14 November 2005
by Noah Kravitz
Reviews Editor

These Guys Must Be Havin' Some Fun

l to r: FunSkin grass for nano - $34.95, SkinTight for nano, $19.95-24.95, ToughSkin for nano - $34.95

Either there's serious money to be made in iPod swag or the folks at Speck Products don't care. They've always made nifty, well-built accessories for iPods, and were super-nice to chat with when I met them at MacWorld last January. Then they came out with iGuy and I thought they'd all gone and lost their minds. It was iPod meets Gumby, and at first I thought it was a joke. But it must have done alright because Speck's at it again wtih no fewer than nine new cases to keep your nano cozy. Yes, there's an iGuy for nano, but for my money that's not nearly the coolest of Speck's new offerings.

Speck sent a package full of fun that included a clear SkinTight Deluxe for nano, a clear ToughSkin for nano, and a black FunSkin grass for nano. All three cases carry on Speck's tradition of designing clever, attractive cases and manufacturing them to be functional and durable products. My FlipStand 3G kept my old iPod safe and sound for over two years, and the "fake" dock base that came with it is still one of the best ideas I've ever seen to come out of the iPod accessory business.

SkinTight

SkinTight is the choice for basic, highly functional protection that keeps your nano as small as possible while out of harm's way. I like the Deluxe model for the included belt clip, since I tend to clip my iPod to my gym shorts while working out, but if you don't need a clip (or use lanyard headphones), the regular model is a better value. Better yet, buy the three pack and split the cost with a friend who has a different color nano than yours.

ToughSkin

While I prefer SkinTight's minimalist good looks to ToughSkin's weightlifter's build, I do wish that Speck had figured out a way to include the latter's swiveling belt clip with both cases. There's nothing wrong with SkinTight's holster clip, but the swivel clip is simply better, seeing as it swivels and all. Both clips worked just fine, though -- where a non-swiveling clip might be an annoyance with a full-size iPod, nano's diminutive dimensions it less of a big deal.

FunSkin grass

FunSkin grass is kind of like the offspring of SkinTight and astroturf - it's a SkinTight-esque case covered in soft rubber spikes that feel like the insoles of those fancy plastic sandals soccer players like to wear after a game (or, you know, like giant astroturf). FunSkin grass provides more or less the same protection as SkinTight (certainly no less), but ups the fun factor by a whole bunch. Speck sent us the black version; I can only imagine how much more fun the green model (pictured above) must be. As a bonus, FunSkin comes with the aforementioned swivel belt clip I clearly love so much.

Recommendations
In some ways it defeats the point of a gadget as beautifully tiny as iPod nano to virtually double its size by hiding it in a case. And yet, tiny plastic gadgets being what they are, they're vulnerable to scratches and the life-ending tragedy of a single, ill-timed drop. So if you must sheathe your nano, at least do it in style. Speck's three nano cases reviewed here (and, I can only guess, the other six also available on their website) strike a nice balance between protection and size, and there are different styles to suit different tastes.

Having seen two of Speck's previous offerings put through their paces (in addition to my aforementioned FlipStand 3G, my girlfriend rocks a blue SkinTight on her iPod 4G), I can recommend Speck Products in general for their longevity, as well. A few weeks with these new offerings tells me all the fun the folks at Speck are having hasn't at all come at the expense of quality. Find Speck cases and compare prices at PCPrices.

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Noah Kravitz is an educator, musician, and writer who lives in Oakland, CA and is the author of Teaching and Learning with Technology. His new band is called spy::mix.