Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family
The safest iPod on your block
I've got an iPod nano, and I'll admit that it almost never, ever leaves its case. While not everyone is as scratch-phobic as I am, I know that I'm not alone. Check out the iTank cases by YoTank. Formed from a single piece of machined aluminum, the iTank nano weighs 3 oz., costs $45US and all but guarantees that you will be pulled aside at the security checkpoint in your local airport. iTank cases are also available for the iPod mini and iPod with video with a polished aluminum finish (black coming soon).If you don't feel safe with this thing on your iPod, you never will.
[Via the Your Tech Weblog]

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
geekmorgan said 2:17PM on 8-17-2006
This doesn't make your ipod safe, only heavy. It doesn't prevent your ipod from being stolen, you can just walk off with the whole thing. It might protect from scratches though... but what's the point in getting a nano if you're going to bulk it up?
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M. Hutcheson said 2:58PM on 8-17-2006
Exactly Geekmorgan. Why buy something as elegant as an iPod nano if you're just going to bury it inside some monstrous, clunky enclosure? Different strokes I guess.
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Rob said 3:03PM on 8-17-2006
PLEASE QUIT REPOSTING OLD NEWS!
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LD said 3:32PM on 8-17-2006
Doesn't look like a single piece to me. Look like two pieces screwed together. In fact, I don't see "single piece" mentioned on their website, just "solid piece".
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icerabbit said 4:42PM on 8-17-2006
6 screws & lid single piece.
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Adrian vG said 5:44PM on 8-17-2006
But does it have an inner coating that protects the iPod from scratches from the inside?...
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Heavy said 12:16PM on 8-18-2006
This isn't going to protect your nano, in fact it might do it more harm than good. One of the things the nano has going for it is it's light weight -- when you drop it, there isn't much mass to slow down. This case just increases the mass.
When you drop something, the force absorbed by the object is determined by its mass and how quickly it comes to a stop. Because the case is still hard, you gain nothing in terms of padding (which slows the negative acceleration). You are effectively doing nothing to pad the nano and at the same time increasing the overall mass which results in higher damage potential.
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Loren said 12:48PM on 8-18-2006
Ok mr. physisist
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Robbie said 1:14PM on 8-18-2006
don't snap at him because he's right.
rock on Heavy, rock on.
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FrankieD said 1:20PM on 8-18-2006
It's not about protection. It's about looking cool. Face it, the whole point is to whip that sucker out and have your geek friends say "Whoa!!! Polished aluminum!!!".
.....much better than using a silly, boring plastic case.
Frankie D.
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David Berman said 1:35PM on 8-18-2006
This must be for heavy metal fans.
Yuk yuk.
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Re @Heavy said 1:42PM on 8-18-2006
Actually, Heavy is somewhat wrong. The additional weight of the case will not cause more damage to the ipod if dropped. That is because the case is independent of the ipod, so it's momentum won't be transferred to the ipod. Think of it as if you were in a car accident. You are injured from your impact with the inside of your car and not your car's impact with..say..a telephone pole. Likewise, the nano would hit the inside of the case with the same force as if it had been dropped without a case. In fact, the case will spread the force out over a greater area and will therefore protect it much better than no case.
As a side note, a thick plastic case will absorb more shock than aluminum and therefore pass less force onto your nano, so a plastic case would probably be better in a drop situation.
But, if you plan on driving over your ipod with your car, this would probably be the best case for you. :)
Eric
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arkowi said 1:44PM on 8-18-2006
two words: invisible shield.
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Otto said 1:47PM on 8-18-2006
What's the point of getting an iPod and putting it in a case? Okay, so yeah, it doesn't get scratched, but you never actually see the finish on it either.
Not unless you're taking it out in the privacy of your home, all huddled over it, admiring the mirror perfect shininess of it or something.
I just don't see the point in protecting it by making it ugly and ruining the whole point of having it pretty to begin with. If you scratch it up, well, BFD. It still plays music, eh?
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AceBrickman said 1:52PM on 8-18-2006
Invisible Shield is right! Too bad I didn't find out about that until after about 6 months of ZOMG! teh NANO will get scratched!!1!
Check that shiz out.
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Abe said 2:12PM on 8-18-2006
I actually like the Contour Showcase. But I also haul my iPod everywhere I go. I don't need to look at it, I just want it to always work with being jostled and tossed around every day.
http://www.contourcase.com/showcase/showcase4g/
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Heavy said 5:12PM on 8-18-2006
Good points, however I'd say that a passenger in a car is a lot different than the nano being held firmly in this metal case. I think you are right about the case absorbing some of the shock, but at some point the case and the nano have to be viewd as a single object because of how tightly they are united.
I like the invisible shield the best though. Enough of this physics talk...
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Ed said 6:17PM on 8-18-2006
It's been dugg, watch out!
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Mike said 12:55PM on 8-21-2006
So, Can you order it in diamond plating too?
What about computer case interior gray?
And if you get a brass case, do you have to polish it everyday?
What about a case that has water in it to keep it cool?
See how ridiculous this can get in a hurry?
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Robert said 2:26AM on 8-31-2006
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