There's been a lot of talk about the new iPod mini's size and colors and price, but I think of of the more interesting parts is being overlooked. The new wheel+button configuration seems to be an excellent improvment over the current version of the full iPod. I've found that with my iPod (the orignal one with buttons surrounding the movable wheel, how quaint!) I will often not lift my thumb from the wheel when pushing a button, but instead roll or slide my thumb across the wheel to hit one of the buttons. The "iPod with dock connector" version doesn't allow this since it's buttons are above the wheel and have no tactile feedback, but the iPod mini's wheel seems to have been created with just this behavior in mind, allowing the user to scroll and select in the same space.

  01/07/04   Comments [2]