Apple unveils the iPod mini

Everything you love about iPod just got tinier. iPod mini lets you bring along enough music for a three-day weekend getaway in a package so small you’ll forget you’re carrying it. Until people ask you about it, that is. Available on Mac and Windows for just $249.

Apple engineers squeezed all the best features of iPod into a case weighing just 3.6 ounces and smaller than any cell phone(1). iPod mini features an anodized aluminium case that resists stains and scratches. The case weighs practically nothing, but protects iPod mini in your pocket, purse or backpack. Recessed in the case to keep its surface pristine wherever you lay it, the 1.67 inch (diagonal) backlit screen displays full song names and more. Like its (slightly) bigger brother, iPod mini gives you over 25 minutes of skip protection and lasts up to 8 hours on a single battery charge. So you won’t pay a penalty for miniaturization.

In fact, all the features of iPod are still under your thumb. Always striving for perfection, Apple engineers moved the iPod’s buttons under the wheel. The iPod mini Click Wheel gives you the enhanced durability and sensitivity of the iPod Touch Wheel, with buttons underneath. The Click Wheel takes best advantage of miniscule space and lets you scroll single handedly though 1,000 songs from your iTunes music collection. You’ll find such thoughtful construction only from Apple. Because try as they might, the competition can’t touch this.

Oh, one other minor detail, you can choose your iPod mini in one of five trend-setting colors: silver, gold, green, pink or blue. (All shiny.)