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iPod Mini Ships

dave at hostwerks writes "The iPod Mini is now shipping. The number of pre-ordered units was about 100,000. CBS News has a good write-up as well as an accompanying piece they ran on the Saturday evening news report here in the U.S."

60 comments

  1. color breakdown by McAddress · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want to know the color breakdown.

    1. Re:color breakdown by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Posting AC - you can guess why.

      M9160LL/A (silver) - 13.62%
      M9437LL/A (gold) - 0.03%
      M9436LL/A (blue) - 37.25%
      M9435LL/A (pink) - 48.12%
      M9434LL/A (green) - 0.98%

    2. Re:color breakdown by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      6,000 pink, 3,000 blue, 1,000 silver, 122 golden, 244 green.
      Now, do you feel better?

      Of course, the numbers are totally made up. But their knowledge bear the same impact as the knowledge of the real numbers.

      In respect to the numbers: No, I don't want to suggest that the iPod-mini is gay. Maybe my subconsciousness is speaking, and it is just the jealousy speaking out of me. Not that there is something being wrong gay. I would be quite gay to have one. The blue one would be a perfect fit with my pink mobile phone. Oh, wait.

    3. Re:color breakdown by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please say that you post as AC, because you made the numbers up, too and don't want to be identified with spreading bullocks.

      Otherwise, I'd demand a job in Apple Sales Design and suggest instead of "Green" and "Gold", some darker colours, either a Purple, Frog-Green, and/or Anthracite.

      AC of (#8376265)

    4. Re:color breakdown by Lev13than · · Score: 4, Funny

      Forget fashion statements - this is about performance. Has anyone done some tests to determine which colour sounds best?

      --
      When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
    5. Re:color breakdown by tyrione · · Score: 1

      No the color pink suggests that it is very popular with females who are physically active, either in jogging or some other cardiovascular activity, while at a gym.

    6. Re:color breakdown by spikebilder · · Score: 1

      The marketing executives who worked on the development of the wheel had a similar problem:

      "All right, Mr. Wiseguy,", she said, "you're
      so smart, you tell us what color it should be".

  2. shipping ???? by dcocos · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've had mine since last Thursday. Is this story stale?

    1. Re:shipping ???? by dave+at+hostwerks · · Score: 1

      FWIW, I submitted this Friday morning after watching the peice on the CBS morning news.

      --
      d a v e
      "Hmmm...upgrades."
  3. where's the tie-in? by bandy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Where's the marketing tie-in with the Mini [Cooper]? Buy a Mini, get a Mini.

    --
    "You might as well get your son a ticket to hell as give him a five string banjo." -unknown minister
  4. Time to buy a new one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Since last Thursday? The battery should be dead by now. Time to throw it out and buy another new one.

  5. FYI: Apple's Spec Page by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
  6. The odd oclor out is Silver? by amichalo · · Score: 4, Informative

    According to the Montley Fool the color not sold out was silver which would indicate either the color was not as popular or Apple did not produce the same number of each color Mini iPod.

    It is interesting to note that when the color iMacs were introduced, vendors were required to purchase them in lots that included one of each color. This draw the ire of some Apple resellers who were stuck with unpopular colors while they could not order only the most popular ones.

    --
    I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
    1. Re:The odd oclor out is Silver? by dcocos · · Score: 4, Informative

      it is also the color that they produced the most of

  7. Stale. Very stale. by parksgm · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought about posting an iPod Mini release article last Friday night, when the iPod mini actually was released, but reconsidered. I guess someone finally got around to posting. That's ok though, as there has otherwise been a general lack of Apple news.

    I bought a silver mini on Friday night. No problems so far, and I can say that the smaller size makes all the difference in the world for those of us who like to take our music with us when we run. Smaller size = less weight = less bouncing around while running.

    (It's the same reason you see very few DD marathon runners.)

    1. Re:Stale. Very stale. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "It's the same reason you see very few DD marathon runners."

      But isn't it a joy when you do.

    2. Re:Stale. Very stale. by CuriHP · · Score: 1

      I used to be on the track team at my school and there occasionally would be some well endowed female runners. It looked like they were going to knock themselves out.

      --
      If it's not on fire, it's a software problem.
  8. Obligatory How-to-take-it-apart link by Dr.+Smack+PhD · · Score: 5, Informative

    Clearly, the first thing anyone should do with a new gadget is take it apart.
    http://www.ipodlounge.com/articles_more.php?id=305 9_0_8_0_C

  9. Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by Sparky9292 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've had my ipod mini for about four days now. I have the blue one. I sync it with my WinXP machine.

