Many people when kitting out their iPod decide that their biggest angst with the iPod is its ability to pick up dust. Companies were rushing to make Silicone Skins in many cases before iPod cases were being prepared and designed. Unfortunately there have been a raft of products imported for a couple of pounds that are either ill fitting on the iPod or tend to break apart within a couple of months usage, not a great option for the long term! Luckily there is one company who has dedicated itself to the manufacture of Silicone Skins for iPods and they are so good at their job they deserve a medal from iPod fans worldwide. iSkin are a Canadian company who produce simply some of the most attractive options for accessorizing your iPod that you could possibly wish for.

For the iPod Nano they came up with the iSkin Duo for iPod Nano, a two colour Silicone Skin that even covers the click wheel as well as the rest of the iPod, all that is left is the screen for your viewing, they even managed to create covers for the ports so that when not in sue dust can not enter. If you find your Nano frequently exposed to dirt then you really have found what you are looking for to protect it, there are many imitations but imitation is the greatest form of flattery in this case as these Skins are unrivalled. In producing the attractive colours they even made three of them glow in the dark, there really is a colour option for everyone. The iSkin Slims now released allow you to mix and match the colour combinations of your iSkin Duo so it has become possible black and black, pink and red etc, any combination you can think of usig the five iSkin Slims and your iSkin Duo.

Video iPods provide a larger amount of space than the tiny Nano for getting some colour around your iPod and again iSkin come up trumps for the iPod Video. The Evo3 is available in 6 different colours all very vivid and noticeable when wrapped around your iPod. The protection against dirt is absolutely superb and the grip of the Silicone Skin is wonderful it is certainly one you are unlikely to drop and if you did there is some protection against impact damage when incased in an Evo3. The fit was made to be so form fitting that a separate model of each colour was released for the 30GB and 60GB 5G iPod. There is an included clip for clipping the iPod to your belt while in it’s Silicone Skin and this can be completely removed for just putting your iPod in its case into your pocket. Simply the best from iSkin, so far the rivals have not produced anything to topple it from its might throne!

For the Shuffle iSkin is not king. Tunewear managed in the IceWear Silicone Skin for Shuffle to produce something very unique in terms of appearance for an iPod case. The Silicone used to make these is the same as that used in diving masks and the fit to the Shuffle is so tight and perfect that you almost would think it is the shuffle and no case is on, the colour is a sort of shady clear and the side ribbing of the case helps to complete what is a fantastic and very attractive design, something that as yet has no challengers from those offered by the other brands, if you have a Shuffle and feel the accessories for the Nano and Video iPods leave you feeling you don’t get much choice then search out the Tunewear IceWear you will not regret going to great lengths to find yours!

The newest iPod models are video capable. Talk about never leaving a good thing alone. Apple decided to add video to the device’s many features. You can now watch your favorite movie on your iPod video. However, you’ll have to convert it to a form your iPod can understand. This is called encoding. This may not sound strange to those of you who have a PSP. This is because it uses the MPEG 4 format for its video files. There is nothing difficult about encoding. I’ll walk you through the process so you can start watching those videos wherever you want.

You’ll need QuickTime Pro 7 or a later version. With it you can encode your video to the MPEG 4 format that your iPod will understand and play. It is a pretty straightforward process. Download it if you don’t have it or if you have a version older than 7. Once you’re through with the installation, open it and click on File and Choose Open File. Export the video after you have selected the movie, home video or whichever video recording you intend to watch on your ipod. Now make sure you choose the 320 x 240 resolution. That’s the resolution that your iPod can handle. The next step now is for you to simply click Save. You’ll see how the encoding is going from a bar that comes on once you save.

Once the process is completed, you’ll see the movie on your desktop or anywhere else you specified. You now need iTunes not older than version 6 to load it onto your iPod. All you have to do then is to make sure your iTune synchronizes with your computer. You can then play the movies of your choice with ease.

Take note of this: your encoding time will depend on the length of your video. Longer videos will take longer while shorter videos will take less time. The configuration of your computer will also determine the time this process takes. You don’t expect a 1 gigabyte processor with a 256MB RAM to do the job as fast as your friend’s 3 gigabyte duo processor with 2GB RAM.

You can take the whole iPod video thing to another level by watching it on your standard TV. For this you’ll need an AV cable, then go to your iPod video’s options screen from Video then Video Settings and choose how you want your iPod to play back your movies. You have several options: TV out, TV signal and Wide screen. Choose the TV out option and select Yes. If you choose otherwise you won’t be able to watch the movie on your TV.

Now your movies can go with you wherever you go. Have a nice time but, please, never turn on the iPod video while driving for your safety and others.

Small is in when it is only 1.62 inches long and weighs only half an ounce – and lets face it – “small is in”. With the whole purpose being to easily load it with an assortment of songs, it then plays them in a random order. The first iPod to use flash memory, the iPod shuffle weighs only 22 grams, or .78 ounces, while holding 240 songs in the 1GB version, or four minutes per song, with listening power of 12 continuous hours. Apple claims its iPod shuffle is “the biggest thing in small”, available in 512 MB or 1 GB. The iPod shuffle is made to clip onto just about anything: coin pockets, purses, bags, or hats. In the world of digital electronics, it is the small size that matters the most anymore. And the iPod has the small market cornered in the mainstream market – more than any previous iPods.

The opposite side of the iPod shuffle is that it has several less features than the iPod – the trademark, scroll wheel, playlist management features, games, address book, calendar, notes capability of earlier iPods, the iPod shuffle cannot be used with iSync, its incapable of playing Apple Lossless and AIFF audio files. But it has a better bass sound quality than the larger pods. The iTune allows an iPod shuffle playlist to be viewed and changed while the unit is not connected, and when the unit is connected the next time, it can be updated with the changed playlist.

The question then becomes, why buy the shuffle with its limited disk space? The complaint against other iPod systems is the lack of durability, so you couldn’t take it to the gym regularly and keep it for long, yet the consumers interested in the shuffle are those same type of people. Its advantage is its low price. The target for the iPod shuffle and the iPod mini was the lower-end market. Eventually, any heavy physical activity would decrease its usage, yet the price was low enough that a person could actually purchase another one if needed.

As the name suggests, the benefit of the shuffle is that every time you listen to it the songs you downloaded are played in a different order. There are ways to get around this if it is not a benefit you are excited about. For instance, you can set the play list on your computer before sending it to the iPod, but you cannot control the songs being played from the shuffle itself. Arguments against the shuffle stem from the “shuffle” feature itself, the fact that you cannot control the play list from the device itself like other iPod systems. However, the price and durability appear to be above average for “flash drive” players.

Shuffle seems to be a good fit for fast paced individuals who are on the move, and are physically active while listening to music on the go. With this sort of clientele, accessories that are available to keep the iPod shuffle on the go with its user is a case that protects it from the weather and elements, a shuffle dock that allows it to connect easier to the computer, decorative and protective sleeves, belt clips, AC and DC power plugs, earphones, and FM transmitters. The battery takes about 1 1/2 hours to charge 80%, while a full charge will take about 3 hours.