IPod mini
Encyclopedia
The iPod Mini is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the midrange model in Apple's iPod
product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004 and released on February 20 of the same year. A second-generation version was announced on February 23, 2005 and released later that year. The iPod Mini line was officially discontinued on September 7, 2005 and was replaced by the iPod Nano
line.
The iPod Mini uses the touch-sensitive scroll wheel of the third generation iPod. However, instead of the four touch buttons located above the wheel, the buttons were redesigned as mechanical switches beneath the wheel itself—hence the name click wheel. To use one of the four buttons, the user must physically push the edge of the wheel inward over one of the four labels. Like its predecessors, the wheel was developed for Apple by Synaptics
. The click wheel is now also used in the fourth
, fifth
and sixth
generation iPods and the iPod Nano, from first generation through the fifth; however, in the Nano and 5G iPods onwards, the click wheel is developed by Apple.
Above the wheel is a monochrome 138x110 LCD that displays a menu or information about the selected track. Newer-generation iPods have since adopted color displays.
s (102 gram
s). The case consists of anodized aluminium
. First generation iPod Minis were available in five colors: silver, gold, pink, blue, and green. The gold model was dropped from the second generation range, likely due to its unpopularity. The pink, blue, and green models had brighter hues in the second generation; the silver model remained unchanged.
The iPod Mini uses Microdrive
hard drives (CompactFlash II) made by Hitachi
and Seagate
. First generation models were available in a 4 GB size, while second generation models were available in both 4 GB and 6 GB versions (quoted as capable of storing roughly 1,000 and 1,500 songs, respectively) and eventually the second generation had the capacity laser etched
into the aluminum case.
The battery life of the first generation of iPod Mini was about 8 hours, similar to the third generation iPod that was available when the Mini was released, which some criticised for its short duration. Apple addressed this problem in the second generation models, which had a nominal battery life of about 18 hours. However, the second generation iPod Minis no longer came with a FireWire cable or an AC power
adapter, which were left out to reduce the selling prices of the new iPod Minis. iPod Mini batteries, like many Lithium Ion batteries, run down to 80% capacity after 400 full charge cycles.
A proprietary
dock connector
was provided on the bottom of the device for a connection to a computer's USB
or FireWire port. The unit's battery could be charged during connection. Along the top it had a hold switch, a headphone jack, and a remote connector for accessories.
Like the iPod Nano
, the iPod Mini supported MP3
, AAC
/M4A, WAV
, AIFF
, and Apple Lossless
audio formats. It also retained the iPod's integration with iTunes
and the iTunes Store
, allowing for syncing between the software application and the iPod Mini.
The iPod Mini can be flashed to run iPodLinux
or Rockbox
firmware which has support for extra codecs, games and various other plugins and allows music placed directly on the iPod to be played without using iTunes. Recently users have replaced the 4 or 6 GB Microdrive with high capacity 8, 16, 32 and even 64 GB CompactFlash
cards. Aside from increased capacity, this has the advantage of increasing battery life and making the Mini more durable since CompactFlash cards are solid-state with no moving parts.
. The Nano used flash memory to accomplish an even thinner casing, and featured a color screen. The headphone jack was moved to the bottom of the device, the dock connector shifted-off center, and the 4-pin remote connector was removed, among other changes.
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004 and released on February 20 of the same year. A second-generation version was announced on February 23, 2005 and released later that year. The iPod Mini line was officially discontinued on September 7, 2005 and was replaced by the iPod Nano
IPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
line.
The iPod Mini uses the touch-sensitive scroll wheel of the third generation iPod. However, instead of the four touch buttons located above the wheel, the buttons were redesigned as mechanical switches beneath the wheel itself—hence the name click wheel. To use one of the four buttons, the user must physically push the edge of the wheel inward over one of the four labels. Like its predecessors, the wheel was developed for Apple by Synaptics
Synaptics
Synaptics develops human interface solutions for many major consumer electronics companies, such as Apple Inc., Asus, Acer, Dell, Gateway, HP, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Logitech, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and several others...
. The click wheel is now also used in the fourth
IPod classic
The iPod Classic is a portable media player marketed by Apple Inc...
, fifth
IPod classic
The iPod Classic is a portable media player marketed by Apple Inc...
and sixth
IPod classic
The iPod Classic is a portable media player marketed by Apple Inc...
generation iPods and the iPod Nano, from first generation through the fifth; however, in the Nano and 5G iPods onwards, the click wheel is developed by Apple.
Above the wheel is a monochrome 138x110 LCD that displays a menu or information about the selected track. Newer-generation iPods have since adopted color displays.
