18 hours of continuous playback!

The 18 hours playback time on this newer 2ng generation iPod mini is impressive. With a 1000 song capacity, up to 25 minutes skip protection, VERY durable and reziliant aluminum case, beats the iPod Nano in reliability. Some of the key features are:

Holds upto 1000 songs at near CD quality on 4GB hard drive
Up to 18 hours of continuous playback with rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Super portable at 3.6 ounces and only 0.5 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 3.6 inches tall
Automatically synchronizes music, playlists, and audiobooks with your Mac or PC
Innovative Click Wheel for easy navigation
Plays AAC, MP3, WAV, and Audible formats (Mac and PC); plays AIFF format (Mac only)
Skip protection of up to 25 minutes
High-resolution, backlit LCD display
Fun games like Music Quiz, Solitaire, Brick and Parachute
Store copies of your contacts, calander and to-do lists
Wake up to your favorite song with iPods alarm clock

Ipod mini - Its a sure Winner!

But it's not just about looks - the iPod Mini sounds fantastic. After comparing it with my third-generation iPod, tracks definitely sounded clearer on the iPod Mini, as if it were capable of better frequency response. By comparison the 3G iPod sounded positively muffled. A sign of PortalPlayer's enhanced audio chip, perhaps.

The Mini's packaging is as lovely as ever. The box lid slides off to reveal the mini wrapped in plastic. The box underneath is split in two halves - one for the install discs and one for the headphones, USB cable and a belt holster. As with all the new iPods there's no Firewire cable, no dock, no remote - but they are available as optional extras. There's no AC adaptor either, so you can only charge when connected to the PC.

There are other missing features that might give pause for thought, such as a radio, recording function and microphone. But if it's just a player you want these absences won't be noticed. For me the only reason I wouldn't want one is that I do want to carry my entire music collection around with me. Or at least more of it than I could fit on a 6GB drive.

One day of course, a 20GB iPod will be this size, but for now six gigs is your limit. At this capacity it no longer loses out to the Zen Micro and H10, but while Creative and iRiver have both worked hard on improving the look and usability of their players, the Mini is still miles ahead. With its rounded sides and neat click-wheel interface, it feels right in you hand and is easy to control and use too.

Verdict
With the new iPod Mini, Apple has increased its capacity by a 50 per cent, battery-life by one-and-a-quarter times and improved sound quality. It's a pretty impressive triple whammy and as long as its capacity is large enough for you, the iPod Mini would be our recommended digital audio player.

jamieday83

Apple raises the bar again with the new iPod mini

I was lucky enough to get one of these literally 5 minutes before the store sold out. I have the 6gb version, which is identical to this one except for the capacity (and the price - it was $50 more than this 4gb version). I also have a 40gb 4th generation iPod, an iPod shuffle, and I have owned and used MP3 players by Creative and iRiver.

The new "2nd generation" iPod mini builds on the strengths that made the original mini a blockbuster best-seller: easy to learn, easy to use, elegant user interface, immensely usable "click-wheel," and outstanding sound quality. Since the original mini was introduced a year ago, some competitors appeared that offered higher capacity, better battery life, and lower price. This new iPod mini answers the competition with some important improvements which make it a compelling choice over the competition:

1) Battery life is now 18 hours instead of 8 hours for the first generation mini.

2) The 2nd generation mini is cheaper: the original mini was $250 for 4 gigabytes of storage, which holds up to 1000 songs. The new mini is $200 for 4 gigabytes, or you can pay $250 for 6 gigabytes (up to 1500 songs). To achieve this price drop, though, Apple no longer includes a dock or charger - these are available separately, but you can live without them just fine. For example, the battery charges whenever the mini is plugged into your computer's USB port.

In addition to these improvements, there is a minor cosmetic difference, concerning the color choices: gold is no longer an option (it was the worst seller in the original mini), and the other colors are now a bit brighter.

The iPod mini comes with iTunes software to help you organize the music on your iPod, and to transfer music from your CD collection to your player. If you wish, you can use the iTunes software to purchase music from Apple's online store and download them directly to your iPod, but the software absolutely does not push you to do so.

The mini also comes with the same earbuds that accompany every other iPod. They are better than the headphones that come with most MP3 players, but you'll probably want to consider replacing them with something a bit nicer.

Like its predecessor, the build quality of the new iPod mini is excellent, very sturdy, just like all iPods. My 40gb iPod has taken a lot of abuse and has held up extremely well. Plus, I did a fair amount of research on the original mini and it has held up well since it was introduced. So I fully expect that my new iPod mini will last a long time.

I also considered the Creative Zen Micro, the Dell Pocket DJ and the Rio Carbon, which seem to be the closest competitors to the mini. They have more features than the iPod mini, but are not as elegantly designed and their build quality feels a little cheaper than the mini. Plus, as a previous owner of other iPods, I already have a lot of music in Apple's AAC format, which these other players cannot deal with.

Apple iPod Mini: Perfect Balance of Memory. Portability

Well good thing you are on eBay - because thats now the best and really the only place to buy iPod Minis. Now that Apple has forgone the iPod Mini series for the iPod Nano. Now that the Nano is getting all of the press attention for being the sexiest gadget ever - its hard to remember that just 12 - 18 months ago, the iPod Mini was in the same boat. And, for iPod Mini fans, thats good news because it means that the value of the Mini has decreased - effectively making them cheaper to buy on eBay as everyone else oogles at the Nano.

And I'm not 100% convinced that the Nano is better than the Mini. I believe it depends on what you are using it - the Mini is sturdier than the Nano - in fact, there are already blogs and reviews citing the Nano's lack of durability - something the Mini is great at. Of course, the give in that situation is that the Nano is lighter than the Mini... but remember - we are only talking ounces!

For the dollar, you get more music storage with the Mini than just about anything on the market - and all in a very light-wight MP3 player body. But again - it depends what you are looking for:

* If you want to a large music library - either for the office, the road or your home - the regular iPod is a better value and better idea

* If you are a gym-rat looking for the lightest MP3 player - perhaps you want a tiny flash player like the Rios, the Shuffle, or the Nano

But if you are looking for the perfect hybrid MP3 player - small enough to take a run with but spacious enough to play hours of unique music at the office - the iPod Mini really is the perfect solution. And of course it has the Apple interface and sexiness.

The minor points: with the second generation of the iPod Mini, Apple has improved the color scheme and really made them shinier and brighter. My preference is the Silver color - but beware that it will show scratches and nicks more so than the other colors. The Blue is bright, the pink quite girly, and the green look a little much like split pea soup for me =)

One of the best iPods ever made and the only Pink iPod

We bought this for our little girl (7 years old). My wife was hesitant since she was so "young". Once my wife saw how "cute" the pink iPod was, age suddenly didn't seem to matter!

Whatever color you may buy, make sure you buy the Second Generation. The first generation has a different click wheel and the battery life (3-5 hours tops) is pathetic compared to the Second Generation (about 18 hours).

You can't get this in stores any longer (replaced by the Nano iPod), but if you do buy, try to get one that is a customer returned with a 90 day to 1 year warranty from Apple. You can buy additional coverage through a dealer for about $55.00 that lasts up to three years. This protects you from the ones that have been used which are now at least 2 years old or older. The certified customer returns usually come with:

- 4GB iPod mini
- Earbud headphones
- Belt clip
- USB 2.0 cable
- Getting Started guide
- CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows and electronic documentation

A great deal for the price which will run you about $179.00 - $229.00. Just don't be fooled by a used one no matter what the price. You have a battery life that has been diminished and no warranty!