Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday announced that its iPod mini will begin shipping internationally on July 24. The 4GB miniature version of Apple’s digital music player has been a hot seller since its introduction in January — hot enough that Apple had to postpone the international release of the device about three months to keep up with demand in the United States alone.
Even though the iPod mini will begin shipping to the international channel this month, it’s still going to take some time to catch up with the demand the diminutive device has seen since its release.
“We hope to catch up with the iPod mini demand by the end of September,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Product Marketing told MacCentral. “Demand has far exceeded our predictions, but right now our expectation is that we will catch up by the end of September.”
The US$249 iPod mini comes in five different colors — silver, gold, pink, blue and green, and sports the ability to store up to 1,000 songs. It features the same menu-driven interface as its larger sibling and a “click wheel” control, but measures 3.6 x 2.0 x 0.5 inches, and weighs 3.6 ounces. It’s become a popular alternative for users looking for a digital music player to suit their active lifestyle, or something that’s just a bit smaller than the bulkier but much higher-capacity iPod.
The iPod mini will be internationally available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. It comes with headphones, power adapter, FireWire and USB 2.0 cables, and CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows. System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.1.5 or later or a Windows PC with FireWire or USB 2.0, and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional.