# Daughters birthday coming up - Ipod or Ipod Mini? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541 "2004-10-22T03:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/1 "2004-10-22T03:04:43Z")
[Ipod mini](http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?family=iPodmini/) is smaller, comes in pastel colors and (IMO) sleeker and sexier, but only holds 4 gigs with 8 hour battery life. [Regular white Ipod](http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?family=iPod) is large, has 20 gig capacity, and has 12 hour battery life, but is larger and less sexy. It will be riding in a purse most of the time. What makes the most sense? PC is windows XP platform with cable internet access. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/2 "2004-10-22T03:11:58Z")
How much music does she have? She can always get an [iskin](http://www.iskin.com/) if she wants a colorful player, but needs a larger ipod. Actually, she should get one regardless…less chance for scratches. Oh, you also might want to go with the hpod (same thing as the ipod, just distributed through HP) since it has a better warranty package and comes pre-formatted for PC users. I don’t think they make hpod minis though. ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/3 "2004-10-22T03:13:26Z")
Maybe for a girl, iPod mini might be better. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/4 "2004-10-22T03:39:49Z")
I got my daughter an iPod mini for her 13th birthday. She thinks I am the coolest dad ever. The minis look better than the big ones, which means a lot to an early teen. Of course, if your daughter is 50, then an 8-track would be cooler than cool. ---
**Author:** ![lexi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lexi/32/6806_2.png) [@lexi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lexi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/5 "2004-10-22T03:43:04Z")
I’d say it depends on which is her priority, having lots & lots of music available to her (regular ipod), or having something in a funky colour that is more like a status object (ipod mini). ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/6 "2004-10-22T03:46:48Z")
I bought my 10 year old daughter a silver Mini iPod and too have my name written in the Book of Coolest Dads. The display goes wonky sometimes but it doesn’t affect the sound. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/7 "2004-10-22T03:47:17Z")
I’m a girl, and I’m a big fan of my regular iPod. The mini is neat, but I’d have to pick and choose what parts of my music collection to put on it, which kind of eliminates the point of an iPod for me. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/8 "2004-10-22T04:19:47Z")
I’d say go with the mini unless she’s very much into music and has 50gig worth of it on her computer. For what it’s worth, all the girls I know prefer the mini. ---
**Author:** ![aeropl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aeropl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aeropl)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/9 "2004-10-22T05:07:26Z")
Get her the Mini (unless she has hundreds of CD’s she wants to put on there). I have the 40Gig and my girlfriend has the 20 gig. Her iPod is a little thinner but it makes a huge difference when you carry it around all day. I would imagine the Mini would be more than adequate, considering it holds about 80-100 average albums. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/10 "2004-10-22T05:18:59Z")
Personally, I just don’t care for the look of the Mini. I much prefer the sleek smooth curves of the regular Ipod than the sharp cut-off edges of the Mini, plus the larger ones have much more hard drive space and battery life. Since the newer ones that were just released aren’t really that much more money than the Mini, I’d say get one of those, unless she just really wants a colored one. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/11 "2004-10-22T06:13:46Z")
I’m quite happy with my **iRiver iHP-120** , which I think is the same price or cheaper than the iPod, and holds 20 GB. But it doesn’t look girly at all, which I guess is important. I think the most important question is how much music she has. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/12 "2004-10-22T06:18:10Z")
> [@lexi](#): > > I’d say it depends on which is her priority, having lots & lots of music available to her (regular ipod), or having something in a funky colour that is more like a status object (ipod mini). Screw the colors, the mini’s size is the big draw. The thing’s barely bigger than a business card, fer Primus’ sake. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/13 "2004-10-22T08:30:48Z")
Eh, screw iPod, get a [Nomad Zen](http://www.creaf.com) (now in mini size!). You get more space for the price and it’s only a little bigger than the iPod. Mine fits just fine in my purse. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/14 "2004-10-22T12:10:32Z")
Speaking as a girl and an iPod fan, I say go with the regular iPod. The mini is nice, but the regular one really isn’t that big. And you can keep so much more music. I take mine with me everywhere. I have the FM transmitter so I can use it in my car, and I listen to it on my walk to work every morning. It fits very nicely in my purse or coat pocket. Pretty is nice, but so is having all your favorite music available at the tip of your fingers. And I bet she’s got alooooot of favorite music. There’s nothing like being able to listen to exactly the song you want to at exactly the time you want to. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/15 "2004-10-22T14:39:42Z")
[Rio Carbon!](http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,117955,pg,2,00.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/16 "2004-10-22T21:44:25Z")
The mini just isn’t big enough for me, and probably wouldn’t have been enough when I was a teenager, either. Depends on how much music she’ll be putting on it. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/17 "2004-10-22T22:05:25Z")
The i-pods can be used for so much more than playing music. I use mine as a recorder and as a photo storage, so a regular one is better for me. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/18 "2004-10-22T22:17:10Z")
Regular iPod, definitely. The 40 gig if you can afford it. I waffled back and forth and I am much happier with the larger model than I would have been with the mini. And the sharp edges on the mini aren’t nearly as nice as the rounded lines of the regular. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/19 "2004-10-22T23:46:24Z")
Personally, I like the look of the regular better, _and_ they store more music. However, the minis are much more popular. I think the question comes down to 1. How old your daughter is and 2. How much the “attractive status-symbol” of the ipod factors into it. Certainly part of the reason to get an iPod rather than some of the other players that have been suggested is that they are very socially popular accessories. If that’s more important to her, I’d suggest going with the mini, just because they are “cooler.” Arrgh. I can’t believe I just recommended the mini; the normal one’s so much better! ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541/20 "2004-10-23T02:55:56Z")
Isn’t Apple supposedly releasing the new iPod soon? I think I’ve heard rumours that it’s supposed to be able to display pictures on a new color LCD display. Is her birthday coming up really soon? Otherwise you could be the world’s super coolestissimo dad and buy her the brand new iPod that nobody else will have plus it can display pictures. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daughters-birthday-coming-up-ipod-or-ipod-mini/270541.md?page=2)