iPod iPod shuffle or iPod mini?

[ravenvii]

I'm thinking of buying an iPod this summer. (Nope I don't have one). I don't really listen to music, but I'm planning to try music this summer (scowls at "you are a freak" looks in the audience). I actually own 0 songs. Not one. I plan to buy some, and listen to them with the iPod obviously. This also mean I don't need huge spaces or anything. I also plan to use the iPod for storage for other stuff.

I don't really plan to listen to music by name or anything, and would probably have it on shuffle 95% of the time. I also want it really small (so no regular iPod), and I don't want to spend too much on it. But since the 1 GB shuffle and the 4 GB mini are so close in price, I'm wondering what you guys think; pay the $50 and get a screen and scroll wheel, or get the 512 MB or 1 GB shuffle?

I better stop babbling... Any suggestions?

 

[PlaceofDis]

go with one of the suffles for sure, they are awesome, i love my 512 iPod shuffle! the minis are great, but as you said you dont need the space for one so i would definitely go for a shuffle....

 

[tech4all]

You don't own any songs? Not even a CD? Wow.

Anywho, well if you want a screen and custom playlists, etc. then go with the iPod mini. You just spend 50 bucks more for 4x the storage (minus the formatting and what not, of course), plus you have more room to use as a portable hard drive.

But on the other hand, if you want small an ultra-compact and like shuffling w/o a display, then go with the Shuffle.

But I kinda like having the extra room for files in the iPod mini. I mean with me I have a 40GB iPod could have gotten an iPod mini 4GB model and still have enough room. But I like having it for storage and what not as well. Course that was really helpful when I took files to school, now I just use my LaCie HD as a back up.

So all in all, if you want the extra storage go with the mini, if not and you want small and simple go with the shuffle. I know that's not a good answer, but those are some things you can consider when deciding.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

(scowls at "you are a freak" looks in the audience)

Sorry, raven..that was me.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

As one that owns a regular iPod and an the iPod mini I can say that the mini's ability to show the song being played is great.

That being said, I can see the benefit of a group of songs that I do not care about the order in which they are played, or even knowing their names. A few hours or so of my favorite mixes in a small and light weigh package. that is what the Shuffle is all about IMO.

 

[busasa]

Wow... Just when I thought I've heard it all..... Acknowledging that you don't really listen to music, I think the best way as a starter for appreciating music is start listening to them!! By that, I mean you should get those mini radio player, and start get in touch with what kind of music you like the most. Whether it's jazz, classical, pop, rock, ambient, blues, country?!, or just anything that has a tune, I believe you can find all of those on the radio. Once you know what kind of music you prefer, then you can start searching at the big itunes library, and start purchasing some songs. Only then, can you buy an ipod.

 

[Lacero]

I'd get the 4GB iPod mini. If you don't listen to many songs (but you will, trust me), you'd want an iPod that has storage to start you on the road to music appreciation. It has a screen, duh. Which means it's great for other things besides music, like keeping your calendar, address book listings, time, some games, even solitaire.

It's also light and small enough for working out.

With the shuffle, it's cheap but unless you use it for what it was designed for, mainly skip-free performance, featherweight carrying, and autofill in iTunes, it's of a lesser value compared to it's iPod mini big brother.

 

[840quadra]

Raven,

I think the Mini is the way to go. Don't just look at the size, you can also use the Mini for more docile items like a calendar, and a phone book if you like. It will also display the song you are playing, and give you some more options for creating on the go playlists that can be auto synched back into iTunes to create solid playlists.

I have even placed large txt files on my ipod (including some articles linked from Macrumors) to read when I have some down time, or on a bus.

I don't own a shuffle, but I do have a maxxed out 15gb, and couldn't dream of going without it.

840
Listening to Rob Dougan on his iPod 15gb

 

[Applespider]

Go for the Mini - if you don't have that much music and plan on starting a collection, you're going to want to check which tracks are playing since you won't recognise them otherwise.

The Shuffles are great (I have one for running or where the full iPod is too big) but I listen to my iPod at my desk etc where I like to know exactly what's playing.

I know what you mean about not really listening to music. I didn't listen to much pre-iPod. I've listened to (and bought) more music in the year or so since I got my iPod and the iTMS opened in the UK than I did in the 5 years before that.

 

[ravenvii]

Hey, I just saw that Apple offers edu discounts on iPod mini's! So they're actually $179 for me... So I should be getting a iPod mini, end of discussion?

 

[mduser63]

You should note that this reply is coming from someone who bought an iPod shuffle just a few hours ago (listening to it now ). Go with the iPod mini. The shuffle is REALLY small and cool, but if you're just starting to listen to music, you're going to want to be able to see what you're listening to. Another often overlooked feature of iPods (except the shuffle) is the ability to rate the song you're listening to and then have your rating synced back to iTunes later. It's a great way to make it so that songs you don't like are marked so you can delete them, and songs that you do like get marked so you can make good smart playlists. After you've started to build up a collection of music that you really like, you might want an iPod shuffle to go with your iPod mini.

 

[ksz]

These replies are swinging back and forth between the mini and the shuffle. Let me swing it back in the direction of the shuffle. 240 songs on a 1GB shuffle last quite a LONG time. For one who owns no songs, the 1GB will be sufficient for a long time. Arguably, the shuffle has the best sound quality of all the iPods and all its competitors. For an audio purist like myself, sound quality matters -- it matters a whole lot. I am not an audio snob who pays exorbitant sums for the last full measure of sonic devotion, but when evaluating afforable components, I rank sound quality very high. Lastly, hard drive-based players are susceptible to damage from even short drops on hard surfaces. I've lost two 30GB units this way; fortunately Apple replaced them each time free of charge, but keep in mind that if you drop a hard drive-based player from even 3 feet, you will damage the drive.

After owning the 1GB shuffle, I find myself almost exclusively using that instead of its 30GB sibling, even on long flights. In a side-by-side ownership experience, I actually prefer the little shuffle. It may be small in size, but it's anything but small in stature.