iPod Mini has been out for only a year... the competitors are catching up. The Zen Micro seems to be a big hit for Creative, the iRiver H10 is an astounding although expensive package, Dell's got their pocket DJ, Gateway has their knockoff, Samsung is flooding the market too... the list goes on and on. Last year's iPod Mini was running $249 for a 4GB unit... everyone else is pushing 5GB for the same price with more features! That's right... there's going to be a unit that's an iPod killer... right?
Here comes iPod Mini second edition... sporting lower prices for the old 4GB edition (at $199) and the new 6GB edition for $249. Buy the way, most stores are selling the original 4GB edition for $179-199. It's not going to be that easy to knock the iPod from the sales chart.
Well... why am I getting this 6GB iPod Mini then? I'm using my brother's birthday as an excuse to buy one... it's going to be his birthday gift. He should enjoy it... now he'll have a high capacity MP3 player and a portable hard drive with the iPod Mini 6GB! Maybe he'll try to get the iPod photo dock connector from Dynamism.com or some other import site when it comes out in Japan to connect to the Canon SD500 7.1 MP camera my parents got him as their birthday present.
Price?
I paid $190.10 at Amazon.com after a $25 gift certificate (gained through the Palm Pays Back program) and a $30 gift card when applying for a Amazon.com credit card (originally from Bank One who was bought out be JP Morgan Chase. I also forgot to use the $30 gift certificate when I purchased an item from Amazon.com the last time.). I also got a 1.57% discount for being a A9.com user (Amazon's web search engine). I will also get a $100 Amazon gift certificate since I purchased a Canon Digital Rebel XT Black Body as well! The entire purchase was paid for on my American Express Business Card (to have a chance to pricematch the Digital Rebel XT).
You can read my epinion
The Art of Buying... Getting your money's worth! for some tips on ways to save money when going electronics shopping.
Short Take
Although the iPod Mini in its current incarnation is by no means a knockout punch... Apple has given it enough tweaks to just keep it barely on the top of the heap of mini-hard drive players. The iPod Mini in my opinion is still the easiest of the mini-hard drive MP3 players to use although it lacks the extras other companies are packing. The iPod Mini also retains the strong integration to iTunes... something no other MP3 maker has done well in integrating a PC/Mac software package to their MP3 players. The iPod Mini maintains the well integrated abilities of being a decently fast portable hard drive just by plugging in the included sync cable (which Creative should do with their Zen Micro player!). The brightly colored sturdy aluminum casings add to the still sexy design of the iPod Mini.
However, the competition is no longer so far behind as with the first coming of the iPod Mini. The iPod Mini features set is quite sparse compared to players like the Creative Zen Micro and the iRiver H10. These players add FM tuning, voice recording, and more in comparable packages. The iRiver H10 even adds photo viewing into the package. Some of these features are heavily desired even by the iPod Mini faithful... which is why I have other MP3 players in my collection which I use. I would love to have an equalizer function like the iRiver H10! The other fact that all the iPod units still lack user-replacable batteries is another sticking point with users.
Overall, even with the iPod Mini faults and lack of certain features, it remains my favorite mini-hard drive MP3 player although the Zen Micro runs a close second... a very close second.
In the end if music is the biggest priority, the iPod Mini remains near if not at the top of your list... and rightfully so! The combination of above average to excellent music file playback (even better if you buy better earphones like the Shure E2c) with consistent and long battery life make this a winner especially for those that want the player mostly for music. The Zen Micro lost points with me for the inconsistent performance of its battery. The iRiver for the odd sluggish interface performance on battery power.
Basic Specs
The Mini retains it svelte size of 3.6" x 2.0" x 0.5" and a weight 3.6 oz. You can get either a 4GB (3.7GB available) or a 6GB (5.6 GB available for your use) drive in your Mini. You still have the 1.67 inch easy to read grayscale display with a bright LED backlight and no changes were made to the ClickWheel interface enjoyed by the first iPod Mini, iPod Photo, iPod fourth generation models. For those of you who have never used the iPod, the ClickWheel is the only way to access just about all the functions of your iPod. The casing is still sturdy aluminum and the ClickWheel remains flush with the case. The center accept button on the ClickWheel is the only raised surface on the front of the iPod Mini.
