Review by Mitzie Correa
Hi. I'm Mitzie. You may recognize me as the iRiver-raving gal on the Jan-Feb issue of Proving Ground or the
Mpio-toting one in last June's Proving Ground. Even in this same issue, I'll also appear as the Music2Go-maven.
But for now, I'm a mere mortal with a mini iPod in my hands. It's an MP3 baby-god at a compact and light 3.6 ounces.
Hence, I can store it in my pocket and listen to my music on the go.
Microwarehouse distributes the iPod Mini, and the test unit they lent me was colored silver. I would've wanted the
pink one (reminds me of carnival cotton candy) or the lime green one (reminds me of green apples - yum!) but the
space age-looking silver iPod Mini was alright. At least it was an iPod. And it was still a looker. The anodized
aluminum case even resists stains and scratches, so there's no need to worry about marring my baby-god's good looks.
But of course, the iPod can't function without installing the software in your PC or your Mac. Which was a piece of cake -
just pop the installation CD in your CPU, follow the directions with a few clicks of the mouse, and voila, your iPod is now
in sync with your computer. And with uber-manageable iTunes to boot!
To copy songs from a CD, just, again, pop your fave album (I started with Norah Jones' Come Away With Me), click
Import on the right-hand side of the iTunes screen, and it will do the rest - provided that you connect the iPod to the
PC first via either the USB or Firewire cable, that is.
If you have a good MP3 collection stored in your computer and it so happened to be in iTunes already, iPod will
automatically recognize it and transfer your MP3s to the device. Colossal convenience in a mini contraption, huh?
What's more, the iPod Mini has a 1.67-inch (diagonal) backlit screen that displays full song names and a lot more.
The innovative Click Wheel takes best advantage of the small space. No buttons, no bumps. Just smooth sailing as
I sort through my sea of favorite songs with my thumb.
The iPod Mini is also an intelligent organizer. It automatically categorizes songs according to artist, genre, album, or
any kind of organizing scheme you have in mind. So finding the right songs in just a second is guaranteed.
Navigating through the iPod Mini is a no-brainer. After amusing myself with other MP3 players and thinking that they're
as okay as the iPod, all that changed as soon as I got hold of the Mini. If you're an avid SPEED reader and you remember
me saying that a certain Brand I is my MP3 player of choice somewhere in the Jan-Feb issue, I kinda take that back
(sheepish grin, tee-hee). In the MP3 player kingdom, this Mini reigns supreme. It's easy to use, lasts up to 8 hours on
a single battery charge, plus it has added features to make your life easier like an alarm, contacts list, calendar, to-do
lists, and games.
My only gripe is that it is pricey at P16,588. I mean, come on, 4GB is nothing compared to the 15GB its big sis offers.
And you can get it for just 2,000 bucks more. But would this mere mortal let a price problem prevent her from purchasing
the iPod of her dreams? Nothing you can't do with a little prayer to the Apple gods (i.e., "Sana mag-sale").
GRINS
? user-friendly
? scratchproof case
? a super compact looker
? satisfactory sound
? can pack 1,000 of my favorite songs
GRIMACES
? pricey
? maybe its bigger sister, the 15GB iPod, is a better bet for just a couple
thousand pesos more
THE LOWDOWN
As the iPod's shinier, pastel-loving sister, the iPod Mini is a good hand and ear accessory
