Apple Introduces New iPod Minis and iPod Photo--More Affordable and Longer Battery Life

Today Apple released a revision to its iPod mini music player into two models, a 4GB model and a 6GB model. The 4GB model now retails for $199 and the 6GB model sells for $249. Both models get a substantially upgraded battery that Apple claims will last up to 18 hours. Apple dropped the gold color from the iPod mini lineup so now they are available in just four colors: silver, pink, blue and green. The pink, blue and green colors are deeper than the previous ones. The iPod minis now come with a USB 2.0 cable and the FireWire cable is a $19 accessory. In addition, there are two new Apple-made iPod mini accessories, a lanyard for $19 and a USB 2.0 AC adapter for $29.

Aside from the price drop on the 4GB model, the best news is the 18-hour battery. Our original iPod mini gets just 7.5 hours, barely enough for a trans-continental flight with waiting time but not enough for a day trip by car, train or bus or a trans-Pacific flight.

The new iPod photo released today by Apple is a slimmer 30 GB model that sells for a nice $349. The 60GB model dropped significantly in price to $449. The iPod photos now come with a USB 2.0 cable and the FireWire cable is a $19 accessory like the new minis but the AC adapter is included with the photos. There is also a new accessory for the iPod photo, a $29 iPod Camera Connector that allows a direct hookup to a digital camera rather than a computer to exchange photos. The iPod Camera Connector is expected to be available in late March.

The original iPod now comes in only a 20GB model for $299 and the Special Edition U2 20GB model for $349. They both still come with FireWire and USB 2.0 cables and an AC adapter.

The cost-saving switch from FireWire to just USB 2.0 in the iPod minis and photos will be a bit problematic for owners of older Macs with only USB 1.1 ports. While USB 2.0 is backward compatible with USB 1.1, the latter is much slower. A faster FireWire cable will now cost them an additional $19.

With this release, Apple's iPods are now generally more affordable. The extra battery time in the iPod minis is certainly welcome. [Bill Fox]