The top of the unit still holds the remote and headphone port and the hold switch. I was worried about the durability of the hold switch on my first generation iPod but over a full year, it has held up extremely well (and I have two first generation iPod minis)! The bottom of the unit holds the familiar dock connector so it maintains compatibility with all iPod mini accessories.
Apple rates the battery at 18 hours. The battery is still a non-removal lithium-ion. Apple will replace the battery for $99 and other stores charge as low as $79. The tech savvy or adventurous can change their own battery for as low as $49.
You can identify second generation iPod Minis by the brighter, deeper casing colors. There are now only four colors instead of five to choose from. A darker silver, deeper blue, brighter green, and brighter pink. The gold color is now out. Oh yeah... the icons on the ClickWheel are color matching to the case.
The iPod comes with some documentation, a USB 2.0 cable, iPod white earbud headphones, and a belt clip. That's right... you no longer get a firewire connector or the AC adapter. That would explain why the iPod Mini box is now half the size of the original iPod Mini box.
Other Notes
Connections through dock connector: FireWire 400 connector, USB 2.0 connector, AC connector, connection to dock/mini dock. Battery can be charged through FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connectors.
Battery charge time: 4 hours to full charge. 2 hours for obtain 80% charge. Longer charge time if you use the FireWire/USB and upload/download songs.
Formats supported: MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps sample rate), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps sample rate), MP3 VBR, Audible files, AIFF (Mac format), and standard WAV files.
Buffer memory: 32 MB (25 minutes as per Apple)
Sound
The new iPod Mini doesn't lose a beat here. It sounds as good as the first iPod Mini and even better if you buy higher grade earphones. Apple doesn't list S/N ratio (signal to noise ratio) but I am assuming at least 90dB. The iRiver H10 is still the best sounding of the mini-hard drive MP3 players I've used although the H10 seems to have better earphones in its package. I had no audible hiss when listening to the iPod Mini 2nd generation. You still have the same 22 equalizer presets available through the settings menu (first generation iPod mini owners have all 22 equalizer presets if you have been upgrading the firmware... the current firmware as I'm writing this review is 1.3). Unfortunately, the equalizer preset is accessible only by going back to the Settings menu.
Interface
The ClickWheel is how you control just about all functions on the iPod Mini. The hold switch is the only control that the ClickWheel doesn't control. The ClickWheel is a circular device where the firm presses of the four cardinal directions on the ClickWheel control the play/pause, fast forward, reverse, and menu functions/buttons. Rotating your thumb or finger clockwise or counterclockwise navigates you through menus and options. The central button on the ClickWheel acts as the accept button.
To me, the ClickWheel is the best available interface on any MP3 player to date. However, other companies are getting closer... Take Creative's Zen Micro TouchStrip for example.
Note that you cannot delete songs on the iPod through the iPod Mini interface. You can delete the songs only on the iTunes your iPod Mini is synced with!
Battery
People... please prime your battery first. I was in the Apple Store and heard this one guy complain about taking one hour to charge his iPod Mini the first time and getting a full 2 hours of playback. Duh! I usually allow my first charge to last at least 18 hours on the AC adapter to help prime the battery. Although Apple states that a 4 hour charge time is enough for a full charge, I typically allow my iPod minis to charge overnight (at least 6 hours of uninterrupted charge time through the AC adapter). This has allowed my two first generation iPod Minis to maintain a battery life of 6+ hours of playback with 48-72 of standby time! This is by far the best battery time I've had from any of my mini-hard drive MP3 players!
