iwant ipod (Apple iPod mini 4 GB)

Member Name: tiger645

Product:	Apple iPod mini 4 GB
Date:	26/08/08 (247 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Listen to music anywhere

Disadvantages: Out of date

Ipod mini
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Ipod mania has hit Earth hard, you can't go anywhere without seeing someone with those white headphones and ipod (whatever type) in there hand. And yes I have been sucked in.

~~~What is it?~~~
It is an MP3 player which plays music which you put onto the ipod from your computer. It is small, lightweight and looks flashy but the bottom line is that it's an MP3 player.

~~~Why are MP3 players so popular rather than the CD player?~~~
MP3 players tend to be lighter and less bulky than a CD player. Also they store more songs and there's no track changing. Here's the naughty bit though, with CDs someone has to buy the CD however MP3s kicked off due to downloading music from the internet which was originally not illegal because it was classed as file sharing (for all those who don't know it is now illegal). So free music all you needed was an MP3 player, so it was born. So MP3 mania kicked off and then apple came out with the ipod idea and it was a big success. So there you go the reason MP3s kicked off...

~~~Why choose the mini ipod?~~~
Well like many people you may just get sucked it and buy it because everyone has one but if you look at the facts I can tell you why. Firstly small and lightweight so fits in your pocket and hardly weighs a thing, in my opinion that's great! The mini ipod looks bright, cheerful, young, new and snazzy all in one (now that's something you don't see everyday!). The normal MP3 player is black (occasionally white) but these bright beauties will catch anyone's attention and they are so cute. It is available in a wide range of colours: blue, green, pink, gold and silver. I choose the blue one because I thought it looked great and although I was tempted to go for the pink finally I decided that blue would suit me better because it would match a wider range of outfits. Also it stores 1000 tunes (approx) which in my opinion is amazing, 4GB in that tiny thing, technology! The battery life is 18 hours which I think is quite good comparing it's quite small, it does last 18 hours not just one of these MP3 players who say that because they think no-one will every try.

~~~What does it look like?~~~
Pretty much how it does in the picture! It is a bright blue colour. On the front there is a circular controller which has the buttons: play/pause, fast forward, rewind and menu. The circle in the middle is the select button (for example when you want to play a song). The circular controller is white with the various cottons written on in blue. At the back of the ipod there is an apple in the middle and at the bottom there is the ipod number written. At the top it is possible to get a personal message put on such as you name. At the top of the mini ipod there is a hold button which allows the ipod to be placed in your pocket without it changing songs or turning on if its off. Also there is a socket for the headphones which are white. At the bottom is where you plug the vable into the computer or into the charger (if you have one).

~~~What's in the box?~~~
Obviously the ipod which is very well rapped.
The headphones which are also well wrapped.
A USB cable to connect it to the computer.
A itunes CD so that you have itunes and can put music onto you ipod.
Apple sticker (quite large).
A helpful instruction guide which is easy to use.
Terms and conditions and Warranty booklet which are pretty useless.
Belt clip (so you ipod clips to you, this is very useful).
There is NO charger with the newer mini ipods, you can buy one or simply plug it into your computer.

~~~How easy is it to use?~~~
Very all you need to do is put the itunes CD into the computer and it gives you step by step instructions on how to download it. Then put the music onto itunes and plug in your ipod and there you go in four hours time your ipod will be fully charged with all the downloaded songs on it! To put music onto itunes all you need to do is open the music on your computer in itunes. Or if you are putting a CD on, put the CD in and it will come up with "Open in itunes" click on it and then it will open. Then all you need to do is click on the import button. Within a minute you have 20 new songs onto itunes and therefore your ipod if its plugged in.

~~~Technical information~~~
4GB (stores about 1000 tunes depending on the length)
Up to 18 hours of playback with rechargeable, lithium-ion battery
4 hours to charge fully
Blue colour
Weighs 103g
Dimensions: 9.1cm tall, 5.1cm wide and 1.3cm deep
Automatically synchronises music, playlists, and audiobooks with your Mac or PC.
Innovative click wheel for easy navigation
Plays AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF and Audible formats (presumably including WMA)
High resolution, backlit LCD display
Resolution is 138 x 110
Diagonal size is 1.67 inches
14 languages available including: Danish, Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), English, German, French, Italian, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Korean
Supported Digital Audio Standards: WAV, AAC, AIFF, Audible, MP3, Apple Lossless
1 year Wararanty

~~~Requirements~~~
Mac or PC with firewire or USB2.0 port.
Either MAC OS X v10.2.8 or v10.3.4 or later
Alternatively (which is more common)
Windows 2000 with SP4 or later, or Windows XP Home / professional with SP2 or later
iTunes 4.7 or later (provided with the ipod so don't worry)

~~~The ipod mini~~~
The menu can be scrolled by moving your finger on the circular wheel at the front. To move down the menu you move your finger clockwise and vice versa. The menu allows you to change the language to 14 different languages. Also decide whether you want the blue back light on (this does use quite a lot of battery power). There is an equaliser to change the bass settings but I have never tried that. Also there is date and time settings for you to decide whether you want them showing or not. There is a calendar and a note section, I must admit I have not used either but my friend said they were good. In case you get bored there are some games. First game is solitaire which is quite hard but fun once you understand how to play. The second game is a parachuting game which I am addicted to, it is pretty basic, shoot down the people who are falling from the sky! The third is a music quiz which is really fun and good. This tests your knowledge and even plays little extracts for you to guess the song! All the games are in black and white but are fun and definitely worth checking out. There is also an alarm...just in case! There is a shuffle songs which plays your sings randomly. The sings are arranged in variety of ways firstly they are placed in alphabetic order so there is a list of all the songs you have. You can also access the songs by choosing the artist or the album. This is easy and saves you from wasting time.

~~~The bad side~~~
The fact that there is no charger is a bit of a pain because you need a computer to charge it. You can buy a charger but they are quite expensive. All the accessories to buy with the mini ipod are expensive which is a bit of a pain if you want more things for your ipod mini. The biggest drawback is thieves, it is so obvious when you have an ipod, the white headphones, this is also a drawback but it is becoming less of a problem over time. Also the headphones have a tendancy to break, I am on my fourth pair in three years.

~~~Other accessories that can be bought~~~
Charger
Speakers (very expensive but well worth it)
Ipod mini protective case (definitely worth protecting your ipod for a low cost)
Armbands (for those who want to listen whilst they run)
Cables and docks
Car audios (listen whilst driving)
Radio remotes
Camera connectors
Apple Remote
All these can be bought on the apple website.

~~~Where to buy it and cost~~~
I bought mine form PC world for £160. Ipods are available everywhere however I do not recommend buying it from the apple shop because they are expensive however if you do, you can get a personalised message on he back. However minis are quite hard to come by as they stopped producing them. They are available online from shops such as Amazon. They now cost about £100. There are also 6GB ipod minis available which hold an additional 500 songs and cost about £20 more.

~~~Worth it?~~~
Definitely worth buying an ipod, without a doubt. They are no longer expensive and hold so many songs, not only that the additional features add so much more meaning its not just a MP3 player. I bought mine just after the new version of mini ipods had come out and I do not regret it one bit. It is easy to use and looks good. It has everything you need and there a wise range of accessories that can be bought. It is reliable and apple is definitely trustworthy. If you haven't got one, it's never too late... However with better things always coming up on the market the minis are out of date and so I recommend buying a more up to date ipod rather than the mini.

The apple website is:
www.apple.com
If you need nay help go to this website:
www.apple.com/support/ipod/
Thank you for reading.

Summary: Good for a while

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