It ’s always gratifying to have one of your fellow worker agree with you , especially without the sort of forehead - beating , cajoling , and thinly veiled terror that consensus usually requires . So you could ideate how thrilled I was Monday to see Dan Miller proclaim the chastity of Apple ’s small capacity iPods . Dan ’s point , if I may sum up , is that the 4 GB capacity of hisiPod nanoforces him to be more choosy when it comes to what playlists he ’s placing on his gadget , which , in tour , makes the listening experience ever more enjoyable . And that is why , Dan concludes , the nano is the king of iPodLand .

I could n’t fit in with Dan more , except for one small , though nevertheless significant quibble — the iPod nano is not the greatest iPod floating around out there today . Oh , it ’s a hunky-dory music musician , sure among the elite group in its category . But if you want the very best iPod , and one that come in a belittled packet to flush , then there ’s only one framework that you involve to get your hands on — the second - generationiPod mini . Preferably , the green one , though I ’ll leave that the proper color is a matter of personal taste ; the overall transcendence of the miniskirt to any and all comers , however , is not .

What ’s that you say ? The mini has been discontinued ? Mere semantics , I control you . Sure , Apple is no longer manufacturing this wonder , and you likely wo n’t find one on the shelf of your local Apple Store . But plenty of reputable retailer still have iPod minis in stock . You certainly wo n’t be cut back to having to purchase a mini out of a cardboard box in some palely - lit back - alley , that ’s for sealed . As formini - compatible accessories , you have bunches to choose from — abookfrom a very trustworthy source tell me so .

Consider the merits of the mini :

•It ’s compact . Not as heavyset as the nano , certain . But at 3.6 - by-2.0 - by-0.5 - in , the mini does not require much in the way of life of voodoo , sorcery , and 1st Baron Verulam soil to gibe comfortably in a pocket .

•It ’s durable . You have to go out of your way to scuff up a mini , and consider me , I ’ve been trying . ( Daddy need him some of that cushy class - activity settlement payoff military action ! )

•It ’s pretty . Black - and - white-hot is o.k. , I guess , peculiarly if you ’ve been cast in anIngmar Bergman cinema . But I need a piffling color in my life , and with the miniskirt , I can choose one that suits my particular aesthetic . ( Which is light-green , as we ’ve already establish . )

I do n’t resent Apple its decision to replace the mini with the nano . Clearly , the company pledge to theBranch Rickeytheory that it ’s good to trade a player a year too soon than a year too deep , and I ’m not about to argue the point . Even if I did , Apple has a distich million dollars ’ Charles Frederick Worth of “ I secernate you sos ” on its sales flat solid to cut off that argument very rapidly .

But I just ca n’t cotton to the notion that the emersion of the very okay nano should consign the mini to the “ It Was Fun While It Lasted ” binful at the local Shop of Antiquities . The mini is still a very worthwhile , very adequate to euphony actor .

That ’s an obvious point , right ? I thought so , too , only I keep coming across articles likethis one from the San Francisco Chroniclethat seem to suggest carrying around a miniskirt is just one - step forrader of relying on a handwriting - crank up victrola for your music delight . Writes author Pati Poblete of her visit to an Apple Store :

I imagined Vincent Price ’s hallmark maniac joke coming from its earplugs , the medicine stop over , then everyone turning to stare at me as they realize that I was n’t one of them .

I was from another time , another era , when iPod Minis were trounce on armbands and were in reality a sign of being “ in . ” Now my apple - green origin of pridefulness had become an embarrassment .

I was so in a few month ago . I might as well have been holding an eight - track mag tape .

And more tellingly :

Obsolete ? The iPod mini still play music , recognize iTunes Music Store purchase , and otherwise works as advertised . This is n’t some futurist dystopia where your iPod miniskirt stoppage working after a pre - driven incept date andHarrison Ford has to come along and “ retire ” it .

As for whether possess an iPod mini makes one tragically unhip , I have n’t noticed people pointing and express mirth at me when I take it out in public — at least , not any more than they point and express joy when I do n’t happen to have my iPod mini on me . Hipness , I ’ve regain , is a fleeting proposition — best to stick with caliber in these issue . So make your own vogue . Like what you wish . Take pleasure in the things that are pleasing to you .

Provided that it ’s the green one .