Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9436LL/A (Blue) OLD MODEL

by Apple

Product Details

Product Manual [1.32mb PDF]

• Item Weight: 3.7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001A99LA
• Item model number: M9436LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (520 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,264 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Color: Blue

From the Manufacturer

Everything you love about iPod just got tinier. iPod mini lets you bring along enough music for a three-day weekend getaway in a package so small you’ll forget you’re carrying it. Until people ask you about it, that is.

Fashionably Compact
Apple engineers squeezed all the best features of iPod into a case weighing just 3.6 ounces and smaller than most cell phones. iPod mini features an anodized aluminium case that resists stains and scratches. The case weighs practically nothing, but protects iPod mini in your pocket, purse or backpack. Recessed in the case to keep its surface pristine wherever you lay it, the 1.67 inch (diagonal) backlit screen displays full song names and more. Like its (slightly) bigger brother, iPod mini gives you over 25 minutes of skip protection and lasts up to 8 hours on a single battery charge. So you won’t pay a penalty for miniaturization.

Can Touch This
In fact, all the features of iPod are still under your thumb. Always striving for perfection, Apple engineers moved the iPod’s buttons under the wheel. The iPod mini Click Wheel gives you the enhanced durability and sensitivity of the iPod Touch Wheel, with buttons underneath. The Click Wheel takes best advantage of miniscule space and lets you scroll single handedly though 1,000 songs from your iTunes music collection. You’ll find such thoughtful construction only from Apple. Because try as they might, the competition can’t touch this.

Oh, one other minor detail, you can choose your iPod mini in one of five trend-setting colors: silver, gold, green, pink, or blue (all shiny).

Little iPod. Same great features.

Autosync your iPod mini with Mac and Windows
iTunes 4 lets you organize your music on your Mac or Windows PC and automatically transfer it to iPod mini. Whether you’ve ripped your CD collection to MP3, bought music from the iTunes Music Store or made your own track with GarageBand, you can take it with you wherever you go. Your iPod mini includes both a FireWire and a USB 2.0 cable for high-speed transfer from your Mac or PC. In fact, you can move an entire album from your computer to your iPod mini in seconds flat. With the industry’s only true Auto-Sync, your iPod mini is always up-to-date, mirroring the latest changes you’ve made in iTunes. And if your collection on your computer is bigger than iPod mini, you can let iTunes automatically choose a selection of songs to fill it up.

Games, Calendar, Contacts & Notes
Behind the Click Wheel of your iPod mini await features that make it the world’s best digital music player. Listen to your music as you fall asleep, and wake up with music or an alarm. Store a copy of your contacts, calendar and to-do lists on your iPod mini. Or keep anything from store restaurant reviews to nightlife guides, and news articles to exercise routines -- right at your fingertips. iPod mini also includes four fun games you can play anywhere, a feature you’re sure to appreciate the next time you’re standing in line or waiting for someone. You can even play your music as the soundtrack to the games -- Music Quiz, Solitaire, Brick and Parachute.

iPod supports vCalendar and iCalendar files, which can be exported by many applications, including Microsoft Entourage, Palm Desktop and iCal. And with support for industry-standard vCard files, iPod lets you store and access all your important contact information with the touch of a button. you’re standing in line or waiting for someone. PLus, the notes reader lets you can transfer text-based information to your iPod and read it on-screen. Now you can have the information you need — from restaurant reviews to concert guides to news articles — right at your fingertips.

Product Description

4GB hard drive holds approximately: * 133 hours of music at 64 Kbps * 66 hours at 128 Kbps * other bitrates also supported * plays MP3, WAV, AAC, AIFF (uncompressed), and Audible files *

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

544 of 577 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As much art as it is science!, March 2, 2004

By 

Christian Hunter "Christian Hunter" (Austin, Texas Santa Barbara, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9160LL/A (Silver) OLD MODEL (Electronics)

I have been an iPod evangalist since I first turned on the 5GB. As you may know from my reviews of the 5, 15, 20, and 40GB models, I've owned (or given as gifts) just about every incarnation of this glorious device. So, when Apple announced that it was releasing a dramatically redesigned version of the iPod, I knew right away it would at least be a hit, perhaps even enjoy the almost "cult-like" status of its larger parent.

