iPod mini Hater No More

I recently purchased a pink iPod mini for my soon-to-be-wife’s upcoming birthday. Kristin (the S.T.B.W.) requested it, knows that it is coming, and never reads what she refers to as “those geeky articles you write,” so there is little harm in me mentioning it here. However, due to some odd Apple miracle that I have never before experienced, the 2 week wait noted on the check out page at the Apple Store in reality meant that her customized iPod mini with her favorite slogan laser-engraved on the back arrived a mere 3 days after I ordered it.

Of course, I ended up opening it, plugging it in, and fiddling around with it, but only to charge it for her, to fill it with some choice songs which I bought her for her birthday, and to leave a happy birthday note in the Notes folder. I have to mention this experience here, because of the impact a scant 15 minutes with the iPod mini had on me. I must confess, I have for quite some time been an iPod mini hater. When they first announced the iPod mini, I was appalled at the enormous price for this smaller, cuter iPod. For $50 more, you could purchase an iPod that could hold over 3 times as much data and songs! My inner-g33k wouldn’t allow me to like the iPod mini. Kristin, however, saw it and thought it was cute. She saw its usefulness as a music player, and didn’t care about gigabytes. Perhaps most importantly, she saw it as a cute accessory. Score one for Apple. 

After spending some time setting up Kristin’s iPod mini, I have to say, I may have changed my mind. For someone who likes portability and small form factors, there is a certain appeal to the teeny iPod mini. Sure, it is small and cute, but Apple made some good decisions with the iPod mini. The click-wheel control, which has recently migrated over to the 4G iPods, is simpler and more intuitive: a vast improvement on the previous incarnations of the iPod’s controls. The other good move on the iPod mini is the stain and scratch resistant finish, made from anodized aluminum. I still think the iPod mini’s price-point is too high (although these days, you can get it for free with a little bit of work), but holding it for the short amount of time I did before gingerly slipping it back inside the plastic wrapping it came in told me one thing: I want Apple to change the finish on all the iPods, all the Powerbooks, and on all the portables they ever make to anodized aluminum. It just feels right. I’m smiling just thinking about the possibility of a scratch-resistant 12-inch PowerBook!