Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9436LL/A (Blue) OLD MODEL
by Apple Computer
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Our Price: $33.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9436LL/A (Blue) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Not perfect, but a good buy for some
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: Some will love it - some won't understand why it even exists
Summary: 5 Stars
The iPoD Mini is the new, smaller, snazzier version of the iPod, for those of you who don't know that already. Its capacity is also considerably smaller.Hence, the great debate kicks off: what's more important, the aesthetic or the capacity?
Many people are bashing this product because the 15GB iPod costs only $49 more. Why would you pay, they ask, so much for an mp3 player that holds so little? And when larger capacity models are so readily available?
Well, think about a couple of things: how much music do you really listen to on a daily basis? A weekly basis? I've got 40 or 50 gigs of music on my computer, but there are maybe 400 or 500 songs that I actually _like_ and want to listen to on a regular basis. I've got a first generation 5GB player and have never really felt the need to have more capacity because it's so easy to add and remove songs whenever. It's fine if you want to carry your entire music library around with you all the time, like you're going on a long, long trip somewhere, but it's not really necessary.
The second, and most important thing, is how it looks and feels. I just got my hands on one, and it's a pretty neat little thing. It's not actually that much smaller in terms of raw numbers, but it FEELS a whole lot smaller. Like cell phones, minute changes in size become exponentially more noticeable as the products get smaller overall. The Minis are scratch-resistant and the aluminum is nice -- no greasy fingerprints like on the regular iPods. There are also many nice colors and the screen is brighter.
The buttons: I can't stand the touch buttons on the 2nd and 3rd generation iPods. I like my 5GB because you actually push the button and feel it click. For whatever reason, I take pleasure in this. The Mini combines the two -- it has a touch wheel with push buttons under it. In my opinion, this is great. I like the fact that they've brought back push buttons.
Over time, the price will most likely go down and capacity increase. In the meantime, this is a product for people who place importance on how things look. I mean really -- why do people buy little, expensive cars, or cell phones, or designer handbags or whatever? Because they like how they look and feel. I completely understand people who would rather buy a regular iPod but I understand the market for the Minis as well. It's a great product.
Customer Review: iPods: It's Plusses and Minuses (Mini Version)
Summary: 5 Stars
Here are the reasons why you should buy an iPod:1. It is compact, you can take 1000 songs with you everytime you go out. The iPod slips very easily in your pocket and is pretty light.
2. It is extremely easy to use. Plug it in and it automaticcally all the songs from your computer (iTunes) to your iPod. Very very fast connection and updating. It only takes about 4 seconds to update an average sized album. Amazing huh?
3. It's very very convenient. One thing I really about the iPod is that you can create playlists so your songs can play in a particular order. You can make as many playlists as you like and it'll take like 10 seconds. If you want to burn the songs into a portable CD player, it'll take a good 20 minutes, AND you get worse music quality. You can change your playlists as many times and you want.
4. It's got a lot of other features on it. The games are really fun. You can also put notes, calendar, and contacts on it.
5. The sound is really good. You get equalizer and you can adjust to maximize the quality of music depending on the genre.
6. The design ROCKS! Come on, who can deny the fashionability of the iPod Mini?
7. Extremely light: makes it even more convenient!!
Some not so great points about the iPod:
1. It scratches very easily and unless you don't mind that, you're gonna have to buy some kind of case for it, which will make it slightly bigger (but some will make it more fashionable).
2. The battery really doesn't last that well compared to some other mp3 players out there. To get the most out of your iPod battery, do not fully discharge it before you recharge it. (There's no memory effect.)Supposedly it lasts 18 months if you listen to 6 hours of music a day. (Still not that bad!)
3. The price is pretty up there... But say, you use it everyday for the next 1.5 years, the iPodmini costs 45 cents a day. And chances are you ARE gonna use it for more that 1.5 years.
Some final words:
Go for it, you really won't regret the purchase. The iPod is a timeless thing. The iPod really opened my eyes to music. I now listen to a wider variety of music. With iTunes, purchasing songs you like can never be easier. Once again, GO FOR IT!! NO REGRETS!!
Customer Review: I was wary of buying it
Summary: 3 Stars
Gave me a couple of scares when the songs started skipping and it wouldn't turn on, but strangely enough when I took off the volume adjustments on the songs, they stopped skipping. And as for it not turning on, it was out of batteries, because I hadn't listened to it for a couple of days, but I've learnt my lesson and always plug it in to the charger if its not being used. I've also dropped the unit a few times without the skin, but apart from the little scratches, it's fine.
PROS:
-very light, I put it in my pocket and I thought I lost it at the end of the day, I guess this is sort of a con.
-feels very VERY nice in your hand (small, compact)that anonized stuff around the mini feels like a nice kind of cold crisp
-sound quality's alright it's mostly the quality of the mp3 file you've gotta worry about
-decent colours, but would like to see orange replace gold
-4 GBs is more than you think, just put only your favourite songs on it, if you want to put your whole music library into it, i suggest one of the other iPod with larger capacity
-USB capabilities
CONS:
-easy to break, COUNTLESS # of ways to screw up an iPod mini
-after a while you can hear staticky noises at loud volumes
-after the first time the scroll wheel loses its aura, then it gets dirty and sometimes selects the song that comes after the song that you actually want
-the earbuds are crap, the wires can stick out and it can shock you (I've been shocked before), it's more than a con, its dangerous!
-you have to baby it if you'd like to see it last more than a year
OVERALL: These things aren't "hip" anymore now that everyone's got one. They even stopped showing the iPod commercials on TV. Now they have the 5GB mini with the coloured font on the scroll wheelydealy. The regular 4GB is down to $199. My 5 month old mini already feels ancient. I say buy one if you want, the pros and cons cancel each other.
Customer Review: Small But Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
The iPod mini is built from the ground up as a portable device for people with fast-paced lives. It's small and lightweight physical dimensions are perfectly suited to be being placed in a pants or shirt pocket without being a burden.But don't let its light weight fool you into thinking the iPod mini is a pushover. The 4GB hard drive (3.7 GB actual) can hold about 1,000 songs - enough to last almost three full days. The installed software includes four games; a calendar; a notepad; a contact database; a clock; backlight with timer; an alarm clock; and the abilities to customize the main menu; create playlists; and rate songs. All this is in addition to being able to be used as an external hard drive!
However, the most revolutionary aspect of the iPod mini (aside from it's size and weight) is its control interface. Incorporating the 'Menu', 'Pause/Play', 'Forward' and 'Back' buttons directly to the touch sensitive scroll wheel not only creates simplicity from a design standpoint, but form a user one as well. Accessing these controls is a breeze. Thankfully the touch wheel is designed well enough that accidental pressing of a control is unlikely to occur since you have to press down a bit to activate the button. I'd actually like to see the entire iPod line adopt this interface.
Some people complain that the iPod mini is only slightly cheaper than the 20 GB iPod and offers a lot less storage space. But what you loose in storage space you gain in portability. It is also important to consider that compared to other players of its size and weight, the iPod mini offers much more storage space, many more features, and a better music jukebox in iTunes 4.0.
I want to carry the most music I can in the smallest possible device that offers the best interface and features. For me, that device is unquestionably the iPod mini. If you have similar demands of a portable music device, the iPod mini is sure to become a permanent accessory to your lifestyle.