well so i got a free ipod mini (the new one) from citibank for opening the checking account, and here are my impressions:
-appearance- i like the metalic feel of the case. it is also one of the smallest in size (maybe the rio carbon is smaller). overall it looks ok, but it is too common for my taste.
-ease of use- i do like the click wheel to scroll through the list of albums and i like that you can customize the menu, but using the click wheel to adjust volume is somewhat a PITA. they should have added a separate colume button that is adjustable even if the unit is locked. but i like the click wheel in general.
-sound quality- it has preset EQ's, which is ok but i expected better... even my cheap rio forge has a 5-band adjustable EQ! i expected more than this and i am disappointted by the presets. either you get too much bass or not enough. i use the "rock" preset. basically the sound is clear which is good, but it is lacking in bass.
-charging- i think the only charging option is through an USB port is retarded. and even more so since you can't stop it from charging when it's plugged into the computer to transfer some songs. keep charging it every day will kill the battery faster of course.
-file transfer- just disable the AAC option and itunes is easy to use. the ipod can even display some IP3 tags in chinese! nice. full sub2.0 transfer here unlike my rio forge. i have no complains.
-battery life- i get about 12-14 hours with the backlight off with moderate amount of track skipping. nothing close to the 18 hours they claimed. the backlight does look cool, but of course i leave it off at all times.
-headphones- they suck. they are too muddy for my taste and the bass is exaggerated. but then again i hate my sennheiser mx400 too. too bad my koss ksc35 is really opened air, and i broke my sony MDR E888. the combination of the mx400 and ipod gives me a lack of bass and the mid is too high.
***conclusion- overall i'd say the ipod mini is not the perfect mp3 player. the sound quality is only acceptable and the whole charging interface is simply retarded.
but it retails for $199, which is similar to the creative zen micro (which people have reported some problems with it) and maybe the olympus mrobe (which looks ultra slick IMO), and is cheaper than the $250 iriver. i wouldn't buy the carbon because my rio forge is falling apart within 2 months of use but that is just my opinion (the carbon has a 90-day wannary i think?).
so there, it's not that expensive ($199), and the click wheel is truly innovative. the sound quality is not excellent, but then which player is without faults? just buy whatever you like and move on. i plan to keep the ipod mini.
-appearance- i like the metalic feel of the case. it is also one of the smallest in size (maybe the rio carbon is smaller). overall it looks ok, but it is too common for my taste.
-ease of use- i do like the click wheel to scroll through the list of albums and i like that you can customize the menu, but using the click wheel to adjust volume is somewhat a PITA. they should have added a separate colume button that is adjustable even if the unit is locked. but i like the click wheel in general.
-sound quality- it has preset EQ's, which is ok but i expected better... even my cheap rio forge has a 5-band adjustable EQ! i expected more than this and i am disappointted by the presets. either you get too much bass or not enough. i use the "rock" preset. basically the sound is clear which is good, but it is lacking in bass.
-charging- i think the only charging option is through an USB port is retarded. and even more so since you can't stop it from charging when it's plugged into the computer to transfer some songs. keep charging it every day will kill the battery faster of course.
-file transfer- just disable the AAC option and itunes is easy to use. the ipod can even display some IP3 tags in chinese! nice. full sub2.0 transfer here unlike my rio forge. i have no complains.
-battery life- i get about 12-14 hours with the backlight off with moderate amount of track skipping. nothing close to the 18 hours they claimed. the backlight does look cool, but of course i leave it off at all times.
-headphones- they suck. they are too muddy for my taste and the bass is exaggerated. but then again i hate my sennheiser mx400 too. too bad my koss ksc35 is really opened air, and i broke my sony MDR E888. the combination of the mx400 and ipod gives me a lack of bass and the mid is too high.
***conclusion- overall i'd say the ipod mini is not the perfect mp3 player. the sound quality is only acceptable and the whole charging interface is simply retarded.
but it retails for $199, which is similar to the creative zen micro (which people have reported some problems with it) and maybe the olympus mrobe (which looks ultra slick IMO), and is cheaper than the $250 iriver. i wouldn't buy the carbon because my rio forge is falling apart within 2 months of use but that is just my opinion (the carbon has a 90-day wannary i think?).
so there, it's not that expensive ($199), and the click wheel is truly innovative. the sound quality is not excellent, but then which player is without faults? just buy whatever you like and move on. i plan to keep the ipod mini.
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