Small and perfectly formed

Finally got my hands on the iPod mini Lesley bought me for my 40th birthday a couple of weeks ago so it's about time for a quick review.

First impressions regarded the box it came in, it was tiny. Being used to seeing product over packaged with large amounts of unneeded packaging this came as a bit of a shock. Was this the right parcel? Yes it was for inside lurked a lovely metal cased, silver, second generation, 4Gb iPod mini personalised with a Roger Waters song lyric, "this species has amused itself to death" oh yes.

Having used it for a week and a bit now I feel there are a few comments that may be useful to anybody thinking of buying an iPod or any mp3 player for that matter.

1. iTunes and a computer: I never fully appreciated the importance of iTunes to the iPod. I thought it was just a matter of dragging and dropping files from your computer to the device, but it's not. To get the most out of the iPod a properly set up and populated music library is an essential. I wonder how many people who buy or are given an iPod actually take the time to rip all their music and catalogue it correctly. Thankfully I have a well populated library so it is no longer a concern for me.

2. Battery life: One of the reasons I plumped for the mini was because of the upgrade in battery performance from a measly 8 hours for first generation players to a quoted 18 hours for the second generation machines. After the first couple of days of usage I was concerned that I'd actually been shipped one of the older iPods with the crap battery life. Further usage showed that it is a second generation machine it's just that the battery gauging is a waste of space. I've found that I can have another 3 hours of usage after the gauge shows the battery as being empty. The battery does seem to suffer a lot of self discharge when it is turned off.

3. Volume: After switching the iPod on for the first time I was worried by the low volume of music even when it was set at maximum. You couldn't actually hear anything below halfway while on max it was fine in a quiet room but too faint in a noisy environment. I did a bit of research and found this is a common concern. The EU put a limit on the sound level all machines sold in Europe can play at to prevent hearing damage. That's all fine and dandy but it was really too low even for me never mind Lesely who is hard of hearing. I flicked the "sound check" setting on the iPod to off and found the volume had improved considerably and is fine for my ears. I think there is a utility you can download from the net which can remove the EU restriction from the iPod permanently. Something to be aware of.

4. Charging: Apple no longer package an AC adaptor for charging off the mains. Your computer must have a powered USB port. Most newish computer will have this but if you've got an older machine it is worthwhile checking you can charge from it. Charge times are very long so I think the first essential upgrade should be the purchase of an AC adaptor. I'll certainly be buying one.

5. Capacity: The quoted capacity is of course either 4Gb or 6Gb depending on which option you buy. As the storage is based on a micro hard drive you should be aware that formatting the drive will lose some of the quoted storage capacity. In the case of the 4Gb model the actual available space is 3.7Gb, a heck of a loss if you ask me. I've ripped all of my CDs at 192kbps and I can get about 380 songs on the iPod. If you rip at a lower bit rate you'll get considerably more but I think you'll struggle to get the quoted 1000 songs that Apple bandy about unless you went for a very low quality bit rate.

6. Ear buds: They're very comfy in my ear and the sound quality is pretty good but you'll find that the sound can be improved greatly by investing in a more upmarket set of headphones. I'm sticking with the bundled set for now.

I don't want you to get the impression that I've got a negative opinion of the iPod mini, far from it, I love the little thing. I just thought that these are the sort of things that should be known about it to make sure you buy the actual player that is best suited to you. Personally it is perfect for my needs. I didn't want or need one of the bigger and more expensive iPods, I have about 35 full albums on mine at the moment and can always find one to suit my mood. The real downside is that Lesley has decided she wants one too :( I certainly would not pay full price for it as Apple kit is vastly inflated for the style factor but if you follow my advice I gave here you can make some considerable savings on Apple's products.

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5

Category:

• Apple
• iPod