So I pre-ordered 3 of them; one for each of my sisters and myself. They arrived about a week ago and I'm happy to report that Apple has done it again with the release of the iPod Mini. It totally ROCKS!

There are allot of things I like about this model, but before I get into them A VERY IMPORTANT WARNING TO THOSE THAT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT:

YOU MUST CHARGE AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE USE!

I, like so many I'm sure, was very eager to "plug and play". I did, without fully charging them, and they experienced all kinds of impossible to resolve errors.

Now, in the event you've already bought one, or simply can't help yourself, there is a little known "reset feature" on the mini that will come in handy whenever you have an issue.

TO RESET THE MINI, PRESS AND HOLD THE MENU AND SELECT BUTTON (the middle round button) FOR SIX SECONDS.

That'll bring your baby back to life.

The colors are awesome (I have the blue, silver, and pink), look very stylish, and will likely show less wear. If you have the patience, consider having Apple engrave them for you (looks very cool).

The sound is excellent. I don't have a testing lab, but I could swear that the sound quality is better; and I'm almost certain that they can play at a higher volume.

Another important improvement is the fact that when skipping forward more than a handful of songs the mini doesn't stall (for a second or two) like it's predecessors.

So, in conclusion, this is a wonderful new player that'll be sure to WOW everyone that owns it, and create envious spectators out of those that don't.

Hope this was helpful.

Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, CA.

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Size does matter!, March 26, 2004

By 

D. Rose - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9435LL/A (Pink) OLD MODEL (Electronics)

Sure, when you read the specs a 1/2 inch may not seem like it's that much smaller than the original white iPods, but when you hold it in your hand it really does feel Mini.

Obviously the only drawback is the lack of storage (in comparison to the other iPods anyway. 4 gigs is still a lot of space for a device that small). I have about 8 gigs of music, so I need to stick with my 10 gig model for a while, but if they release new Minis with say a 8 or 10 gig hard drive soon, I will definitely sell mine and go for the smaller size.

Not only is the iPod Mini fiendishly small and cool looking, it's also a lot more functional than the "big" iPods in my opinion.

Controls

As you may know, the "big" iPods feature four buttons across the top of the device that control the menu, play/pause, and next/previous tracks. They are also extremely sensitive, and can be pressed on accident just by trying to pick up the unit. It's also easy to press the wrong button when trying to find it by touch with your thumb. There is no click when you press the buttons, they are instead activated as soon as you lightly touch them.

The iPod Mini has the buttons built into the scroll wheel itself due to size constraints (it's really small!), but they also make an audible and "feelable" click when pressed. The scroll wheel is still touch sensitive, but all of the buttons click when you press them. This makes it a ton easier to navigate and use the iPod Mini without looking at it.

The hold switch (on the top of the unit, to keep the buttons from being pressed) is also much easier to use than on the "big" iPod in my opinion. On the big one you have to slide the switch with your fingernail or press down really hard to get it to move because it is almost flush with the surface of the iPod. But the hold switch on the iPod Mini sticks up a little more and has sharper edges, allowing you to easily "catch" the edge of it with your thumb and operate it.

Casing

The case of the iPod Mini is much nicer than it appears in pictures. I was a little unsure about all of the wacky colors when the Mini's were first announced, but when you see it in person it is actually quite nice. (I still don't like the looks of the gold one though!) The back of the case is the same material as the front, so it doesn't scratch and show fingerprints like the shiny chrome backing of the original iPods. Since we ordered directly from Apple, we got free laser engraving on the back as well, which looks like it was done with the same machine that does the etching of the Apple logo and other wording, so it matches perfectly and blends right in with the rest of the design.

Software

As far as I can tell the software for the iPod Mini is exactly the same as the originals. One difference I noticed is that when the iPod is ready to be disconnected from the computer, it shows a big check mark on it saying that it's ok to disconnect it. I don't think the originals had that.

One irritating thing is the reset controls of the Mini though. According to Apple, you have to plug in the iPod to a wall socket in order to reboot it, which seems a little silly. My wife's has gotten stuck once since we've had it, and we couldn't figure out how to reset it. I'm not sure if she ever figured it out or not yet (she's out of town so I could only walk her through it over the phone while she was at the airport). Hopefully the lock-ups will be very infrequent, or we may be calling up Apple to see what the problem is.

