Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9804LL/A (Pink) OLD MODEL

iPod mini was the hottest gadget last year & the best mp3 player around. Looks like this will be true even in 2005. There is absolutely no competition for the iPod's, no other player is even half as good as iPod.

Pro's,
1. Very good audio quality. Support for normal mp3's (unlike Sony).
2. Small size (smaller than most cell phones like much-talked-about-Motorola-Razr)
3. Extremely well desgined (let's hope Apple makes a cell phone and PDA in near future)
4. Very intuitive interface (award winning touch wheel and minimal buttons)
5. 4GB hard drive (enough space for about 800 mp3 songs)
6. Available in many colors (hopefully Apple will come up with Nokia style faceplates for future Mini's)
7. iTunes is one of the best music software around (rate songs, keep playcount, easy-sync with the iPod)
8. Excellent screen for such small size
9. Recharges from a standard USB port with the same cable as used for the upload of songs. No need to carry around a charger now.
10. Tons of innovative accessories in the market (from Bose speakers to colorful socks!)
11. Good battery life, about 10-14 hrs depneding on how much you surf around on it. ofcourse we all want more and there is no end to that demand :)
12. Everything about the iPod Mini is designed to perfection (no other company has put this much time & effort into their mp3 players even in 4 yrs since iPod hit the streets)

Con's,
1. The battery is internal with no easy replacement chances
2. Colors on the new Mini, except Silver, IMHO, are all gaudy. Last generation of Mini's had much pleasing colors. Check out for yourself at a local store before buying.
3. Gold version has been dropped now, its become a collector's item? Instead of adding more colors they have dropped one!
4. Doesn't come with a wall charger any more and takes longer to charge from USB port. You always need to be around a computer or pay extra for the charger.

Its simply fabulous and I am running out of superlatives to describe it. Thanks Apple for the new iPod Mini!

Trust me, I was the LAST person to buy an iPod. I was perfectly happy with my iRiver H140 (which I still love), and was sick to death of seeing those white headphones everywhere! But then I decided to get a tinier player for my walks to class and such. I tried out different smaller players and they all had some type of defect. An iPod Shuffle wasn't an option as the thing doesn't even have a screen. When these second-generation minis came out, I was blown away by the specs: supposedly 18 hours of battery life, price cut down fifty dollars, etc. So I went ahead and bought the blue version and yet to have any regrets. My review:

PROS:

// I did a battery test on this the afternoon I bought it. It wasn't even charged to full capacity, and on top of that, I played with it a lot, and it still ran continuously for about 23 hours. Amazing. One of the reasons I was hesitant about getting a first-generation mini was its battery life (about eight hours, I believe). Apple has definitely improved on this feature.

// iTunes, the software that you use to put music on your iPod, is great. You can make it automatically sync to your iPod or manually update. I choose the latter option as I have more music on my computer than will fit on a 4GB player. I thought having to use software would be annoying in comparison to hooking a player up like a regular hard drive and using the file tree method, but iTunes is simple and gets the job done. There are other programs you can use to manage your iPod, like MusicMatch, but iTunes seems to be the least clunky to me. Also, you DO NOT have to buy from the iTunes music store to work your iPod. You can even hide this option on the sidebar if you wish and make iTunes solely a music manager.

// So tiny! I have to admit that when I opened the box, I exclaimed, "It's SO cute!" It's basically the size of a credit card. A little slimmer, a little longer, but you get the idea. Even the package it comes in is very compact!

// Sound quality is absolutely superb. You'll listen to songs that you've heard on your computer or other MP3 player or whatever and hear nuances that you haven't heard before. Like I said, I have an iRiver, and while that has amazing quality too, you'll be surprised how crisp this little device sounds.

// Plenty of features. Notes, contacts, games (Music Quiz, Solitaire, Brick and Parachute), clock, alarm... I have yet to use any of these extras but I guess it's nice to know that they're there in case you do. I think more efficient features would be voice recording, FM tuner, etc.

// Scratch-resistant. All of my friends' iPods are scratched up like you wouldn't believe. The mini has a lot more resistance to scratches as it has an anodized aluminum case.

// Inuitive design. Everyone knows about the click wheel. I've handled lots of different players and Apple really wins in this area. The controls are underneath the wheel, so you don't have to worry about buttons bulging out on the exterior.

// Colors-- this is a pretty trivial point, but I was initially disappointed when these "new" colors came out. I thought the earlier model pastels were much prettier. However, now that I actually have one (photos don't do justice), I think my blue one has a gorgeous, rich hue, and I imagine this is the same for the green and pink. No complaints in the aesthetics department from my end.

CONS:

// No support for WMAs. iTunes will import these as their own format, which might result in a sound degradation. I had to rip a bunch of my CDs as MP3s just to retain original audio quality.

// Apple really skimped out on the accessories. I'm used to getting a bunch of add-ons with my player for free, like a case and adapter. The mini includes a clip-on holder, headphones, and your charging cord, but that's pretty much it. HOWEVER, to Apple's credit, you can charge your iPod without an adapter (right from USB, or Firewire). Plus, to get these 4GB models down cheaper than they were before, it makes sense that they cut out the superfluous items.

