Does the Mini come with a Remote. If not where is the best palce to get one and does the mini require a different remote specific to the Mini

Nope no remote. It uses the same one as the gen 3's did.

I don't see much point in using it though....the thing itself is already so small you can just clip it to your pants and get on with your life

I use them for Alpine snowboarding so if I were to clip it to my pants it would be gone after the first turn.

Quote: Originally posted by Bobby Buggs
I use them for Alpine snowboarding so if I were to clip it to my pants it would be gone after the first turn.

Then you'll have to get one of those Burton jackets that have the iPod controls on the sleeve. Sweet, but very expensive!

Yeah TOO expensive. We just use coats with pass throughs in the front pockets. I keep my remote out of my front pocket so I can easily pause it when Im with people. So yes I can tell you what happens when you get a Ipod remote wet

Yeah, I can see your point. I would also wrap my mini in its case, bubble wrap, and like 5 ziploc bags if I were to go skiing.

Nahhh just stick it in the pocket and go. 2 Anal

Only problem I had w/ my 2g iPod when I still had it (see sig) was when i would go out snowboarding the battery would seem to run out quicker than usual. I didn't have any battery problems at all I just think it has something to do with the cold weather. Anyone else experienced anything like this?

LiIons really don't like the cold... They can lose a lot of their charge really quickly in cold weather. The longer it is outside, the more batter power is lost.

Quote: Originally posted by Dragon_Flight
Yeah, I can see your point. I would also wrap my mini in its case, bubble wrap, and like 5 ziploc bags if I were to go skiing.

wimp... i bought my mini expressly to beat the #### out of it.

Quote: Originally posted by hotch
wimp... i bought my mini expressly to beat the #### out of it.

Lol! Just because I'm protective of my little baby doesn't make me a wimp :P

Quote: Originally posted by Bobby Buggs
I use them for Alpine snowboarding so if I were to clip it to my pants it would be gone after the first turn.

I'm in the same boat as you. I use if for snowboarding and am not too concerned about shock since it would be inside a front pocket and it is very rare that I would fall on that area (or an upper arm pocket).

As far as the cold temperature point someone brought up, that's pretty much a moot point as well...if you keep the mini in an inside pocket your body temperature will keep it toasty enough. I have done this with other MP3 players and radios and notice no problems with battery life.

Regarding a remote for snowboarind, I was in the same pickle as you. What to do? The controls would obviously not work like buttons do on my old player which allow me to find them through the fabric of my coat to adjust volume, pause, song selection, etc. So, a remote was mandatory.

I looked at the wired remote that apple has for $30-$40 dollars and it was okay and I would have bought it if I didn't see the RemoteRemote mentioned in the Gear section of this site.

This is the deal...I should be able to keep the mini warm and safe in an inner pocket. I can hang the wireless RF remote off an arm pocket zipper, keep it in my glove, whatever, and will have wireless control of the mini. I was a little concerned about power drain but the company claims only 4ma draw at peak load. So, at most that would cut 30 minutes off of an 8-9 hour battery charge (or less depending on battery capacity - I based this off legacy iPod battery numbers). Anyway, sounds like I'll still have enough juice to get me through a day of boarding. Can't wait to hit the slopes with it next week...

-todd

Well let me tell you from experience the wired remote works well if you dont get it wet. I ride Alpine boards and if you know anything about that we are Very close to the snow much of the time. I got my Remote wet on my 10 gig and the volume control went to full. Mildly annoying to say the least but once I hit it with a blow dryer it was fine. I did not know about a non wired remote or would have bought that..... well Now im going to have to get one

Got the RemoteRemote yesterday. Works as advertised. Had one question after purchase, wrote an email to support and got a very quick reply.

It works great. It was kind of neat to have the mini connected to my stereo and be able to change selections and volume from anywhere in the house (even though I bought it for snowboarding so a cord doesn't get in the way).

So, for about the same price as the Apple wired remote, I think this is well worth it. Check it out.

My only concern was that it draws power from the iPod but I think that is neglible. The receiver draws 4ma peak load. So, if it was at peak constantly, it would take almost 7 days (157.5 hours) to drain the iPod if left connected assuming the iPod has a 630mah battery, which is just an educated guess. Now, this is 4ma peak, it isn't going to be drawing this all the time since the documentation says the receiver will occasionally go to sleep which one would assume is to save power. In that case, perhaps the receiver is asleep 50% of the time (?) and you can cut the draw on the iPod battery in half. Just a guess...I suppose I could leave my receiver connected to a fully charged iPod and see how long it takes to drain, but that'd be a week of no iPod use.

I got geeky further and figured that the iPod must have an average draw about 70ma of power if it can run for 9 hours on a charge. So, if you add the Remote's 4 ma on to that, you get a 74ma draw and your 9 hour life goes to 8.5 hours. So, using the remote cost you 30 minutes or less per charge, FWIW. Anyway, I like it.

-todd