I know there’s been lots of talk about the new iPod mini Apple introduced yesterday. Price-point aside for a minute while I focus on marketing/branding: Is it just me? If we’re speaking in relative terms, shouldn’t the name of this new device be iPod Slightly Smaller™? Ok, so it doesn’t have the same ring as Apple’s dubbing. But let’s be honest. There’s not much difference in physical size between the new mini and the full-size iPods. The problem everyone is decrying: not much difference in cost either.
I walked over to MacWorld yesterday afternoon in hopes of seeing something — anything — that might recover from the uneventful keynote earlier in the day. I stayed a full 20 minutes. “Disperse, there’s nothing new to see here” was what I wanted to yell out loud. I found nothing interesting, at least for my taste and needs. There were certainly plenty of people milling about, but so many of them just looked lost. Like they still hadn’t found what they came looking for. We’ve certainly become accustomed to having MacWorld wow us with shiny new products that instill a lust that can’t be described. This year, that didn’t happen.
Despite my rants among friends, I will note a few positive thoughts about the new minis now that I’ve seen them in person.
After holding them in my own hand, I will say that they feel pretty nice. The current full-size iPods suffer from extremely sensitive buttons. The mini’s solve this with the “enhanced durability and sensitivity of the iPod Touch Wheel” which seems to function really well. You still loop your thumb (or whatever finger) around the wheel to scroll, but then actively press in to click one of the four buttons. Sort of like the directional buttons becoming so popular on phones and PDAs. A nice touch that minimizes how much you have to move your thumb around when you’re navigating menus and playlists with one hand.
The other thought I had: Why not back the full-size iPods with the same anodized aluminum of the minis? I don’t care about the colors, but from the very get-go of the original iPod, I thought the chrome backing was ridiculous. You could track a criminal with the fingerprints it draws.
Posted in Apple, Events, Technology
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I’m not really sure what market segment they’re targetting, really… and I don’t think Apple knows either.
They’re also a little ugly compared to the sleek iPod / iBook white look or the G5 / Powerbook metal.
“The current full-size iPods suffer from extremely sensitive buttons.”
I second that. I used to be able to change tracks while biking without even putting my hand in my pocket. The buttons protruded and weren’t overly sensitive - as well they were arranged in a North-East-South-West fashion so you could easily tell what you were doing. Now their in a line… If I had the spare cash I’d purchase a remote, but for now I cringe at trying to change tracks since I’ll probably go up in the menu, forward 6 tracks, and then pause it.
I’m suprised there hasn’t been more criticism of this new “feature”.
The bigger disappointment to me is that they haven’t figured out how to bolt this sort of functionality onto a cell phone yet.
Unlike a PDA, I don’t really need to interact with my portable music player too much. Play, shuffle, forward, back, volume… that’s about it. It’s pretty much on auto-pilot most of the time. And so, it follows that I don’t really need a ton of buttons or a big screen to get enjoyment from it. Thus, it is perfectly suited to be a part of the device I already carry on me 24/7… my cell phone. I currently have a Sony T610 which seems like it’s about the same size as a mini iPod. If Apple could bolt iPod functionality onto a device like this, I’d gladly deal with the resulting size increase as well as a $600 price tag.
The Handspring Treo 600 is almost exactly what I need, but it just lacks the Appleness that I really want. It also uses Flash memory, which I’m cool with, but a mini HD would be better.
I was really excited when I heard apple had announced a new miniature ipod - I rushed to the site to check it out and was a little unimpressed - the colours look kinda lame (the silver is ok) and in terms of size they aren’t much different (as stated)especially when they claim to have moved the buttons under the wheel to save space - thing is if you pushed the wheel a bit lower you could still fit the buttons beneath the screen a la big brother ipod. It’s not really as cool as would have been good from apple. It’s not the must have toy of 2004 - I’m still waiting for the colour video supporting ipods that have been rumoured for a couple of years. I would love an ipod with a built in compact flash reader too - those little cards just don’t hold enough pictures. I know Belkin have released an ‘add-on’ but it’s bigger than the Big ipod itself - how dumb is that.
The one thing I wish my 20GB model had was the recessed screen. My screen is already fairly scratched up, despite the fact that i never set it on its face.
Could it be from keeping it in that black case?
I would guess they are targeting athletic types with the armband accessory they are pushing.
If only they could make something a dirt-poor student could afford. $250 for a music player (even a sexy one)? That’s a bit steep.
Hmm, I wonder if apple offers student discounts…
Ruth -
Apple does offer educational discounts for students and teachers, elementary to grad school. Go to apple.com and then to the educational section.
Charles - Thanks for the tip; I just checked out apple.com.
Unfortunately, though, the educational discount is only $20 - not enough to make the iPod Mini financially feasible for me. Also, it seems to be available only for employees, not students, though it’s possible I misread the small print.
Ruth - I bought it as a student and received a educational discount. Maybe they’ve changed the policy though.
