Where can I get an iPod mini? [Archive]

Nitsmeister

2007-05-22, 07:16

Hello there,
first of all i wanna apologize about my lame english (it's my second language :P) :P

My brother's BD is near and he wants a 2nd Gen iPod mini as a BD present :P
My question is where can I get one at the best price and and with minimal damage (non-engraved one) and with all the basic addons (USB, ipod earphones and whatever) online?

I'll appreciate your help :)

Wyatt

2007-05-22, 07:30

eBay and other online auction sites are your best option for finding a mini.

I'm curious, though -- why does he want a mini rather than a nano?

turtle

2007-05-22, 09:09

Yes, online auction sites would be your best bet. Depending on where you live, they might have something like Craigslist too.

Some times you can even find stuff like that on Amazon.

beardedmacuser

2007-05-22, 09:44

I'm curious, though -- why does he want a mini rather than a nano?

Personally I prefer the mini to the nano (but that's just personal taste). Also, you can replace the battery in the mini and swap the hard drive for a compact flash card...

the iPod mini remastered, now with 16GB! (http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/759/the-ipod-mini-remastered-now-with-16gb)

The girlfriend was running out of space on her 4 gig mini so the other day I swapped it for an 8 gig compact flash card. It works a treat!

Wyatt

2007-05-22, 09:47

Personally I prefer the mini to the nano (but that's just personal taste). Also, you can replace the battery in the mini and swap the hard drive for a compact flash card...

the iPod mini remastered, now with 16GB! (http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/759/the-ipod-mini-remastered-now-with-16gb)

The girlfriend was running out of space on her 4 gig mini so the other day I swapped it for an 8 gig compact flash card. It works a treat!
That is pretty cool, but once you've spent the money to buy a mini and a new battery, you might as well have bought a nano.

Of course, if you already have the mini, it's a great upgrade. It almost makes me wish I still had mine. :)

turtle

2007-05-22, 09:52

beardedmacuser

2007-05-22, 10:25

I just found my wife's Pink Mini. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, though it's personalized for her with a message from me. I'm sure I'll be one of the ones to put a CF card in it if not a new battery too.

Yeh, if you're going to the effort of opening it up you may as well replace the battery too. The girlfriend's 1st gen mini has got through three or four batteries so far :( (I think the 2nd gen mini was better on battery life).

That is pretty cool, but once you've spent the money to buy a mini and a new battery, you might as well have bought a nano.

But you can't buy a nano with more than 8 gigs of storage (at the moment). I'd expect that in a year or so we'll be able to buy 32 gig or even higher capacity compact flash cards.

turtle

2007-05-22, 11:05

Yeh, if you're going to the effort of opening it up you may as well replace the battery too. The girlfriend's 1st gen mini has got through three or four batteries so far :( (I think the 2nd gen mini was better on battery life).

I likely would. What annoys me about her Mini is that it's loosing it's color though. It has been for the years we've had it. It's 2nd gen, but we aren't even sure why it's loosing it's color. It looks like fading as though it were left in the sun. :confused: We're keeping it though. I have quite the collection right now.

Is it 1981?

2007-05-22, 11:58

I'm curious, though -- why does he want a mini rather than a nano?

Perhaps their Mac doesn't have USB 2, and would prefer the faster transfer rates over FireWire.

And the black remastered iPod mini looks a lot better than the current iPod nano - if the nano had a white clickwheel and black centre button, I'd buy one like that.

Nitsmeister

2007-05-23, 03:41

First of all, we have WinXP (apple's stuff are pretty expensive in Israel :X ).
I asked him the same question and he told me he likes it more than the nano :P I don't care, I own a 30GB 5.5Gen iPod so i'm not going to use his :P

Robo

2007-05-23, 03:55

Partial

2007-05-23, 10:47

Does he know that the iPod nano is made out of the same curvy aluminum now?

I could understand prefering the iPod mini if the iPod nano was still plastic, but now that it's all aluminum (it even comes in the same colors!), I really can't understand why anyone would prefer the mini. But hey, if it's what he wants...

I actually like the mini better than the nano because it is a little bigger and sturdier. I've dropped that sucker running at least 50 times and it keeps on ticking. I realize the nano is now made out of the same material, but it still just looks and feels flimsy.

joveblue

2007-05-23, 20:25

The solid-state flash hard drive in the Nano is much better for being dropped than the magnetic HDD in the Mini, is it not?

turtle

2007-05-23, 20:53

Yes, because you can't crash heads on a flash card since they aren't there. The microdrive does have the ability to have the heads crash and thus die.

I'm pretty sure that flash drives don't use anywhere near the amount of power microdrives do.

kieran

2007-05-23, 22:46

I can see where someone would want a Mini over a Nano.

I loved my Mini, the only reason that I got a Nano was becuse I got it for Christmas. Right after I got the Nano, the dock connector became loose on the Mini and the warranty was expired, so now I have a 2nd Gen 4gb Mini just sitting around.

I liked the size of the Mini better than the Nano. The Nano just feels a little small to me, like it could break easily. However, I love the Nano and use it every day, I just wish you could still use FireWire with it.

opuscroakus

2007-05-24, 12:13

the iPod mini remastered, now with 16GB! (http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/759/the-ipod-mini-remastered-now-with-16gb)

The girlfriend was running out of space on her 4 gig mini so the other day I swapped it for an 8 gig compact flash card. It works a treat!

BM, what brand cf card did you use. Judging from some of the comments on that website, some brands may/may not work...?

beardedmacuser

2007-05-24, 14:31

BM, what brand cf card did you use. Judging from some of the comments on that website, some brands may/may not work...?

Just some unbranded cheapo eBay compact flash card. I've no idea who manufactured it, sorry.

Partial

2007-05-24, 14:57

despite being a memory container with non-moving parts, nand gate and nor gate flash memory have their own problems in terms of reliability. I'd say over time they will last longer than the hdd version, but if you're dropping it repeatedly it is just as likely to malfunction.

HezMah19

2007-10-18, 05:46

*Bump*

I received a free iPod mini from a customer that had a dead HD, I did the "upgrade" to a CF card today and it works perfectly (sans the clickwheel that was already trashed, luckily I have a remote so I can still use it).

As I am broke atm I only put in a 1GB card in. 1GB SanDisk Ultra II. If anyone is interested in doing it themselves, PM me with questions and I shall answer what I can.

turtle

2007-10-18, 09:30

Cool, I still have my wife's Pink Mini and think about upgrading it every now and then just for fun...

duyvan82

2007-10-18, 13:02

stupid me trying to reply to a dead thread
sorry mods :(

Perfecting_Zero

2007-10-21, 20:08

I know that this thread was dead... and that I'm drifting off-topic. But I've been wanting to express my affection for the iPod Mini -- it is perfect, nearly! As others have said, the size, the weight and the curvy feel are just right; In fact, just holding one makes me happy. And I love that there is a little spinning, whirring, hard-drive soul in there. :) The Mini does everything that I would like it to, and yet it has the good taste to resist the superfluous and the flashy.

I have a silver Mini and two pink Minis; I'm hoping to pick up a blue one, too! Or maybe even a gold one.

Beardedmacuser, thanks for the advice (and inspiration) on replacing HDDs and batteries... I have bookmarked this thread for that eventual day.

Cheers!