    I've filled it with mp3's of various bitrates from Kazaa (all legal music of course) and it hasn't had a problem playing them.

    The first thing that strikes me is that it is really small and really lightweight. It's only $50 less than the 15GB one but this one is way better than anything iRiver puts out for working out at the gym.

    It also has a fun name that tune game where it plays one of your songs and then has you pick from four tunes that appears on the screen. It's pretty fun to get familiar with your entire music collection that way.

    The mini's also have (finally) a star rating system, so you can rate your songs as you are listening to them.

    One caveat: It does not work with USB 1.1. The older ipods can sync with 1.1 and 2.0. You'll have to either buy a USB2.0 card or a firewire card to sync on a USB 1.1 machine.

    1. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by egomaniac · · Score: 3, Informative

      One caveat: It does not work with USB 1.1. The older ipods can sync with 1.1 and 2.0. You'll have to either buy a USB2.0 card or a firewire card to sync on a USB 1.1 machine.

      My wife syncs her iPod Mini using USB 1.1 without difficulty. She's on a Sony Vaio GR-something-or-other laptop.

      And considering she got her Mini last Thursday, this story seems a little belated.

      --
      ZFS: because love is never having to say fsck
    2. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by Knetzar · · Score: 3, Informative

      I have a 20gb iPod with a dock connection and it has the star rating system and the "name that tune" game.

    3. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      One caveat: It does not work with USB 1.1. The older ipods can sync with 1.1 and 2.0. You'll have to either buy a USB2.0 card or a firewire card to sync on a USB 1.1 machine.
      I'm pretty sure that would violate the USB 2.0 specs.
    4. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by DLWormwood · · Score: 2, Insightful
      My wife syncs her iPod Mini using USB 1.1 without difficulty. She's on a Sony Vaio GR-something-or-other laptop.

      Are you sure? I was under the impression that all Vaios all came with iLink ports, which are just another branding of IEEE 1394 aka Firewire. You can't charge the battery with most iLink ports, but it works just fine for uploads.

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
    5. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by Sparky9292 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well, all I know is that my sotec laptop running WinXP Home and the latest iTunes threw a message saying this device is USB 2.0 yet I have only USB 1.1 and iTunes won't sync.

      The actual requirements for the mini ipod are below. It says you MUST have USB 2.0 OR Firewire for it to work.

      http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=936 33

    6. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by egomaniac · · Score: 3, Informative

      Are you sure? I was under the impression that all Vaios all came with iLink ports, which are just another branding of IEEE 1394 aka Firewire.

      Yes, I'm sure. The Firewire port on her laptop is a 4-pin port, the iPod Firewire cable is 6-pin, and we didn't have an adapter lying around. It is connected via USB.

      --
      ZFS: because love is never having to say fsck
    7. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by SandSpider · · Score: 1

      The mini's also have (finally) a star rating system, so you can rate your songs as you are listening to them.

      What do you mean, "finally"? The ipods have had star rating systems on them at least since 2.0, and the minis just came out, so you couldn't have been waiting for star ratings on the minis any longer than you would have been waiting for the mini itself.

      =Brian

      --
      There is nothing so good that someone, somewhere, will not hate it.
    8. Re:Mini Ipod Review on WinXP by prockcore · · Score: 1


      The actual requirements for the mini ipod are below. It says you MUST have USB 2.0 OR Firewire for it to work.


      What the hell. Leave it to apple to break USB2.0

      Every other usb2 device works with usb1.1 that was one of the selling points.

  10. Re:How long do they last? by Sparky9292 · · Score: 1

    Come on now, this is slashdot. At least consider that some of us are not afraid of opening these devices to replace the battery.

  11. Ridiculous! by Zurd3 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    But just who's going to buy a mini-ipod of 4GB for 249$ when for 299$ you have a 10 GB ?

    Because of the color ? This is so ridiculous. A mini-ipod should be sold 159$ !

    And were's our DVD discman as each DVD can hold a 5GB ?!?

    1. Re:Ridiculous! by druske · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ah, but one of the best selling points of the new iPod is its smaller form factor. When buying an ultra-portable device such as a PDA or a music player, the size can make or break a product.

      At one time I owned a Zaurus 5500, but finally gave it up in favor of a Palm m505. Looking at those two PDAs side-by-side, the size difference didn't look like much, but in day-to-day use the Palm did a MUCH better job of fitting in a pocket. I traded the far superior capability of the Zaurus for the Palm, mostly because the Palm was smaller.

