So I had to wait, just like all the other MP3 gluttons, to get my hands on a mini i Pod. And boy, was it ever worth the wait! Sure, I already had more storage space on my older i Pod model, but I needed the style, grace, and colored anodized aluminum panache of the mini. I can only live with white for so long. Mine’s a pale mint green, and coordinates marvelously with my verdant tinted wardrobe.
And how can I be expected to go anywhere and everywhere with the now seemingly clunky i Pod? I can practically “smuggle” a mini i Pod across a border as “contraband” if need be, it’s that small.
Well, don’t expect to be able to fork over your $249.00 right away to get the mini i pod, because they are The Hottest Gadget of the year. And if you do get your hands on one, consider yourself one of the privileged, er, many. Because in all actuality, even though they are difficult to obtain, they are also in cute little accessory cases on the arms of all the other people on the treadmill at your local gym, who are benefiting from the 25-minute skip protection as they do their workout routine.
Or they are in the pockets of many of the students you see at your local university campus––each young adult thrilled to the core, at the prospect of sharing their obscure and rare favorite songs—almost all of them, in fact—with friends that might belong to or....soon join their secret mini i Pod musical club.
Cultural buzz & excitement aside, the mini has some unique features to offer. Like its larger relatives, the mini's main navigation mechanism is the elegant and intuitive ClickWheel. The wheel navigates through playlists and allows one to adjust the volume, all on a brightly backlit screen. It’s incredibly intuitive, and easy to use; Thank you Jonathan Ive! I can operate the mini i Pod and drive at the same time (Ohmigosh, did I just admit to that?)
Another chic “designed” feature about the mini i Pod is that the screen is slightly indented into the case, meaning the unit can be laid screen side down on a hard surface and remain unscratched. Thankfully, it gets eight hours of delicious, uninterrupted battery life. And when you've depleted the mini batteries by listening to too many of iTunes $1.00 specials, you can expect to recover about 80 percent capacity after just an hour of charging.
I’m proud to belong to the i Pod Nation in my own mini way.
It’s a way of life for me. It’s about expressing who I am, and feeling great everywhere I go, because I’ve got all my favorite tunes tucked into my purse. Into my credit card holder, in fact.
Kristin McDonald is a writer, graphic designer and eBay expert.
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