After its creation, the iPod demanded accessories to go with it. Humans can’t just have something great, they need to accessorize it to make it amazing! So the iPod now has things such as improved earphones, docking stations, armbands, cases, RF transmitters, and speakers. All of which are great, but which of these ranks in the top 5?
As much as I’d love to add something that would make the iPod sound better here, what’s the point of a quality amplifier if the product doesn’t work? Almost anytime you invest in a new product it’s recommended that you protect your investment. This is naturally where iPod cases and holders come into play. They allow you to wrap your iPod with a colorful sleeve that protects your iPod if it were to fall, getting scratched, and even some spills. I can’t recall how many times I’ve stuffed my iPod and keys into the same pocket, and every time I’m glad I had my sleeve covering my iPod.
iPod Cases and Holsters
Black Leather Case for iPod
Silicone Skin Pure Yellow Shell Protector Guard for iPod Nano 4G
Green Fabric Carabiner Zipper Pouch Bag for iPhone iPod
Zebra Print Hard Plastic Case for iPod Nano 5th Gen 5G
#2 – iPod Car Sync Cables / RF Transmitters
For anyone who does a lot of driving, this has to be the best thing since sliced bread. In the 6 years I’ve been driving my own car, I’ve listened to my iPod 99.99999% of the time. The other .00001% has been the radio, and that’s only because I pressed the wrong button on my stereo.
With the proper cable, or a basic plug and play RF Transmitter you can play the songs you have on your iPod on your car’s stereo. You either hook up a cable from your iPod to your car, or attach a transmitter to your iPod and set it to a radio frequency like 85.6 or 101.3 and you can now listen to your iPod wherever you go. Personally, I can’t imagine going anywhere without my iPod.
#3 – iPod Armbands
With everybody having “Get fit” as their #1 New Year’s resolution, it’s easy to see how an armband for an iPod fits in here. If you workout then you know that every extra bit of motivation helps, especially if it can be stored on your arm.
Armbands allow you to both protect your iPod and also take it to the gym, on a walk, on a run, or to the park with you. You place your iPod in the pocket and then tighten the straps around your arm, or clip it to your pants or shirt. Then you can enjoy your music while also having convenient access to all the controls. I hate having to dig through my flimsy gym short pockets with my bulky workout gloves trying to find my iPod. Reaching over to my bulky biceps is much more convenient because I get to flex my muscles while changing the volume on my iPod.
#4 – Quality Earphones / Headphones
I suppose the position of the headphones on my list can be debatable, given that they go hand in hand with the iPod’s use. But they are a kind of obvious necessity. Anyway, having a great set of headphones helps you enjoy your music by making it more crisp, giving it more bass, and more treble. But that’s not all that’s important.
Earphones have to fit well as well. I’ve had a pair of earphones that constantly fall out of my ear at the gym, and it gets annoying because I have a tendency to loss my balance when lifting weight when that happens. It’s kind of like all the energy just disappears from the left side of my body when my left ear piece falls out.
Some earphones, such as those made by SkullCandy come with different ear plugs. They have a small, medium, and large so that you can attach them to the ear phones and get a better fit in your ear. Some earphones will also have a convenient volume adjustment along the cable which makes it very easy to quickly adjust the volume.
#5 – Docking Stations with Speakers
The introduction of the docking station is, in my opinion, like the rebirth of the boom box. It’s a brand new boom box with all kinds of bells and whistles. You can play your music anywhere you take it, charge your iPod, and it sometimes also doubles as an alarm clock.
It’s the new way to share your music while on the go. And changing “tapes” is much faster than ever before. Just pull out one iPod and plug in the next whenever you want to play someone else’s favorite tunes. No broken cassette doors, no tape jams, and no head cleaning.
The most fascinating thing about docking stations and mp3 speakers is the variety of shapes and sizes they come in. If you want to travel with a small set of pocket sized speakers, there’s something out there for you. If you want a table top stereo replacement, there’s an iPod dock that will take care of that. And of course everything in between!