      It's all about tradeoffs. Forget the price for a moment; what matters more to you, a smaller form factor, or a larger storage capacity? No matter which you choose, there are others who would choose differently.

    2. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The same sort of person who thinks that 15/4 > 4.

      But, at $249, it's only $50 cheaper than the ($299) 15 gigabyte model that holds more than four times as much music.

      The same sort of person who gets confused by the controls on a Rio Karma - I used mine for weeks before I ever cracked the owner's manual.

      Speaking of other company's machines, for the last several months I've been using a 20 gigabyte Rio Karma (street price about $270) which works and sounds great but every time I use it, I have to take a few minutes to re-familiarize myself with the controls.

      Seems like a typical tech writer - completely freakin' stupid and easily confused. That's not necessarily why he likes his iPod, so back off, Maccie moderators. ;)

    3. Re:Ridiculous! by nosferatu-man · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The 40gb is too small for me, so I bought a mini. My collection is much larger than the largest iPod available, so I figure, get the smallest physical device. As long as I have to sync my iPod occasionally to the computer, what's the big diff between 4 and 40gb? An extra week's worth of music? If the battery lasted that long, maybe it'd be worth it, but as I plug my iPod into my computer every morning when I get to work, who cares?

      'jfb

      --
      To spur "enterprise Linux," Big Bang, the distributed two-phase commit.
    4. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See if you're still happy with the small size after a month or two. If you're ever away from your main collection for more than a day or two, you may find yourself wanting more.

      Cheers,
      Small guy who wishes he was bigger (the iPod I mean).

    5. Re:Ridiculous! by nosferatu-man · · Score: 1

      Well, I've used a 10gb 2nd-gen (since sold to fund a mini) for what, two years now? And the collection's never been smaller than 80gb, and is currently 220? It hasn't been a problem for me yet.

      'jfb

      --
      To spur "enterprise Linux," Big Bang, the distributed two-phase commit.
  12. Popular Science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Consider Popular Science. Quite experienced "open it and tinker" guys. With iPod battery replacement, they destroyed about 1/3 of the 'Pods they tried to replace the batteries in. Rather risky.

    1. Re:Popular Science by falcon5768 · · Score: 1
      HOW!!!!! I have taken appart the iPod 9 times its SO simple to do once you get the case appart which takes 3 minutes cause of the clips.

      here are the instruction in a nutshell

      take off back

      unplug connection (same style connector as small battery packs found in some RC cars or portable phone batteries)

      pull battery off leaving the double sided tape on the ipod part

      put new pack on and stick to tape

      put together again.

      HOW the fuck is this hard, I know people who reset their battery packs every month doing this. If you manage to kill your iPod doing this your should NOT be allowed near annything technical and you lose all rights to call yourself a nerd.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

  13. Destroy your ipod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Did you read that link you gave us? The guy tells us how he accidentally destroyed his iPod just by opening it up.

    D'oh.

    1. Re:Destroy your ipod by Dr.+Smack+PhD · · Score: 1

      I didn't say it was a How-to-take-it-apart-correctly link, did I?

  14. Underwhelmed ... ? by Mad_Fred · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I find it interesting that we all (and that includes me) seemed to be underwhelmed, as the article mentions, by the iPod Minis when they were introduced. Certainly nobody gasped in sheer awe at the introduction. Anyway, the connection I want to make: wasn't it all just the same when the iPod itself was introduced? People had expected something much more, as usual, and "all" they got was an expensive mp3 player. Now, this writer and many others (again, including me) just can't stop loving our iPods, and he rewrites history to say we've all been impressed by the full three generations of iPods. A testament to the convincing power of actually getting to use a device?

    And right now, I "just" feel the iPod Mini is cool. A few steps up since the introduction. But then, I haven't held one in my hand yet :-) ...

    1. Re:Underwhelmed ... ? by JHromadka · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Lame." - CmdrTaco's response to the iPod introduction.

      --
      "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." -- John Ashcroft
  15. Pink Factor by LlamaRama · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Mac nerd at CompUSA told me that they had never seen as many girls in the store all at once as when the iPod Minis came in.

    1. Re:Pink Factor by Kethinov · · Score: 1

      I wonder why so many girls want the ipod mini as opposed to the regular ipod? To be perfectly honest, if I ever bought one I'd go for the 40 gig ipod because my music collection is similarly massive. To girls just not collect as much music or something? It baffles me as to why so many pink minis sold.

