Apple's Saving Grace

Author's Rating:

Pros: Gorgeous design, battery life, sound quality, size

Cons: Battery loses max-charge ability rapidly, expensive, dated

The Bottom Line: 
Get an iPod. Whether it be a mini or another model. I love my mini, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else until it finally stops working.

Author's Review
Honestly? I had given myself the option of buying either an iPOd or a car. I picked the iPod. Initially I was set on getting a 20GB original iPod. I didn't need 60 gigs and I didn't want a shuffle, which to me, seemed useless for the most part.

However, the mini eventually won me over due to it's sheer beauty and small, portable size. It fits in my jacket pocket and I can tuck it away where no one can see it in class (big bonus!)

So...

Pros:

People often wonder why they would buy a mini rather than an original iPod at only $50 more. The biggest reason I can see, is the battery life. The 2nd generation iPod mini has a battery life of almost 18 hours if used without a backlight and set on continuous play. On it's very best day, my little pink mini played straight through for 22 hours! Not even the new Nano has a battery that powerful (it lasts approx. 14 hours) This has to be the only piece of electronic equipment I have owned that's battery has actually OUTLASTED the time stated on the box.

Another thing the Mini has going for it is it's appearance. It's adorable. The colours are bright and attractive and it is the perfect size. I find that the trackwheels on the Nano's are too small for comfort and the size of the original iPod is just a tad bulky. Also, it has a matte titanium surface, so it scratches far less than the shiny Nano and Original. There are little things too, like, the icons on the click wheen are the same colour as the mini itself, which is cute. The screen glows a nice blue colour when the backlight is on and it's top and bottom are a sleek, clean white plastic, which represents the clean, white look Mac has been so famous for.

Sound quality is amazing. I can't say it's any better or worse than the Original or the Nano, but it certainly surpasses the Shuffle. It never sounds tinny and it never buzzes or crackles, assuming, that is, that you're music collection is CD quality.

Cons:

There are some things I feel should be mentioned as far as the mini's shortcomings. The most prominent being that it's incredibly dated. They are, for the most part, impossible to get from retailers now as they have been replaced by the nano. The screens are still black and white, while the Nano and newer original models have high resolution colour screens. It's click wheel isn't as reliable as the newer iPod models, and it tends to skip or freeze up after it has been used for an extended period of time.

The battery, as amazing as it's initial lifespan is, runs out of juice fairly fast. After owning my iPod for about 6 months, I could only get around 75% of the initial charge it used to hold. This is still a good 12 or 13 hours, but it's disheartening to know that in another year, it probably won't work for more than 4 or 5 hours at a time.

Now, I know it's an unavoidable issue, so I won't place too much weight on it, but using the backlight shaves A LOT of time off of your batteries life. If the backlight is on continuously, the battery only lasts around 8-10 hours when it is brand new. This isn't an issue if you only use the backlight to pick songs or whatever, but playing games and reading notes you have stored on your ipod is incredibly difficult if you can't see the screen, and the non-colour screen is hard to see without the backlight on.

Finally, the iPod is unusually expensive. It costs only $50 less than the 20 gig iPod, and it probably isn't worth that much by comparison. However, the 4 gig nano is a little more expensive than the mini was, and the 20 gig ipod is almost the same price now. So it seems they can still get away with pulling that one.

All in all however, this is not a bad little MP3 player, and I don't think I could live through a day of school without it clipped to my waist. It still holds an impressive 13 hour charge on it's battery today, and I have only used a little under half of the space on the hard drive, so I'm not stuck for room.

If you're considering buying an iPod, I'd have to say you'd be better of taking the new Nano or investing in a heavy duty 60 gig iPod rather than tracking down the elusive Mini on e-bay. Still, if you really want the colourful little player, you won't be dissapointed.