The iPod mini is 44% smaller in volume and about 30% lighter. Small changes are very large changes on the iPod’s scale.
i don’t see why we expect apple to create some incredible product every macworld. it’s not a reasonable expectation.
the only reason i can see for this expectation is hype from rumor sites. so we base our expectations on rumors that hype us up until apple must innovate or we criticize them left and right for making something new for it’s consumers.
i can’t stand this logic; apple makes something new that will appeal to many people, except us, so we have to gripe, because it’s all about us, right? no.
Maybe not revolutionary, but GarageBand looks incredible for its price, and (probable) ease-of-use. My planned home studio will be a lot cheaper than I imagined a week ago. It will be interesting to see what the mac community does with it.
The miniPod is gorgeous - especially the pink one - but I feel they are setting the ground work for a new iPod that will replace the current white version. Probably colour, probably video-capable, probably other capabilities too. That will leave the miniPod being the simple stripped-down audio version. The ibook to the powerbook.
iPod mini sounds okay. It went from pocket-size to credit card-size. That’s pretty far, I think.
Apple is targeting MP3 players like the Rio Nitrus (also 4GB, also $250, extra ugliness and clunkiness included). However, I believe Apple’s target price for this new puppy is $199 by spring. A $199 iPod + Pepsi iTunes song giveaway sounds like a profitable formula.
I’d have to agree with Clinton Ecker. I mean 30% lighter is quite a number. This thing must need you to tie it down surely? before it floats away…
One thing I always liked about the iPods is Burton jackets. The came with a pocket especially for your iPods and a control interface on the arm. So if you’re boarding down a mountain you could quickly & easily change the tracks without removing your gloves. Nice.
To be quite honest I really like the 2nd generation iPod’s the best. There’s just something missing from the newer designs. Sure they are pretty and somewhat smaller but with the 2nd gen ipods I like the location of the buttons and the fact that I know when I have pressed one. I don’t like the newer touch sensitive buttons mainly because I dont really know when I’ve pressed one and also because they are in terrible locations. I can get around much faster on the 2nd gen ipods. I just hope the battery in my 2nd gen ipod doesn’t fail soon. That would be annoying.
I agree with you there, Jon. Glad to see the return of the ‘classic’ button layout. I’ve got a 10GB iPod G2 and when I’ve used my friends 20GB iPod G3 I’ve had real problems with the buttons.
I think I’ll wait for the next generation of iPod before I upgrade. Hopefully we’ll see something more like the old button setup with…ooh, let’s see, a 100GB hard-drive? What do people think’s coming first, a colour screen or video or both?
Seriously, I think they’re repeating the same mistake they made with the Cube. This device has no market.
I think the mistake everyone is making is comparing it to the iPod. If customers buy an iPod instead of a iPod Mini, then Apple obviously still wins.
The important question is how does the iPod Mini compare against non-Apple MP3 players, in terms of price/size/weight/features/capacity/style ?
Does anyone have any comments on the Dell DJ. A good friend of mine bought one and he loves it. Unlike the ipod, the DJ does not tie you only one program (iTunes).
On the iPod mini… I am not impressed with the pricing and how little it holds (for the cost).
I think it is a revival of Apple’s marketing strategy they used when they introduced the multi-colored, “flavored” iMacs.
I love my Dell DJ! It is slightly larger than the i-pod but i just got 20 hours of battery life. I like the solid feeling of this product also. I find the buttons on my Dell to be better than the ipods….the touch buttons are touchy. Give the Dell DJ a try you’ll be happy with it. Yes the ipod looks better, but who needs the looks.
yeah a very nice device by mac, Hope that they integrate more things into it, like a mobile Phone a mini pda. ITs a great gadjet and should not be compared with its predecessors, The best device in feild of MP3 players compared to all similar devices in all catogeries. I see a lot of questions coming up in near Future.
I have the same complaints about the mini as everyone else, but I’ve been thinking on it a while, and I think I see their vision. I’m now speculating that on the 20th Anniversary they’re going to release a special edition Imac, in the same anodized aluminum colors as the mini. This imac will have a dock built in for the mini. While I believe the price point is too high for what you get, considering the 15gig is only $50 more, I think these are going to be a huge hit in Asian markets, where color, design, and size matter most. Couple that with a cute new Imac, and what do you get?
I also just got the DJ. It feels great, and looks alright…but my sisters Ipods interface blows the DJ away. And the DJs little wheel thing cant compare with apples…The one major plus is the battery life thought. I left it on overnight to test it, and got 22 hours. And i get 14+ hours of regular use, using the backlight and wutnot.
still thinking about returning it for an Ipod though… i got 19 more days to decide…(before the 30-day return policy runs out)
The new IPOD Mini - i bet everyone who bought one for xmas is really *!?#off…
I think People will appreciate it more when it gets cheaper due to technology advancements and competitors, Hope this technique works and we see a lot of Mini Ipods Everywhere
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