Models
| Generation | Image | Capacity | Colors | Connection | Original release date | Minimum OS to sync | Rated battery life (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First |  |
4 GB | Silver Blue Green Pink Gold |
USB Universal Serial Bus USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices.... or FireWire IEEE 1394 interface The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus interface standard for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer, frequently used by personal computers, as well as in digital audio, digital video, automotive, and aeronautics applications. The interface is also known by the brand... |
January 6, 2004 | Mac: 10.1.5 Mac OS X v10.1 Mac OS X version 10.1, code named "Puma", is the second major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.0 and preceded Mac OS X v10.2. Version 10.1 was released on 25 September 2001 as a 'free update' to version 10.0... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
audio: 8 |
| New smaller model, available in 5 colors. Introduced the "Click Wheel". | |||||||
| Second |  |
4 GB | Silver Blue Green Pink |
USB Universal Serial Bus USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices.... or FireWire IEEE 1394 interface The IEEE 1394 interface is a serial bus interface standard for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer, frequently used by personal computers, as well as in digital audio, digital video, automotive, and aeronautics applications. The interface is also known by the brand... |
February 23, 2005 | Mac: 10.2.8 Mac OS X v10.2 Mac OS X version 10.2 "Jaguar" is the third major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It superseded Mac OS X v10.1 code name Puma and preceded Mac OS X Panther... Windows: 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... |
audio: 18 |
| 6 GB | |||||||
| Brighter color variants with longer battery life. Click Wheel lettering matched body color. Gold color discontinued. Later replaced by the iPod Nano IPod nano iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction... . |
|||||||
Details
Both generations of iPod Mini were almost identical in their external features, except for two noticeable differences: the Menu, rewind, forward, and play/pause buttons of the second generation came in the same color as their casing, while on the first generation, all buttons were colored gray, also the gigabyte capacity was engraved on the back whereas on the first generation it was not.Their main differences lay in their storage and battery capacities. Both versions are 3.6x2.0x0.5 inches (91x51x13 mm) and weigh 3.6 ounceOunce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
s (102 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s). The case consists of anodized aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
. First generation iPod Minis were available in five colors: silver, gold, pink, blue, and green. The gold model was dropped from the second generation range, likely due to its unpopularity. The pink, blue, and green models had brighter hues in the second generation; the silver model remained unchanged.
The iPod Mini uses Microdrive
Microdrive
Microdrive is a brand name for a miniature, 1-inch hard disk designed to fit in a CompactFlash Type II slot. The release of similar drives by other makers has led to them often being referred to as 'microdrives'...
hard drives (CompactFlash II) made by Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
and Seagate
Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
. First generation models were available in a 4 GB size, while second generation models were available in both 4 GB and 6 GB versions (quoted as capable of storing roughly 1,000 and 1,500 songs, respectively) and eventually the second generation had the capacity laser etched
Laser engraving
Laser engraving, or laser marking, is the practice of using lasers to engrave or mark an object. The technique does not involve the use of inks, nor does it involve tool bits which contact the engraving surface and wear out...
into the aluminum case.
AC power
Power in an electric circuit is the rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductance and capacitance may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow...
adapter, which were left out to reduce the selling prices of the new iPod Minis. iPod Mini batteries, like many Lithium Ion batteries, run down to 80% capacity after 400 full charge cycles.
A proprietary
Proprietary hardware
Proprietary hardware is computer hardware which is owned by the proprietor.Historically, most early computer hardware was designed as proprietary until the 1980s, when IBM PC changed this paradigm...
dock connector
Dock Connector
A dock connector is a connector used to attach a mobile electronic device simultaneously to multiple external resources. The dock connector will typically carry a variety of signals and power, through a single connector, to simplify the process of docking the mobile device...
was provided on the bottom of the device for a connection to a computer's USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
or FireWire port. The unit's battery could be charged during connection. Along the top it had a hold switch, a headphone jack, and a remote connector for accessories.
Like the iPod Nano
IPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
, the iPod Mini supported MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
, AAC
Advanced Audio Coding
Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....
/M4A, WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, AIFF
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...
, and Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless
Apple Lossless Apple Lossless Apple Lossless (also known as ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), or ALE (Apple Lossless Encoder) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. After initially being proprietary for many years, in late 2011 Apple open sourced...
audio formats. It also retained the iPod's integration with iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, allowing for syncing between the software application and the iPod Mini.
Modification
Soon after the release of the iPod Mini third party replacement batteries have been made available because its capacity decreases over time. There are various manuals for battery replacement on the internet and many outlets selling compatible Lithium-ion batteries for those who wish to avoid the expensive charge for sending the iPod back to Apple. Many such batteries are of higher capacity than the original – some are up to 2000mAh while the stock battery is around 400mAh.The iPod Mini can be flashed to run iPodLinux
IPodLinux
iPodLinux is a µClinux-based Linux distribution designed specifically to run on Apple Inc.'s iPod. When the iPodLinux kernel is booted it takes the place of Apple's iPod operating system and automatically loads Podzilla, an alternative GUI and launcher for a number of additional included programs...
or Rockbox
Rockbox
Rockbox is a replacement for the standard firmware in various forms of digital audio players . It offers an alternative to the player's operating system, in many cases without removing the original firmware, which provides a plug-in architecture for adding various enhancements and functions...
firmware which has support for extra codecs, games and various other plugins and allows music placed directly on the iPod to be played without using iTunes. Recently users have replaced the 4 or 6 GB Microdrive with high capacity 8, 16, 32 and even 64 GB CompactFlash
CompactFlash
CompactFlash is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. Most CompactFlash devices contain flash memory in a standardized enclosure. The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994...
cards. Aside from increased capacity, this has the advantage of increasing battery life and making the Mini more durable since CompactFlash cards are solid-state with no moving parts.
iPod Nano
On September 7, 2005, Apple released the first generation iPod NanoIPod nano
iPod Nano is a digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc.. The first generation of iPod Nano was introduced on September 7, 2005 as a replacement for iPod Mini. It uses flash memory for storage. iPod Nano has gone through six models, or generations, since its introduction...
. The Nano used flash memory to accomplish an even thinner casing, and featured a color screen. The headphone jack was moved to the bottom of the device, the dock connector shifted-off center, and the 4-pin remote connector was removed, among other changes.