Why iPod Mini is a smart move for Apple

Ample Dave writes "Ars Technica has an analytical article up right now that looks at Apple's strategy with the (many would say overpriced) iPod Mini. I have to admit that I bought into the rumors of a dirt cheap iPod Jr., and thus was very disappointed when the real price of $250 was announced, but this article changed my mind. It leads me to wonder about Apple's other pricing games. You an see this kind of thing with the eMac and iMac, too."

Comments

Re:typo?

[lowmagnet]

No, all the rumours were based on a 1" 2GB drive that was on the market already. The rumour sites didn't realise that they could go higher than 2GB, and the 4GB drives were announced the same day.

I got a 512mb player for $165

[John Harrison]

I think the price comparison chart is a bit off, since there are cheaper 512mb players to be found. I got mine at http://www.pcwebshopper.com/mp3.html. No, I don't work for them. Oh yeah, it doubles as a USB drive.

Have you tried running with an iPod?

[petard]

I've run with mine 3 times a week for the past 4 months and haven't seen any ill effects thus far. Or is there some problem I'm missing?

Re:Have you tried running with an iPod?

[Graff]

I would guess that the HD is accumulating damage as time goes on, head crashes and the like.

Contrary to popular belief, the smaller the hard drive the more resistant it is to damage due to shock. On a smaller drive the arm that the head is mounted on is shorter. A shorter arm has less give in it (try bending a piece of paperclip 2 inches long and a piece of paperclip 0.5 inches long) and thus the arm will be less likely to bend enough to crash into the hard drive's media.

The newest of these small drives have shock ratings on the order of 200 G while they are operating and 1500 G while the heads are parked.

Re:Still Don't like it

[radish]

You can get the Rio Karma for $250. That's a 20gb player. So in fact you can get "a much larger capacity" for $0 extra.

Re:Still Don't like it

[the_2nd_coming]

as a student you get one for 229.

You didn't RTA. Here's all the specs.

[caveat]

Most of the other high-end mini players are just as little, or less, for just as much, or more, cash:

Manufacturer | Model | Price(USD) | Capacity
Apple | iPod Mini | 249 | 4.0 GB
Creative | MuVo2 | 299/199 | 4.0 GB
Rio | Nitrus | 249 | 4.0 GB
iRiver | iGP-100 | 249 | 1.5 GB
Rio | Nitrus | 199 | 1.5 GB
Sony | NW-MS70D Network Walkman | 299 | 256MB
iRiver | iFP-195T | 299 | 512 MB
Creative | Muvo TX | 269 | 512 MB
DigitalWay | MPIO FY-200 | 249 | 512 MB
Rio | Chiba | 199 | 256 MB
iRock! | iRock! 860 | 149 | 256 MB

The iPod Mini gives you sixteen times the storage of a Rio Chiba, for $50 more. Or eight times the storage of the Network Walkman, for $50 LESS. Of course, a chintzy no-name player is gonna be a lot cheaper, but you get what you pay for, and in its class, the MiPod is a pretty freakin' good deal - sort of the Phaeton of small players.

Re:Accessories: where the money is.

[theLOUDroom]

Not necessarily, my iRiver ihp-120 (ipod++) came with:

• USB 2 cable
• line output cable (1/8" to 1/8", 6' long)
• LCD wired remote (better than any ipod's)
• External microphone (even though it has an interal one)
• leather case
• mini headphone extension (3" long to deal with headphones with large o.d. plugs)
• DC power adapter

Sometimes it pays to not be blindly loyal to a particular brand. I was shocked at how much extra stuff was in the box.

Re:This article is 100% right.

[Carbonite]

How many people don't even have enough MP3s to fill the 4GB mini? Answer: A LOT

I disagree. Everyone I know who actually can spell MP3 and rip MP3s has a lot more than 4 gigs. I personally am at 93 gigs in my collection right now...

You are a geek with geek friends. You are reading a geek site. You are not typical. I'm not insulting you, I'm also a geek with (mostly) geek friends who is replying to someone on a geek site.

The point is that very few people have 93 gigs of music. Most people don't have 4 gigs of music and those that do probably don't need to put their entire collection in their iPod mini. This product is aimed at the mainstream and you are simply outside of that.

Re:Hmm

[rice_web]

Size:
Zen: 4.4 by 3 by 0.86 inches
iPod: 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.62 inches
iPod Mini: 3.6 by 2.0 by 0.5 inches

Weight:
Zen: 7.9 ounces
iPod: 5.6 ounces
iPod Mini: 3.6 ounces

Yes, you might be able to find more storage in the Zen, but size is the issue here. Further, I think anyone can see that the iPod's design is far more intuitive. The Zen is a great product, and I drool over the price tag. However, the iPod can not be discarded as an overpriced player. Expensive, perhaps, but there are reasons.

Re:Still Don't like it

[CatOne]

Try going jogging with a Karma strapped to your arm.

Riiiiiiiight.

The iPod Mini is not all about price per gigabyte. It's about a good amount of storage (WAY more than a flash player) in a very light package. The iPod itself is a bit heavy still for jogging. Best you can do is put it on your belt and it flops around enough to pull nylon jogging shorts (hello, Dolphin ;-) to your ankles, which can get you arrested.

Re:Still Don't like it

[Golias]

I tend to avoid this problem by using adapters that rely on the dock port whenever possible. Then I can just leave the headphones plugged in.

One bit of advice that might save you some money: get some contact cleaner (that really spendy stuff you get in hi-fi and electronic repair stores.) It is very likely that a thin layer of crud and/or oxydization has developed at the exact point on the headphone jack where it comes in contact with the plug. you might not even see it easilly if it's only big enough to hold the channel barely far enough to prevent a solid connection.

Brush some of that cleaning solvent on the jack contacts (you may need take it apart to do this, but it's obviously out of warranty anyway or you could have this fixed for free), and while you are at it, clean the plugs that you usually use with it.

9 times out of 10 a good cleaning is all that really needs to be done to repair unreliable headphone jacks, noisy volume control knobs, unresponsive VU meters, etc.

Re:Still Don't like it

[jimlau]

Besides the smaller size, lighter weight, and consumer appeal of colors, newness, etc, one other point to consider with the iPod mini vs. 15GB iPod argument is the accessories. iPod mini comes with a belt clip, arm band, and remote. To get a belt clip and remote for a 15GB iPod will set you back $80 (if you get it from Apple), so then "why not jump another $20 to get the 20GB?" as the 20GB comes with the accessories (plus a dock) and 5GB more space. Then you've jumped in price from $249 to $399, which is significant to most anyone. For their target market, I think Apple did a great job with the iPodmini, and I wouldn't rule out a price drop in a few months after the price of the components has dropped a bit.