iPod Mini: Small Size, Big Price
The new iPod Mini is finally shipping. And I was thinking about how sweet the specifications are: 4Gb hard drive (not a Flash drive, but a bona fide Toshiba hard drive) in an anodized aluminum shell a half inch thick and no larger than a business card (about 2″ x 3.5″). With functionality almost identical to it’s larger sibling, a smaller but just as nice a display, and the same if not better battery life. When I found out about this device at MacWorld I was SO ready to sell off my PalmPilot Professional (circa 1996 with an internal upgrade to a Palm III a few years later) and this would make the ideal replacement for me. I could synch up my calendar, my to do list, have an amazing music jukebox in my pocket, all my class lesson plans and information and still cart along my User folder along with some client files.
And all for around $199. At this price, I could easily justify such an expense. But as we all know the price is $249. Sure for $50 more you could get the full-size iPod with 15Gb hard drive (up from 10Gb). But I don’t need a 15Gb portable drive, I have plenty of hard drives. I just want something small and sturdy that I can slip into my pocket with just enough disc space to be useful.
Sorry Apple, I did the math and these numbers don’t work for me. I’ll be holding onto my cash until I can get something that holds around 2Gb and costs me under $150 or the price of this wonderful gadget drops to that $199 sweet spot. Oh well, I guess it’s back to my trusty (long-in-the-tooth) PalmPilot for now — which I found out now will be losing Palm Desktop support.
But that’s a story for another day.