[noxoliver]

Hy,

I want to buy an ipod mini. but I don't know if I should wait till there wil be a next generaton of ipods or they will lower the price. Do you know any reports about that?

Also what would you recommend mini or not mini?

[ajprice]

It depends on whether you want the absolute latest gear or not, and how much music you have or want to carry with you. If you want it to listen to a few of your favourites while you're out and about, a mini is the way to go, if you must have your whole music collection and entire back catalogue of your music with you, then its an iPod.

Rumours going around:

White iPod:
The iPod 4g 20 and 40gig are still only a few months old, there are rumours of a 60gig with colour screen and iPhoto storage being released at the top end within a few months (ie. ready for Christmas or at the expo show in January).

iPod mini:
There were also rumours of the iPod mini going to a 6gb drive, and the mini is 10 months old now (it was introduced at the last January expo show).

iPod micro???:
Nowhere near confirmed that it means an iPod micro, but Apple apparently bought a stock of flash type memory cards recently...

So like I said, its all about what you want out of an iPod

[drive-thru]

I agree with ajprice.

The main points in deciding between the iPod and the mini are these:
-How much do you value portability?
The mini is smaller and lighter, so is ideal for jogging/going to the gym, and is colourful but you pay a premium for these things (4GB for $249 or 20GB for $299). The iPod is still really portable, but not really as suitable for jogging.

-How much music do you want to take with you?
How big is you music library? How big is it likely to be in a few years? How much of it do you listen to? My library is about 14GB, but I only regularly listen to about 3GB of it. When I bought an iPod my library was about 12GB, I had the choice between the 15GB, 20GB or 4GB mini. I bought the 20GB so that it will last me for a long time, and I can keep all my music on it for long journeys and so I'm never without a song. Plus I wasn't prepared to pay that much and have to wait for a few months to get a mini.

In the end it depends on your listening habits. It's you choice. If you're unsure, let us know when/where you would use your iPod (mini) and how big your music collection, that you actually listen to, is?

As for when to buy: If the mini is boosted to 6GB (which is likely, I just don't know when) either it will stay at the same price (more storage for same $$$) or they will offer it alongside the current 4GB and drop the price of the 4GB (same storage for less $$$, I dont think this is likely). Either way, you don''t want to pay $249 for a 4GB mini and have a better value mini released a week later.

As for the iPod I think with the 4G release they dropped the top price from $499 to $399 so the 60GB might come out at $499 and the prices of the 20 and 40GB may not change (my opinion).

Anyway, if you decide on the mini I would wait for a revision unless you desperately want it now. You are likely to get better value.
For the iPod, if I'm right, it won't make much difference when you buy unless you want the 60GB or if you believe that the next release will have colour screen and video-out (neither would be useful for me, but it's up to you).

That was long.

[noxoliver]

First, I want to thank both of you for the long answers.

Well, the price for an ipod mini (Europe) is 269 � and an ipod 329 �. (20gig)
I decided to wait one month. If there are no changes (no new releases) I will buy the Ipod 20gig which seems a better deal. (longer battery power, more gig..) and it is not that big.

Another question: I heard there are some problems with the 4th gen ipod ?!

[drive-thru]

As far as 4G specific problems, the only thing I've heard of are mechanical problems with the click-wheel. I've only heard of a few of these and they're covered by the one-year warranty. You can buy AppleCare for your iPod if you're worried about it ($59).
Some iPods develop problems with their hard drives etc where they stop working and aren't recognised when you plug them into a computer, but this can happen with any generation. My 3G 20GB failed in about 3 days, Apple sent out a replacement within three days of me sending it in.
Regarding the battery problems, this seems to be a small issue which has had a lot of publicity. The battery in the 4G should be fine, there are people with 1G iPods which are still going strong. If your battery fails out of warranty there are quite a few battery replacements you can buy (thanks to all that publicity) or Apple can replace it for you for about $99 I think.

Let us know if there's anything else you're not sure about. I think waiting for a month is a good idea, if Apple are smart they will do their iPod updates ready for Christmas.
Good luck with your purchase.

[ryju]

My sister just got a pink one. It's smaller than I imagined, pretty cool nonetheless! I would say it's a decent deal but I'd rather get the white iPod, more space.