// This will be a minor issue for most people, but when you're in your menus (like listings under Songs or Albums or wherever), the titles don't scroll. So if you have a lot of songs that start with the same string of words, you're going to have try them all to see which one you're looking for. On the actual now-playing screen, they DO scroll, it's just that in the menus they don't. Like I said, this won't affect most people, but it did kind of annoy me when I first saw it as all other players I've worked with scroll titles in menus.

SOME THINGS TO KNOW:

// The iPod never actually shuts off. I know that when I first got this, I was like, "Where's the stop button?!" You can put it to sleep by holding the play/pause button down for a few seconds, but it will never actually be turned off. This is a smart move made by Apple because if you were to continually shut off and restart everytime you wanted to use it, not only would it take a long time to boot up, but it would wear down its interior.

// iPod doesn't give you a straightforward way to copy your music back onto your computer after putting it on, but there's a way to do so without using external programs if it's enabled to disk usage. 1) Click on the iPod icon in My Computer. 3) Click Tools > Folder Options > View > Show Hidden Files and Folders. 3) A folder called "iPod Control" should appear. Navigate into that folder and all your music should be in several different folders within. If you don't want to do it this way, there are also third-party programs like CopyPod.

// For iPod support, Google "iPodLounge." Their forums are really helpful, too.

// Ordering from Amazon is probably your best bet. I ordered this on March 17 and received it the very next day on March 18. That was with Super Saver Shipping deal where it's actually supposed to take up to two weeks to get to you! This could just be in my lucky case, but even so, you can also always return your iPod if something is wrong with it with zero hassle and for free. Like with those other players that gave me issues? Amazon sent a UPS guy to my house to pick it up, returned it, and I got ALL of my money back. Just my two cents on that.

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Overall, a great player. Besides a few flaws, Apple has found a new iPod-lover in me which I thought NEVER would happen! Sorry for the length of this review but I hope it helped potential buyers. Happy iPodding. :)

There are several mp3 players on the market right now for different people. Before I bought my iPod mini, I had a Rio Cali mp3 Player. I liked it, but very quickily I ran out of space. I downloaded about one song every other day, and after awhile, there was no space left!

For me, it was obvious that a larger mp3 player size was needed. I needed lots of space to store all of my CD's and old mp3 files.

Just to clear things up, one megabyte is about one minute. My old Cali had (i think) 126 megabytes. You can get the iPod mini in either 4 gigabytes (which is 4000 megabytes) or 6 gigabytes (which is 6000 megabytes).

So really the question is: What will you be doing with your mp3 player? Check out the chart below.

YOU SHOULD BUY AN IPOD MINI IF:
- You want to have a good amount of space to store songs.
- You want to have a very flashy mp3 player.
- You love to listen to music.
- You are willing to pay a somewhat large amount of money.
- You have around 10-20 CD's you want to change to mp3 files.

YOU SHOULD LOOK AT OTHER MP3 PLAYERS (such as the Rio Cali) IF:
- You want a good mp3 player that holds songs, but will not have too much unused space.
- You don't want to spend too much on an mp3 player.
- You will only download a song or two every two weeks.
- You have a few CD's you want to have on one mp3 player

YOU SHOULD BUY AN IPOD (regular iPod) IF:
- You are a HUGE hardcore listener of music.
- You are willing to pay around $300 on an mp3 player.
- You will download one or two songs a day.
- You have tons and tons of CD's that you want to have on one mp3 player.

The bottom line is that I love my iPod mini - it's perfect for me. But the question is, what mp3 Player is good for you?

I LOVE MY SILVER IPOD MINI! After about a year of research and procrastination, I was having a particularly bad week, so after seeing a teenage at the drug store with her Pink mini, I decided that if she can have one and she doesn't have a job, I can surely have one and buy it with my hard-earned money!

I marched myself into the Apple Store and treated myself to my mini. Awesome decision! I was wavering between the 4GB and the 20GB since there was only about a $50 difference. It didn't even make sense to me to consider the 6GB because that was $50 more as well, and if I was going to pay the $50, then I was going to get the 20GB. I decided on the 4GB for now. My computer hard drive is only 6GB at the moment, so there's really no need for an iPod whose storage is bigger than what my system can hold! :)

MY LIKES:

1. The Size- It's absolutely perfect! It stays in my purse so I will always have music on the go. My co-worker gave me a baby blue skin to put on it so it will be protected in my purse.

2. The Color- I was aiming for the blue one until I saw it in person. The color was a little too blue for my taste (even though blue is one of my favorite colors! ZZZZ-PHI!) I'm not a fan of Pink nor Green, so Silver was it. It's sophisticated looking.

