Remember the iPod Mini? It was here for a while, sold quite well, and then *poof* it disappeared as quickly as it arrived. In terms of lifespan, the iPod Mini had a lifespan only slightly longer than a butterfly. The mini MP3 player was launched to the public on February 20, 2004 and officially discontinued on September 7, 2005 - which, coincidentally, happens to be the same day that the popular iPod Nano was introduced to the public.

The Mini, as derived from its name, was incredibly small, light and compact. Its total size was only 3.6×2.0×0.5" and the display screen was just 1.67" diagonally across. However, the Apple iPod Nano is actually smaller than the iPod Mini.

Perhaps the longest-lasting legacy of the iPod Mini was that it was the first iPod to introduce the click-wheel format to the iPod. This is where, in order to scroll through information, the user actually has to press down on the click-wheel before turning it. Now, the click-wheel format is standard on all iPods.

The biggest criticism of the iPod Mini, and what may have lead to its quick demise is the fact that the battery life for the Apple iPod Mini was only about 8 hours. Apple did address this with future versions of the iPod Mini, and actually increased the battery life of the Mini to about 18 hours. However, given the immense popularity of the new Apple iPod Nano, it would seem to be a wise choice for Apple to abruptly end production of the Mini.

If you happen to have an Apple iPod Mini music player, you may wish to hang on to it as it might become somewhat of a collector's item down the road. Of course, with everything old becoming popular and retro again, Apple may at some point bring back the iPod Mini. For the time being though, the Mini appears destined to be simply a stepping stone for Apple as they continue to work on and improve their best selling iPod line of portable music players.