•• Hardware ••
This version of the iPod mini comes with a 6 gig hard drive. This is a decent size drive especially if you use the 64 kbps bit rate. The default iTunes rate is 128kbps so the songs will take up a little bit more room. The LCD was one of the last with a monochrome (black and white) screen. This is not a big deal since if my eyes need a splash of color, I can simply glance down at the pink case. The case is metal and feels solid. It isn't the lightest of all MP3 players, but I don't subscribe to the philosophy that lighter is better. In many cases, lighter means flimsy. Despite the rugged appearance and durability, the thing is pink.

The headphones that ship with the unit are pretty much junk. And isn't it ironic that the only thing associated with this player that isn't pink is the one thing that will probably be thrown away. Darn you Steve Jobs. A better set of headphones should be in your budget as the included ones sound muffled with no decent highs or lows. Not a big deal, as I suspect that Apple bought the product of the lowest bidder. And most shoppers today know that you'll need better headphones. If they don't know, then they probably won't be able to tell the difference anyway. Oh, and if I didn't mention it, the iPod is Pink.

The iPod (pink) uses an internal Lithium-ion battery. In the past, they've had a problem with battery life and a class action lawsuit was settled in favor of the customers. This problem has supposedly been fixed, but it's still a good idea to fully charge and fully discharge your iPod. This will allow you to have the full 12-16 hour battery life mentioned in the manual. My wife has been using it for several months and there has been no sign of battery slowdown.

Apple's biggest innovation is how well they get rid of bloatware. And this applies to their controls. There is simply a circle. Each "side" of the circle is a control and moving your finger around the circle adjusts different settings such as volume or menu navigation. This scroll circle is very effective and has become the signature of the iPod line. That and the different colors you can purchase the minis in. Including Pink. Which this one is.

•• Sound quality ••
So not only did my wife buy a Pink iPod mini, but she made me listen to it to hear the sound quality. But to make matters worse, she made me listen the Full Monty soundtrack. So I'm sitting in bed using a pink MP3 player to listen to a soundtrack from a movie where all the men end up naked. Just kill me now. Despite these setbacks to my manliness, the iPod sounded quite good once I ditched the included earbuds and plugged in my Sony headphones. The highs were high and the bass was rich. It didn't sound quite as bold and dynamic as my Creative Zen Sleek (not pink), but more than adequate. For a full range of tests, my wife provided me samples of Abba, Air Supply, Depeche mode, Gwen Stefani and other staples of every man's music library.

For even further comparison, I tried both MP3 and the proprietary iTunes format. There was no discernible difference. But we chose MP3 as the default so we could share the files between her iPod and my Zen Sleek. All different compression settings are supported, and all sound as good as expected. None of the compression settings sounded worse on the iPod than they did on the computer.

•• Software ••
The signature software of every iPod (pink or otherwise) is the iTunes software. Love it or hate it, it does the job very well. And it serves several purposes. The first is to sync up your iPod and create playlists. This functionality is rather excellent as it rips, burns and catalogs all the music my wife wants. Additionally, the iTunes software can play the files on the computer. It is really trying to be the default media player for your computer and your iPod.

The second function is to get you to buy music. And Apple has had huge success with this. You buy individual songs for 99 cents or even entire albums. The key to this is making it easy and Apple has done a bang-up job. My wife has bought a number of songs and installed them on her iPod with no help from me. Making it easy for anyone is the key and Apple has done a bang up job. Did I mention the iPod is pink?

If you're in to pirate radio or neo-radio, or whatever they're calling it today, the iPod is great for podcasting. Actually any MP3 player can do podcasting, but as usual, Apple has made it easy by incorporating the ability to find and download podcasts to your iPod in the same interface that users are already used to. What is podcasting? Basically, anyone with a minimal amount of software and interest, can create their own radio show and distribute it on the web. So if you're interested in Uncle Earl's Greatest Hits of the Accordion, you can get the show.

The iPod software is considered the easiest UI to use. While I agree that it is easy, most current MP3 player software is also easy. The Creative Zen Sleek is as easy to use as they come and the Rio Carbon is decent. Menu navigation is simple and almost fun using the scroll circle, but these days the UI is getting a little outdated. No FM radio, no Sleep timer. And the Hold feature is only activated in the menu. This is highly annoying. In addition, the iPod does not support up[dating via flash, which explains why they've had several "generations" of iPod. if they had flash updating, every iPod would have the same generation of software. And they'd all be pink.

•• Conclusion ••
I think the reason my wife insisted on getting a pink iPod is because she knew there was no way I would carry it to the gym. I don't even like to have it in my car for fear that someone I know will walk by and see it laying there on the front seat. But I digress.... From a male perspective, the iPod mini pink is an excellent MP3 player for those men who are color blind. The sound is excellent and the iTunes software is some of the best. While the internal software is getting a little long in the tooth, it does an admirable job and is still one of the easiest to use.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 212
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection