iPod mini 1st Generation (2004): History and Specs
Announcement and demand
Apple announced the iPod mini at Macworld Expo in San Francisco on 6 January 2004. It was a single 4GB model, holding about 1,000 songs, at US$249. US sales began on 20 February 2004, by which time Apple reported more than 100,000 pre-orders. On 25 March 2004 Apple postponed worldwide availability from April to July, citing much stronger than expected US demand, and international sales started on 24 July 2004.
Design and colours
The body was anodised aluminium in five colours: silver, gold, pink, blue and green. Apple said it was smaller than most mobile phones; it measured 3.6 × 2.0 × 0.5 inches and weighed 3.6 ounces. A 1.67-inch monochrome LCD at 138 × 110 pixels sat above the Click Wheel, a touch-sensitive wheel with five push buttons. The iPod mini was the first iPod to use the Click Wheel, which Synaptics developed for Apple. On this generation the labels on the wheel were not colour-matched to the case; that change came with the second generation. Storage was a Microdrive hard disk, supplied by Hitachi and Seagate.
Connections and battery
A dock connector handled syncing and charging over FireWire or USB 2.0, and the box included both cables, a power adapter, earbuds and a belt clip. A hold switch on the top, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a remote connector for accessories completed the controls and ports. The player worked with both Mac and Windows computers, transferred songs at about one per second, and used Auto-Sync to keep its music library up to date whenever it was connected. Optional accessories included a dock and in-ear headphones at US$39 each and an armband at US$29. Apple rated the battery at up to 8 hours, with a full charge in about three hours, or one hour to 80 per cent. The short battery life drew criticism.
Second generation
Apple replaced the original on 23 February 2005 with the second-generation iPod mini, which dropped gold, added a 6GB model and raised battery life to up to 18 hours.
Specifications
| Announced | 6 January 2004; US sales from 20 February 2004 |
|---|---|
| Launch price (US) | US$249 |
| Capacity | 4 GB Microdrive (a miniature hard disk) — about 1,000 songs |
| Display | 1.67-inch monochrome LCD, 138 × 110 pixels |
| Controls | Click Wheel — its first use on an iPod |
| Battery | Up to 8 hours of music |
| Connectors | Dock connector (FireWire 400 and USB 2.0), remote connector, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Size | 91 × 51 × 13 mm (3.6 × 2.0 × 0.5 in) |
| Weight | 102 g (3.6 oz) |
| Colours | Silver, gold, pink, blue or green, in anodised aluminium |
| Works with | Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later; Windows 2000 (SP4) or XP |
| Model number | A1051 |
Figures from Apple's published technical specifications. Where Apple lists only inches and ounces, metric values are converted and rounded.
How to identify it
- Small anodised aluminium case with a Click Wheel and a Hold switch on the top left.
- The capacity is not engraved on the back — on the second generation it is.
- The Click Wheel labels look the same on every colour (on the second generation they match the case); gold exists only in this generation.
- Model number A1051, shared with the second generation.
Where to find the model number and serial number: how to identify a used iPod.