Wait a minute... you don't get an AC adapter with the iPod mini anymore. What should you do now? Don't buy the Apple AC adapter... buy a powered USB hub. USB cables are much smaller than the AC adapters for most devices. I use the GE 4-port USB 2.0 travel hub which includes a tiny AC adapter for the hub. This solution costs you $20 or less. I can charge my iPods, Zen Micro, iRiver H10, my Axim X50v, Palm Tungsten models, and more through the smaller cable and short USB charge cables. Best of all, it only takes up one power outlet!
The second generation iPod Mini is rated as 18 hours by Apple. I got about 16 hours from the first charge. I haven't tried it more than that since it's a birthday gift for my brother. I just primed the battery and filled it with some music files and other computer files so he can use it out of the box. If my experience with the first generation iPod Mini is any indication, the battery life should reach 18+ hours are a few more charging cycles.
Extras
The iPod has a Calender program which accepts vCalendar and iCalender formats (supported by iCal, Palm Desktop, and Microsoft Entourage). The iPod Mini supports vCard files and can display them under the Contacts option. Four simple games are included on the iPod (Music Quiz, Soliaire, Brick, and Parachute). The Notes option allows you to view text files on the Mini.
Best of all, the iPod Mini is a great alarm clock when attached to speakers. It has replaced any travel clocks and my Palm for waking me up when I need to get up. Heck, I use it as my main alarm clock at home as well.
Note that this section is based on my iPod Mini first generation 4GB model.
Software
Basically iTunes. However, iTunes is as robust as the other music programs out there. You have a selection of hundreds of thousands of songs for purchase at $0.99 a pop!This is the "only method" to download legal tunes to and from the iPod mini. Unfortunately, the iPod mini also syncs with only one copy of iTunes. There is a work around for this. In Windows, you set the iPod up as an external hard drive and show all hidden files and directories... the musics files will show up on Windows Explorer. Now you can copy them to your other computers! Note that you have to "Enable Disk Use" function on the iPod mini.
I believe the current version of iTunes is 4.7.1
Note that it is easy to learn the basic and intermediate features of iTunes. However, there are many functions not documented even in Apple's iTunes manual (download from Apple.com). I only learned of some of these features reading a cnet.com article (of all places...).
As a Hard Drive
Note that I installed iTunes into the computer before connecting or using the iPod Mini as a external hard drive. Transfer speeds for the iPod was about 20 secs to transfer 53MB. For the highly technical, I used HD Tach to benchmark the drive... this gave a burst speed of 8.5 MB/sec and average read of 5.6 MB/sec. The random access time was 22.5ms. CPU utilization is 5%.
Note that I ran the benchmark and transfers while I was doing other things on the computer... so these are NOT optimal results. For me, they represent a real life situation in my normal computer habits!
Accessories
You get very little with the iPod Mini now. You no longer get an AC adapter or Firewire cable in the package. The belt chip is included but I think some people will want a better case or an armband attachment. The only accessory I think you really need is a low cost powered USB hub. This replaces the need for a seperate AC adapter and is much cheaper and more versatile as well.
My other mini-hard drive MP3 player reviews:
The
Creative Zen Micro carries 4, 5, and 6GB drive options with many more features while sacrificing a bit of the ease of use of the iPod Mini and the integrated jukebox software... instead relying on Windows Media Player 10 for syncing music. Prices are the same as the iPod Mini.
The
iRiver H10 comes in a 5GB version and has even more features than even the Zen Micro and a vibrant color screen. However, the interface is a bit sluggish while on battery power and the price is $30 more than the 6GB version of the iPod Mini and Zen Micro.
My
original first generation iPod Mini 4GB review. This is cheapest option and won't be around for long. Easily found for $179 if in stock at most web stores. Gives you a FireWire cable and the AC adapter in the package as well!
For those of you who are wondering about the
Sony PSP's MP3 capabilities, check out my review here. It is an okay MP3 player overall... but not a first choice for primary MP3 playback.