Extras

The Mini comes with a nice belt clip, which is easy to slide on and holds the device pretty tightly. You of course still have to be careful not to brush up against something when it's on your belt and scratch the screen or metal casing. It also comes with a Firewire cable, as well as a USB 2.0 cable which most Windows users will use. The original iPods only came with the firewire cables, forcing you to either by a firewire card for your PC, or buy a USB 2.0 cable at an extra cost if you had a Windows machine.

There is also a wall-plug included in the box. You just plug the firewire cord into the little power adapter, and plug it straight into the wall to charge it. You can't plug the USB 2.0 cord into the power adapter to charge it, so if you use that cord to sync to your PC, you'll have to carry the firewire cable as well if you want to charge the iPod without plugging it into a computer.

Value

A lot of people complain that the iPod Mini is too expensive in comparison to the 15 gig model that is only $50 more. This is a valid concern if you have 10 or 15 gigs of music in your collection, but if you are just a casual music listener, or don't mind manually managing the songs on your iPod rather than storing your entire collection on it, the iPod Mini is definitely an option to consider.

The size difference is significant, despite what you may first think after reading the specs on the Apple web site. If possible, look at an iPod Mini in person before saying "Oh, it's just a 1/2" or so smaller than the original iPod, that doesn't matter".

The iPod Mini also comes with more accessories than the 15 gig model, including the USB 2.0 cord, and the belt clip.

Overall this is a completely incredible little device, and is worth every penny of that $250.

Leave it to Apple to make something as incredible as the original iPod look obsolete and "huge" in comparison to the new iPod Minis.

301 of 329 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars never thought I'd get the mini, March 9, 2004

By 

Michael Kovacs (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple iPod 4 GB mini M9160LL/A (Silver) OLD MODEL (Electronics)

I scoffed at the price of the mini when first announced like
the typical software geek "Why the heck would I buy this thing
when I can get the 15GB iPod for $50 more?". Then I went to the gym
while using my Nike PSA Play 120 with 128MB of flash. I'm tired of wrestling
with the crappy rio music manager software that always crashes, or
windows media player which sometimes will recognize my device
and sometimes won't. I want something that I can use at the gym as well as
use for walking around that is small enough to strap on my arm and fit in my pocket with
my phone.

I purchased this mini yesterday at the new apple store here in
SF (was surprised they had it in stock). The only problem I've
had (thus the reason for only 4 stars) is that it locked up twice
within the first couple of hours. It's been another day and while it hasn't
locked up again I think I'll still take it back and swap it out.
Other users have reported the same problem with the mini so beware.
If you do a google for "ipod mini diagnostic" you can find out how to run diagnostics and checkout
the drive and the disk to make sure all is OK.

At any rate, the quality of this player is very nice all things
considered assuming there isn't an epidemic with the lockups.
I haven't tested how many hours of battery I get but
I've had it on here and there all day today and am halfway
drained as I type this at 9:10 PM. The sound is of decent quality to me at least.
(I listen only to MP3s at 192 or higher bit rate and have a good quality stereo, HK AVR520 and Cambridge
Soundworks Newton Series™ MC300 speakers and P500 Powered
Subwoofer, and headphones (Sony MDR-V700DJ)) This gives a
reference for all you audiophiles out there so you know where
my opinion scales. For small audio buds the sounds is very
good (among the best I've heard, usually I throw the headphones
out that come with any portable).

The user interface is of course the best that can be had in
a portable device and better than the iPod due to the buttons
being integrated with the scroll wheel, meaning you never have
to leave the confines of the wheel searching for the right
button to press. I'll go for a run tomorrow with it to test
out the armband but I don't envision any problems. The
construction is very solid and though it doesn't weigh a whole
lot it feels very solid and of high quality.

ITunes is a great piece of software and you can have it just
pick a bunch of random songs to dump on to your player if you
have more than 4 gigs like I do. I get about 680 songs on the
player with my high bit rate rips. 4 gigs is plenty of room
and won't annoy me to change music every once in awhile.

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