      --
      You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
    2. Re:Pink Factor by Kethinov · · Score: 1

      "To" should be "Do", yeah yeah use the frigging preview button, stupid lack of an "edit post" feature.

      Score -1, pointless ranting.

      --
      You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
    3. Re:Pink Factor by teamhasnoi · · Score: 1
      The Mac nerd at CompUSA told me that they had never seen as many girls in the store all at once as when the iPod Minis came in.

      There's a 'Pink Factor' joke to be made here, but I won't be the one to make it.

    4. Re:Pink Factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I wonder why so many girls want the ipod mini as opposed to the regular ipod?

      It's because girls like things in smaller packages. At least that's what my girlfriend told me.

  16. Why mini: Size and weight and better interface by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 3, Informative

    Color is not the only difference. The Mini is much smaller, much lighter, and the physical interface is better. The four horizontal buttons on the full sized iPod are over sensitive and less convenient than the older style "buttons" next to (older iPods) or on the dial (the Mini). I visited an Apple store over the weekend and checked out the full sized and mini iPod.

  17. A good reference for the size of this thing.... by amichalo · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you want to get an approximate size of the Mini iPod, dig through your wallet and find a business card, or a stack of about twenty for thickness comparisson.

    While you're in your wallet, pull out $249.

    --
    I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
  18. No colours by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Based in Cupertino, it is doubtful that Apple execs insert any extraneous and unnecessary letter "u" in the word "color".

    1. Re:No colours by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, you pronounce color the same way you pronounce colon? Extraneous and unecessary my ass, and don't get me started on 'Aluminum'.

  19. More to it. by Apiakun · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There is more to it than that. I know a few folks who are big into digital photography and are considering buying the iPod mini strictly to remove the hard drive, which retails for $499.

  20. I'm still waiting by jetsfandb · · Score: 2, Interesting

    for the $99 version :-)

    --
    It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, The hands acqui
  21. Bust a pod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    HOW!!!!! I have taken appart the iPod 9 times its SO simple to do once you get the case appart which takes 3 minutes cause of the clips

    It is not just Pop Science. Earlier in this list is an item moderated "insightful" that links to a site to tell you how to take apart the iPod Mini. If you actually read the linked article, you see that the guy destroyed it in the process. How "insightful".

  22. Most geeks won't understand the popularity... by Chief+Typist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My wife and I headed to the local Apple Store on Saturday to check out the iPod minis. It wasn't my idea.

    When we got to the store, we had to wait to try one out. I noticed that all the people in front of use were women.

    After about 5 minutes, my wife looks at me with the "I WANT THIS" look. At no point did she ask how much hard drive space it had. Later, when filling it with music she likes, she said "look it's only half full" (and she's no dummy when it comes to computers, she's a system architect.)

    On Monday, I learned that the wives of two colleagues had also gotten iPod minis over the weekend.

    To me, it's clear that the fairer sex will drive the sales of this product. It took me by surprise, but I'd bet Apple's market research showed this trend.

    And the really interesting part: after getting the iPod mini home and playing around with it, I want one too!

    -ch

    1. Re:Most geeks won't understand the popularity... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, I have to ask, does your Tivo also think you're gay?

  23. As one poster has put it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've never seen so many girls in an Apple store in my life!

    The geeks will proclaim how this or that device is far superior because of yadda yadda features for this kind of price.

    The girls will see this as something cute and easy to carry. Perhaps something to match with their Fendi.

    Ipods are hot, but the clear silver normal ones we see is a safe design for all sexes. The mini's colors are more expressive and stylish: something most geeks won't understand.

  24. Reminds Me Of Penny Arcade... by Anti_Climax · · Score: 1

    Gabe: "Hey Charles"

    Charles: "Hey, Fuck You."

    Gabe: "Yeah, So I Was Looking At iPods Today, I thought Of You."

    Charles: (Pulls Out iPod) "Oh Yeah? Pretty Neat Huh?"

    Gabe: "Oh Yeah, Real Good. Then I Got Up To The Register, Came To My Fucking Senses, And Bought A $30 Discman Instead."

    Charles: "Yeah, But The iPod Doesn't Skip."

    Gabe: "Neither Does This. It's Cushioned By About $380 In Cash."

    The Above Dialog Was Taken From This Comic. Check it Out

    --
    Even people that believe in pre-destiny look both ways before crossing the street.