program for 99 bucks, or you can pick up 2 years of AppleCare for half that. The typical lifetime of a battery is anywhere from 18-32 months, depending on usage and charging habits. I'm sure that third-party vendors will come up with do-it-yourself kits like they have done with older units.
Price-wise, the mini isn't a bad deal considering the drive inside it goes for much more at retail. Compared to other iPods, it's not so great, since an extra 50 bucks will get you almost quadruple the capacity. I'm sure most buying it will be looking at the great form factor and the fact that it's the cheapest iPod though, I bought in for the size and scratch resistance alone.
The iPod mini might not be for everyone, but for those who don't have to have their entire music collections with them or people who want a more compact unit, the mini fits the bill nicely. It's not perfect, but the iPod mini is a pretty compelling product.
Customer Review: Mmm not so good a product....
Summary: 2 Stars
I got an iPod mini last in 04 for Christmas. It was so awesome then!! So pretty and good-working. Then about 2 months later i carried it around with me in my backpack in a special little makeup bag type thing and it didn't hold up very well even though i didn't move around a whole lot. Well i opened the bag up to listen to it on the bus and the entire screen looked awful!!! There was a HUGE crack line down the front and the screen had an awful weird blackish line down it and a few tiny black lines too. I was shocked because i thought it would hold up better! So luckily I got a replacement. But then about 4 months after i got the replacement, the battery life slowly dwindled down to about 1 and a half - 2 hours! I was on a plane for vacation and it died halfway through the flight! I brought my charger with me and charged it at the hotel, though. But i turned it on to listen to it, only to find that it only played 4 songs!! The 4 songs just happened to be the only ones on my iPod that i didn't buy and my friend later told me (after i got home) that i needed to plug it in the computer to fix that problem. But i didn't have my PC with me on vacation, obviously. And i don't have a laptop. So yes. I did that and it was all better! But as soon as i plugged it in my other charger and took it off after it was fully charged, it did the same thing again!! So unfortunately i have to live with it that way and take off my purchased music, otherwise, it's just wasted space.
So I've ended up with an iPod that:
- Can only last for 2 hours
- Skips over all my purchased music and plays only non-purchased music
- Takes 4 hrs to charge but only plays 2 hrs!
So it's pretty much obsolete in my mind. I am sort of weary to buy the Nano, seeing as how it has had lawsuits filed on account of it, because of the easily crackable screen and it'd probably snap in my pocket. I am kinda leaning toward the video iPod even though it's huge and i'll never need 30 GB of music. But if i bought a battery pack for my iPod mini, it'd cost me an extra 80 or 90 bucks and it'd be double the size it is now, so why don't i just get a brand spanking new one?
I don't know. Apple is just sort of.......mmm.
So many problems!!! and since Apple makes you pay like 100 bucks for insurance and warranties and stuff it's like what's the point? I'm basically banking on the fact that it'll blow. Oh well.
I don't know what to do. I have a useless iPod on my hands!
Whoopie!
Customer Review: great for mac, just ok for windows
Summary: 3 Stars
I have researched MP3 players alot this year because I'm getting one very soon, I have witnessed all of the mentioned products hands on. The ipod is built by apple. It is made for a mac computer. And it is really the best thing you can get if you are a mac user. However if you have a windows computer and windows media players there are other better mp3 players for cheaper. The Creative Zen is a great product for around $215. But the major plus is that it plays WMA (windows media audio files)which take ups half of the space that the ipod files do. This advantage applies to many other mp3 players too. Also if you want to put any songs on your ipod you MUST go though itunes. This is annoying and just extra complicated software you have to put on your computer. The ipod mini is also a weaker product if you are a mac user. It, like the regular ipod, does not play WMA files. A great alternative is the new Zen Micro from creative. It is about the same size being a little shorten and a little deeper. It plays WMAs and has a built in radio and digital tuner. It comes in more variety of brighter colors such as lime green and orange plus both light and dark blue. It is the same price as the ipod mini but a better choice unless you own a mac. Most people aren't educated about mp3 players so they automatically think the ipod is the best. This is because it is advertised the most and therefore bought by the most people.
If you are a windows user I recommend these product before the ipod:
1-Creative Zen- Great value for same amount of memory and more songs, also nice touch bar instead of wheel
2-IRiver- Bigger than most but a very high quality player
3-Dell DJ-Cheapest if you buy it from dell but not as nice looking of as nice to use
4-Ipod- Nicest control (scroll wheel which is just great!) and design, also the popular choice by most people who haven't researched mp3 players
If looking for a mini mp3 player:
1-Zen Micro-Nice bright colors, with capability of playing wma and has a built in radio also an extra gig of storage
2-Rio Carbon-Smallest sleekest design just lacking the controll of a touch bar or wheel also cheaper than the other two quality players in this area
3-Ipod Mini-Same price as Zen micro with 4GB instead of 5, nice if you like metallic colors, pretty design and scroll wheel again this isn't my favorite because i think going through itunes to get my music uploaded is a hassle