Apple iPod mini 1st Generation Blue (4 GB) MP3 Player

I had a rather large credit at my local electronics store, so I decided I'd join the rest of civilized society and use the credit to buy a hard drive based MP3 player. I was immediately taken by the iPod Mini. It was so sleek and attractive I had to have it -- BIG MISTAKE. Within 5 days of bringing it home, I knew I had made the wrong choice. Turns out, the Apple iPod Mini is all show and no go! The user interface was intuitive, and the sound quality of the device was respectable, but the battery life was atrocious (I'm talking, like 3 hours here).

Adding insult to injury, iPods have built in batteries which meant I was frequently left without music while the little bugger sat charging on my desk. Then, a good friend informed of what happens when the iPod battery finally needs to be replaced -- YOU HAVE TO SEND YOUR IPOD AWAY TO BE REPLACED, yes, replaced!

I didn't believe this, so I called the store where I had purchased the iPod (along with an extended warranty). The girl in customer service told me that, yes, iPods need to be sent away for battery changes, but that Apple usually just replaces the unit with another refurbished unit.

So what about my extended warranty? Well, she informed me that the Apple warranty is MUCH different than their standard warranty for digital music devices, and terribly complicated. She explained that, with ANY other brand of MP3 player, the store policy (if you've purchased extended warranty) is to automatically exchange the unit over the counter -- no questions asked. Apple products are very different, however, in that all returns must be SENT AWAY to Apple for analysis. She stated that this is simply the nature of the Apple/Retailer relationship, and that it is overly complicated and VERY inconvenient to the customer. She warned that if I returned my iPod for any reason after my initial 30 day return policy had ended, that I might be without the device for quite some time.

This really made me re-think the whole iPod experience, and as I considered the situation, my Mini became less and less appealing.

For starters, the only way to get music onto the mini was through iTunes. Granted, iTunes is a nice piece of software, but I was hoping for some simple drag-and-drop capability. iTunes is also the online store from which you can purchase music that is compatible with the device - So much for competition!

Secondly, as I looked through flyers, I noticed that other MP3 players in the same price range offered greater storage capacities and many more features.

Why was I, a PC user, so attracted to a device that was tailored to work with a Macintosh computer? Especially when other devices offer Microsoft's new Play For Sure and MTP technology that makes them immediately compatible with virtually ANY PC -- no hassles -- plug n' play -- right out of the box.

That cinched the deal. I returned the iPod Mini and bought Creative's Zen Micro - Best decision I could have made. Better sound quality, Swappable batteries, much longer batter life, Play For Sure and MTP compatible, cool design, and additional gig of storage, great software, FM radio, Voice recorder, etc.

If you want a fashionable chunk of aluminum for your belt, buy an iPod. If you an MP3 player, look elsewhere (Rio or Creative)