problems with the iPod minis plus anti-iPod rant

There has been some talk lately about the iPod Mini's having problems with distortion and static. Apparently because they are so small the headphone plug is pressd up against another device and any pressure on the iPod Mini causes it to sound funny. Apple of course denies the problem is serious.

My own experience with setting up and using a 15 gig iPod with an IBM clone was overwhelmingly negative. It took literally months for me to get it to work correctly and had to take it back to the Mac store at one point (and I'm pretty tech savvy I'd like to think). I still dislike it, it can't even hold a charge long enough to shift a few gigs of songs from my computer to its' hard drive. The battery's performance has dropped steadily over time as well - even though it was bad to begin with. In sum, the iPod was a terrible purchase, luckily it is my girlfriends and was given to her as a gift. I should add that every iPod owner I have ever asked (which is only about 3) told me they has problems getting theirs to work at first as well. I haven't tried any other hard drive MP3 players out, but I hear the Dell DJ has fantastic battery life and it is much cheaper than the iPod (probably because you aren't paying for all the marketing and hype).

There are people out there who swear by Apple products, but I wouldn't pay the premium they charge for their equipment, be it an iPod or a computer.

Via Engadget.

Update: In this article in Wired, the author touts the revolutionary effects of shuffling all your music on the iPod. Two facts: one is that shuffle has been around forever (including on jukebox CD changers), and two that using the shuffle on the iPod brings its battery time down to a max of 2 hours of life as compared to about 4 if you turn off all of its features (backlight, equalizer, shuffle, etc.).