Well, I have a regular Ipod (G3 15 gig), so i can only comment on that, but most should apply to the mini. PLAYLISTS (up to 20 tracks, minimum, EACH) Yes 1 Gb memory (keeps price relatively low) yes (maybe buy a second hand older one and get more gigs for your buck) replaceable and/or rechargeable battery (Alkaline, MiMH, or NiCd ) Yes, if you send it back to apple. The batteries have a long live anyway. "big", easy to read display (while bouncing around in a car) You shouldn't be reading the display while driving. Is as dangerous as trying to send and SMS while driving. easy-to-use controls(for menu navigation) yes 1/8 inch mini-jack for connection to radio (or portable amp/speakers) Yes. if you get the belkin car charger, it has a dock connector that has a headphone jack that you can plug into a line in. or you can hack the belkin and use the dock connector and make a custom line in straigh into an amp, bypassing the pre amp in the charger. FM tuner (option- nice for portability) Nope. microphone and voice recording Yes, If you buy an additional piece of hardware. Adjustable output volume Yes Equilizer settings (ex., Rock, classical, Jazz, Flat) Yes USB connector (obviously) Yes, and firewire, with the right dock connector cable.