iPod mini announced

[blessingx]

Somewhere someone should compare the anodized aluminum iPod mini 4.0 GB to the anodized aluminum Rio Eigen 1.5 GB (basically Nitrus in a better suit). $249 versus $232 MSRP, though the Rio's street price is closer to $180-$200. You decide if the iTunes integration and 2.5 GB is worth an extra $50-$70 (if you need aluminum). Curious is there will be a Eigen 4.0 GB?

 

[sygyzy]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trance-Fusion I don't know why everyone thinks the minipods are over priced.. guys look at the competition first.. i mean it's competting against flash players it cost around 200 bucks for a 256mb flash player, 50 dollars more gives you the mini pod, that's 16 times the storage, and another 50 will give you the 15 gigs. Though most people who are looking for a flash player either don't have enough songs to fill it or just don't have the money so i'd doubt they would pay an extra 100 for the full 15 gigger, than the mere 50 extra... p.s. if someone already wrote this, sorry i didn't read other pages.. i mean there are 6!!!

Did Steve Jobs get back from his Keynote Speech to post as Trance-Fusion?

 

[NewSc2]

Quote:

Originally posted by etys rule Well, first off, I was in the Apple store on Greene St not five hours ago. Didn't see a mini in sight. Didn't see a stitch of advertising in the store. What I did see were 20 & 30'ish girls and guys spending big money on electronics. Which leads me to my point. Instead of appealing to the young and hip aka metrosexual, they SHOULD HAVE: 1. Increased battery life 2. Designed a line out within the unit. The ol' file swapping excuse is getting old. 3. Improve the firmware ie. UI That's it. Save the capital it takes to launch a new product with a limited market, tweak the almost perfect product, and continue to leave the closest competition in the dust. I'd be hard pressed to find one iPod user who wouldn't agree. And BTW, when I asked the metrosexual at the counter about a Apple-made line-out ie. imp, he looked at me as if my etys were sticking straight out of my head. which they were...so much for that. perfect the product. scrap the 4G'er. after you add the accessories, you could buy yourself a 15G'er. It ain't cheap. Well, we'll see...my bet is that it sells well. But I think it just put off any improvements we all would like to see. Just my 2 cents.

First off, obviously the mini iPod hasn't made it to Apple stores. It was just officially announced today at MacWorld. It's not going to be out until at least another month (early or late February if i recall?)

Secondly, Apple's doing great business. Just these past few months, Apple saw its market share jump. The $300, $400, and $500 iPod that nobody thought would buy, are all in the top 5 mp3 player sales. Obviously they're marketing to the right crowd... "metrosexuals" they may be.

Lastly, most people don't care about line-out or any other fancy features. Ask 99% of all iPod owners out there if they would want a line-out on the next iPod out there, and I bet you they will all say "huh?"

Apple's doing the right marketing strategy. If the iPod wasn't the best-looking mp3 player out there, they wouldn't sell the way it is. I know I purchased one because I thought the Zen was way too ugly, and the buttons were dumb. The Zen was cheaper, it had more features, and its sound quality is top notch. I paid $150 more for my iPod, with no regrets.

Anyways, too many people in this thread are arguing over Apple's decision. It was made, and I'm solely interested in hard details, not why Apple didn't do things it could have done. I'll check back when more first-hand accounts are in and the first units start shipping

 

[chadbang]

Well, I was disappointed that there wasn't a more revolutionary announcement - like colour screens or a new iPod features like jpeg display.

But... I will say that the mini-pod is a nice looking product. Very sleek and pretty and it certainly will attract gals. I like the new wheel, if it works like I think it does. Maybe the best design yet. Finally all the "polished aluminum scratches" woes have been put to an end. I sorta like the colours, too. It's a great looking player overall and now I know what to get my wife for her birthday!

 

[Dweebgal]

bah, i wish people would stop saying they are for girls..... i'm a girl, and i think they're ugly.

 

[austonia]

CNET is reporting the drive used inside the iPod mini is made by Hitachi

http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5136124.html?tag=cd_top

 

[chadbang]

Quote:

bah, i wish people would stop saying they are for girls..... i'm a girl, and i think they're ugly.

Yeah, but you gotta admit you're kind of special, Dweebgal. I mean, how many female Head-fi members to we even have?

 

[Dweebgal]

this is true.

ha ha ha "special", makes me sound like i write with crayons or something!

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by chadbang Yeah, but you gotta admit you're kind of special, Dweebgal. I mean, how many female Head-fi members to we even have?

i think the problem is they don't stop talking long enough to listen... lol (j/k!)

 

[Trance-Fusion]

Quote:

Did Steve Jobs get back from his Keynote Speech to post as Trance-Fusion?

That was actually quite funny, and i'm just defending them because they're pretty cool (in my eyes) but i wouldn't trade my 3g for it anytime soon.

 

[Skeeve]

Quote:

Originally posted by EyEPoD They didnt want people to only buy the mini ipod. With the 250 price tage it just adds another option.

Personally, I think they should have also introduced a basic 256mb flash ipod, dumped the 15gb player and then had complete coverage over all the main segments, which would have also been good news for itunes since it would now have more potential customers.

The obvious point to make about the ipod mini is that the various mockups on the rumour sites etc. were generally a lot more innovative and/or interesting than the real product.

 

[Theresamarie1]

I personally think they look great

and love the colors. Just not sure I would pay $250 for 4G when I can get 20G for a little over $100 more ($367). But then I'm sure it's not meant for folks who can afford the cadillac version. Apple needs to be careful they don't canibalize their big sister ipod sales, but then I'm sure they've done their marketing homework well.

I wonder what design point issues are forcing the short battery life just like it's big sister. 8 hours is still kind of short when the Nitrus is 16 hours. Typically I'd never listen to more than 8 hours of music a day unless on a plane, but the bigger issue is when the battery life starts to shorten in about 9 months, then you get in to the 5-7 hour range which for me is unacceptable. It's why I didn't keep the G3 ipod I originally bought.

After breaking the navigation wheel on my Karma, I've unloaded that (after getting CC to replace it) and now only have my ihp-120. But it's getting kinda smallish.. would love to see an 60G iPOD in color with 16 hour battery life.

 

[Skeeve]

Quote:

Originally posted by davidtoc oh good. i thought i was being petty when i thought it looked too long, but you're right. the ratio of the dimensions of the ipod are far more pleasing. dave

I have to say I much prefer the little square shape of the muvo^2 than the long thing shape of the ipod mini.

 

[austonia]

more pics and stuff over at gear.ign

http://gear.ign.com/articles/449/449294p1.html

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally posted by Skeeve Personally, I think they should have also introduced a basic 256mb flash ipod, dumped the 15gb player and then had complete coverage over all the main segments, which would have also been good news for itunes since it would now have more potential customers.

Well to look at it another way... keep in mind the iTunes/iPod experience is something that attracts many iPod owners because of its (used by most) auto updating transference (tracks/playlists). A 256mb player would cut that whole process out (unless the owner only had fiveish albums). Arguably a 256mb player would be bad for iTunes, as it would degrade the user experience for many by making it manual. I say that as someone who's collection was too big when I got my iPod to ever use the automatic transferring and 4 gb would not cut it for many (eventually) anyway.