Ipod Swag!

I’ve had my iPod for nearly a month and in that month I’ve managed to get my hands on some iPod swag that I deem to be essential for all iPod owners. So for all you iPod fans out there, here it is, the post of all that is essential in the world of iPod Swag!

1. Belkin Clear Acrylic Case, for 2nd Gen iPod Nano.
This thing is the bomb! The first thing I did with my iPod nano the day after I got it, was drop it on the ground. I was so upset because now it has a scratch in the aluminum finish. The beauty part about these Belkin cases is that the front of them is colored to coordinate to your nano (or you can mix and match if you want), but this colored front hides any damage already on the front of your iPod.
Pros: It has a click wheel protector that does not reduce the sensitivity of the click wheel, hard screen protector for the color screen on the nano and a carabiner clip that you can actually rely on to keep your iPod firmly attached to your belt loop, or in my case, to my purse. It attaches to the iPod securely.
Cons: The headphone jack port is a little tight. Some headphone cords that have large plastic plugs will not fit neatly through the jack port on the case. This can easily be fixed by digging out the port just a little bit with a scalpel or box knife, or you can just use the headphones that came with your iPod. The other issue I have with this case is that it’s really not designed for you to take it on and off a lot. If you do, it will not stay on your iPod as securely. I’m not sure if that’s a flaw. Most people that would buy this case would never take their iPod out of it, but I like to coordinate my iPod’s outfits to my own so… we’ll call it a minor setback. Also the iPod will not fit inside an iPod docking sleeve with the case on, so if you dock your iPod to charge it, as opposed to plugging it into your laptop, you may wish to consider an alternative case.

2. iMode Alarm Clock/iPod Docking Station
There are nicer versions of this toy out there that have better sound. My husband got me this one because he wasn’t entirely sure I would enjoy it. The truth is, I love the thing. I can dock my iPod to it and it charges the iPod. You can play music directly from your iPod and wake up to a playlist of your choice. The sound quality isn’t all that, but it’s not bad for a clock radio at all. This clock radio only has one con and that’s the size. It takes up a fair amount of space on a night stand and almost deserves a home on a dresser, rather than on a bedside table. Also, this particular radio comes with a host of docking sleeves so it will work with every iPod from the iPod mini to my new second gen nano and a remote so you can control your iPod from across the room!

3. Belkin TuneCast FM Transmitter
In some areas, FM transmitters are not the way to go. The simple fact is, in major cities where the airwaves are flooded on the FM band, you should consider using a direction connection to your car stereo via an auxiliary cable, as opposed to going wireless. Where I live, I can get clear enough signal on an FM transmitter that it makes them a very viable alternative to using an auxiliary cable when your stereo doesn’t have an auxiliary jack on it. I’ve used three different FM transmitters and the Belkin TuneCast is by far my favorite for clarity of sound and lack of interference. Also, Belkin thought of some very nice things like plugging the end of the headphone jack into the top of the transmitter when it’s not in use so you don’t get dust and junk inside your iPod when you plug it into the transmitter. Also, the car adapter plug for the TuneCast is not some flimsy little thing that will bend if someone accidentally steps on the plug when they get into your car.

4. Floola
I know that when I first got my iPod, I went on and on about iTunes and how much I loved it because it worked like I expected it to work. These things are still true, but iTunes has one fatal flaw. My laptop has a gig of ram, and while it is an older machine, it’s still not a slouch. There is no excuse for iTunes that will justify making my laptop act like it’s swimming through peanut butter other than coders who just didn’t care. This has been a big frustration for me because photoshop doesn’t give my machine as many issues as iTunes does. As a result, my husband went on a search and found me alternative software for transferring files onto my iPod. That software is Floola.

Floola is by far and away the most essential iPod swag that I’ve managed to get my hands on because it is small and it runs directly from your iPod. You sacrifice space for one song to have Floola on your iPod. You do not *have* to use iTunes after you’ve used it to transfer one song onto your iPod. You can use Floola on any windows machine/linux box/mac. It is not necessary for that machine to have iTunes installed in order for you to use floola to transfer music onto your iPod. Floola is also ridiculously easy to use and it understands and builds smart playlists.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my list of essential iPod swag. At the very least, go give Floola a download and see what you think. It’s free, though I have to say those guys deserve a donation if you like their software. They did a beautiful thing when they wrote Floola.

Zcovers

I received a zCover for my birthday. I’ve tested it out for a couple of weeks and I love this thing. There’s only one drawback for the zen micro zCover, it does not have a screen protector for the screen. Otherwise here’s the breakdown.

ZCovers are silicon covers for your portable devices. They make covers for apple laptop keyboards, standard keyboards, the psp, all of the iPods, the creative zen players, the older sony mp3 players and several of the more expensive cell phones, such as the blackberry and the treo. They have an optional belt clip on the back that is a trick to remove, which is a good thing because once you get that puppy on there, you are sure that it won’t be coming back off.

First thing’s first. The belt clip on this thing rocks. I have had a problem with belt clips in the past. For previous incarnations of protectors with a belt clip attachment, the clips have never been very secure. If you bumped into something or someone, the clip would fall off and your small device would go scattering across the floor. This is not the case with zCover’s belt clip design. What makes it work so well, is that it’s very tight. It’s hard to get attached to your belt or pocket, but once it’s on there it will not come back off until you mean for it to. I’ve bumped into the kitchen counter, other people, had my dog jump up on me and everything else that I could think of that one might encounter in a day to day use of this product and have yet to have the belt clip fail on me.

As for the shock absorbing factor, it works great. My zen slid across the kitchen counter and onto the floor due to an overzealous child and is in great working order with no damage. I suspect this is the more typical sort of impact that your device will take and what these products are designed to withstand. The zCover just adds another layer to that.

The zCover comes in a variety of colors and styles to suit your tastes. If you own a portable device like an mp3 player, you need one of these things.

Visit the zCover site to learn more.

Smart Wraps

My mom sent me a couple of these things called “Smart Wraps”. I have some headphones that I truly love, but they’ve caused me problems because of the extra long cable. Sometimes, the cable is great and sometimes it’s just in the way. I’ve also found that headphones with cords that are too short tend to tug on the headphone jack and loosen it in my electronic devices.

What is a gadget geek to do?

Get yourself some of these babies. They rock. You can adjust the length of the cord to what suits your purposes at the time. They hold the cable in place no matter what your movement. I’ve used it while doing weights, sitting in front of my laptop and while just walking around. The cord never gets tangled, is always the length I need it to be and best of all, doesn’t get damaged. On top of that, they’re inexpensive making it the perfect gadget geek accessory!