I bought my i-Pod Mini two years ago, and it is still in good nick, which shows how strong they are, as it has been dropped, thrown and once put in water. Not once has it malfunctioned or gone wrong. Now, that may be coincidence, so don't go trying it just to prove it!
At the moment my i-Pod holds the maximum amount on its memory, 686 songs. On adverts it is said that i-Pod mini holds 1000 songs, but that is only if the songs are 2 minutes long, and to be honest, they don't exist in great abundance.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an i-Pod memory card, but actually, it's not as though I listen to all 686 songs every time I go out, so it doesn't really matter.
The sound quality is excellent, and the songs don't jump or go weird, unless you've broken it, in which case, the apple webstire will have anythng you need, or it is running out of battery.
The advertisments say that the i-Pod mini has 18 hours of battery time, but actually, the first time I used it I had 18 hours, and now it is about 4 hours. This is a bit inpractical if you are on holiday, without your computer.
I guess I could buy a charger, what is the point of spending more moeny on something I already have!
There are loads of accessories available for i-Pod mini, including:-speakers -dock -remote -belt clip -armband -stereo connection kit -car adaptor -covers/cases
My i-Pod is the bright blue mini, and there are no scratches on it at all, and compared to my friends, which is all cracked and trashed, it looks much nicer.
This is because until I got my cover, I kept it in a plastic bag, (what can I say, I am a perfectionist!) which I am glad about, because it looks how it looked when I bought it!
When you open the i-Pod mini box, you will find the i-Pod, earphones, belt clip, USB connector cable, i-Pod Getting Started leaflet, and a troubleshooting CD ROM.
As well as being able to listen to music on i-Pod mini, you can upload notes, contact information and calendar events to your i-Pod from your computer. There is a clock, and date feature, and there are four games included in the mini. Brick, where you break blocks by bouncing a ball at them from a platform. Parachute, which I don't really get, but involves lttile parachuting dudes and a gun! Solitaire, which is the original card game made digital - this is what I play most (I don't really get the others). The last game available is Music Quiz, where you are played clips from songs on your i-Pod and given a list of 4 songs and you have to choose which it is. The longer you take, songs are eliminated to help, but you don't get as many points! Quite addacitive!
I like my mini much better than the nano's or i-Pods, for one thing, you can get them in loads of groovy colours, not just the primary ones, also, I would be terrified of breaking the nano, as it looks far to weedy for what my i-Pod has had to go through! The original i-Pod is very heavy and bulky, which is not very practical fro travelling, as I keep my mini in my pocket, and an i-Pod wouldn't fit there!
I really reccomend the i-Pod mini, if you don't, they will become extinct! Find a place in your heart for a small piece of metal/plastic!
Advantages: Great little player, easy to organise playlists, nice games, great all around, until things start to go wrong Disadvantages: (No longer sold) battery life, now seems 'basic' in comparison to others