Pogue: iPod mini competitors lack the 'little things'
December 16, 2004 - 15:08 PST   The New York Times' David Pogue looks at four iPod mini competitors and finds that it's the little things that put Apple's player on top. "When your player contains a thousand songs, you need a way to scroll through them quickly. You can run your finger around the iPod's famous click wheel fast to jet down to the W's and then slowly to pinpoint 'What a Wonderful World.' But the Rio's thumb wheel has no such variable speed; it's four songs per turn, period. Working through any list longer than about 12 songs is an excruciating exercise. The Dell's 'rolling log' control does zip farther through a list the faster you spin it, but it's awfully hard to speed up or slow down when you're basically twirling a section of a drinking straw. The Virgin's up-down buttons scroll at two different speeds, but that's still more frustrating than the mini's 'any speed you like.'"  [ Email this story ]

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