3. The Battery Life- This was the sticking point for me. Up until I bought my mini, I was listening to music on my 1GB SD card plugged into my Palm Pilot. It was a good solution for a while. I was, and still am, thankful for the capabilities of my Palm, and if it weren't for the fact that my Palm's battery life is horrible, I may have stayed with that and never bought my mini. So far, I have gotten a good 12 hours on 1 charge. That's awesome. The advertised time is about 18 hours. Look, if it lasts me a whole work day without dying, then I am happy. So far, it has totally surpassed that.

4. The Screen- It is clear and bright. I love it!

5. The Click Wheel- It took some getting used to, but now, I love it. It makes it easier to navigate around the menus.

6. USB Cable- Quick music transfer!

7. iTunes- I used to use MusicMatch faithfully. I will probably still use it since I have lifetime upgrades. I also like the burning capabilites of the program. I use Windows Media Player as well. I let RealPlayer go. Too much spyware. iTunes is a very robust program that does just about everything you need. It organizes your music very well, and it is an easy program to learn.

8. Sound Quality- The sound quality is awesome. I can't ask for anything better. Very crisp and clear. Plus, once you play around with the EQ, you'll find what suits you.

9. Educational Discount- If you are a student, you can get an Educational Discount on all Apple products if you purchase directly from Apple.

MY DISLIKES:

There aren't many, but there are a few...

1. No AC Adapter- I had to buy it separately! Apparently, it was included in the previous generations. I own a laptop, so I don't keep it on all of the time. Therefore, that would have been counter-productive trying to charge my mini from the USB port. The Adapter is $30 by itself, but for people like me, it's a necessary cost so I can plug it up to the wall and it can travel with me.

2. No Stop Button - There isn't a dedicated "Stop" button in iTunes or on my mini. All I see is a "Pause" button. If there is a stop button, someone please show it to me!

3. On/Off Management - I don't like the fact that whenever I plug up my mini to charge, even if it's already turned off, the unit turns on. I have to physically turn it off. Not a biggie, but it's just something I've noticed.

4. The Earbuds- They sound just ok to me. I'm not a fan of them. My inner ear is shaped funny so I'm probably not getting the full effect of them since I can't really put them in as far as they are intended to go. I may have to get some of those ear canal ones. I have figured out to have these stay in my ears all day without them hurting. I don't wear them with the foam though. The foam irritates me to no end.

Ok...that's my review. I hope it helps you all!

I've owned my iPod for about half a year now, and I half to say that I enjoy it. The sound quality is better than that of iTunes on my computer. It's pretty much the only mp3 player that integrates usability, simplicity, and convienence with style and sophistication. Plus the click wheel is simply ingenious.

However, I have several complaints. First of all, the metal outside is very easily damaged and dented. I dropped my iPod (in its case!) once on a non-concrete surface, and the corner dented a bit. Another thing is that the click wheel gets dirty. Another problem is the battery - it runs out relatively fast, and obviously, replacing it is inevitable (but IMO, only apple's scheme to get money).

I wrote the following for an ebay sale of my iPod mini. I thought it might be helpful for a lot of people.

iPod 4GB really only holds less than 3.7GB. Apple defined GB as something bigger than it actually is (like instead of 1024kb per mb they did 1000... or something like that). Plus there are already installed programs on iPod.
Charge - 2 (80% full) hours or 4 hours (100% full)
Battery life - Apple claims 18 hours, but in reality it's nowhere close.
Tips on the battery:
Don't use backlight unless needed; backlight kills battery.
Wait until your battery is out, and then charge overnight to full capacity (this is my own theory; I think it works because supposedly rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (ie the iPod one/rechargeable batteries in general) run longer this way.)
Use iPod regularly (helps the battery stay alive, the Li-ion works better)
Fast forward reduces battery.
iPod can be used as a USB (look for enable disk use in iTunes), so if you have an iPod you wont need a USB drive.
iPod can open and read text documents (see users manual), and this helps if I need something to read/have something that I need to refer to often.
Music file format - AAC, MP3, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV
Using iTunes, you can convert almost any format (e.g. wma, midi) into AAC or another iPod-compatible format
iPod supposedly crashes easier when it has to deal with more than one format, so convert everything into one format
iPod can be used with regular computer speakers. Lots of people don't know this, so they go out and buy "iPod-specific" speakers which cost like $100+. So don't. Get a nice set of computer speakers, and you can listen to your iPod anywhere there's a power source.
iPod and hearing loss.
I play violin quite a bit, and as a result I'm going partially deaf in my left ear. Because of this, I take special care of my ears while listening to iPod.
Recording studios record everything, and this includes the extremely high pitches that the human ear can't hear. These high pitches make your ear drum vibrate extremely fast... which causes more damage than regular pitches. Luckily you can control this on your iPod in several ways. What I do is that in iTunes, I control the EQ settings so that any sounds 16kHz (the high ones) are reduced. You can also choose the "treble reducer" EQ setting on iPod, but this reduces battery a bit. I also recommend getting a set of noise-reducing headphones (NOT earbud headphones like the iPod ones). That way, you can listen to your iPod at a much lower volume in a loud environment.