Essential iPod Accessories
Since I've done my research on iPod accessories (as I research pretty much anything that I'm going to be spending a lot of money on and time using), I figured I'd share the items that I feel are necessities in owning an iPod (listed in priority order).
- Case / Skin / Film
- Earbuds
- Cassette Tape Adapter
- USB Wall Charger
- Loud Portable Stereo
- Small Portable Speakers
- Earbud Splitter
♦ You best get something to protect your iPod- the iPod scratches very easily, especially the screen (I didn't even take my iPod out of the box before I got something to protect it!). There's a TON of cases out there, all that suit a different purpose... you may want to just buy locally so that you can browse through them... the Apple store, Best Buy, etc will all have various cases. The skin i got was just a simple clear film, but it's been really nice to have. There's a lot of scratches on it... I cant wait until I have to replace it... it'll be like I have a brand new iPod.
[~$8 from DecalGirl]
♦ The ones that came with the iPod will end up hurting your ears after awhile...they're too hard. I've been overly satisfied with the earbuds I got- they were relatively inexpensive, very comfortable, and sound really good for their price range. I've probably bought 6+ pairs of these in total (2 for myself, and others as gifts):
[~$16 from Amazon]
(a couple Sony ones are also popular, though I didn't care for them:
[~$33 from Amazon]
[~$26 from Amazon]
♦ To listen to in your car (unless you have a line-in connection [a 3.5mm hole somewhere on the front side of your car stereo], in which case you would just need a stereo line-to-line cable). I tried about 4 brands, this one was head and shoulders above the rest:
[~$11 from Amazon]
For those people without a tape deck or a line-in jack, another method that has limited success is to use a FM transmitter. I got one of these and it worked ok in very rural areas:
[~$13 from Monoprice]
♦ To be able to charge without the computer. Important for trips. The one I purchased got some bad reviews on Amazon, but I've had no problems with mine. And it came with a black usb ipod cable, which matches my computer and iPod ;.)
[~$17 from Amazon]
♦ For parties & trips, for charging / docking the iPod at home, for outputting the audio / video to another system. The one I got is really popular:
[~$140 from Amazon]
♦ For when you're sick of wearing earbuds, or you'd like a small group to hear / watch your iPod, this guy is perfect:
[$10 from Monoprice]
♦ For 2 people to listen to the iPod, with independent volume controls. Good for road trips.
[~$13 from Amazon]
iLounge's "ipod book" is a really well laid out guide if there's anything you want to know. iLounge.com is the best site I've found for all things iPod related: how to guides, articles, reviews, product descriptions, etc.
Good luck finding the best accessories, and please, let me know what you've found & if this has helped you!
This sounds strangely familiar... but thanks for the list of items!
While we're talking about iPod accessories.. what's your favorite accessory right now?
Hehe yea, It was actually my first blog, somethin I typed up for my dad before he went on a road trip. I posted it for http://clex.us (which now currently redirects to here). I updated a few things in it (like the amazon referral links ;.), and the current prices).
The accessory I get the most use out of I actually didn't even own when I first wrote this, and I suppose it should be interjected into #3. It's a car adapter that triples as a cradle, charger, and a tape adapter. It's called the FlexDock, and it's pretty difficult to get a hold of. Works great tho.
There's still a couple others I want, but not sure how much use I'll get out of, like:
(8) TuneTalk (Voice Recorder)
(9) Keyspan AV *or* DLO Homedock (Stereo Dock)
That flex dock looks pretty cool... how's the arm strength?? Does it hold your iPod steady or do they recommend securing it with velcro or something?
It's stronger than I originally thought it would be. It holds the ipod pretty well as far as falling frontward goes, but the arm rotates sometimes (falls to the left or the right), which can be annoying. You could put a tiny piece of velcro (or even some fishing wire) to keep it from rotating, but I haven't done that yet. It hasn't annoyed me enough to really care.
By the way, the link above is for the ipod mini version (called the flexdock). The ipod video (5G) version is called the flexibleDock .
I just bought an iPod and I don’t have any accessories yet. I think those accessories are a must to have. I think I need to save more to be able to buy all those cool stuff.