Shades for iPod
When I read about the new Shades cases for iPod - durable, fully recyclable, available in 9 different colors - I was more than a little enthusiastic to give them a test drive. I like the idea of a product that lasts long enough not to end up in a landfill a couple of weeks after its shipping container gets there. And if it’s stylish too, why, all the better.
But I wanted the testing to be thorough. I thought about the iPods in my family. My own spends most of its life languishing in a drawer because I still haven’t gotten the hang of downloading/uploading music, in spite of repeated attempts on the part of my husband and son to teach me. My husband’s iPod would have been a better candidate, as his gets a pretty good workout, between Audible.com and iTunes.
But then I realized that a true test of durability, endurance, and sheer grit would be to slap the thing on my teenage son’s iPod. Now there’s a test that would count for something! I recalled the wardrobe of cases his iPod has worn in the past. Leather, vinyl, space-age materials that probably would have fared better coating the nose cone of some atmosphere-breaching rocket than my son’s pocket - none managed to survive long.
Sure, some, like the leather one, were durable. But the plastic over the scroll wheel was so thick, it was a serious handicap. The vinyl was cute (I thought, like a little rubbery raincoat), but it was a magnet for pocket lint, and before long it looked like the business end of my son’s ear buds were plugged into a hamster. The other cases all worked fine for awhile, but they tore or got dirty and sticky too fast or just weren’t cool.
And then, there was Shades. Rosy Red and shiny as a candy apple, the sample Shades case immediately scored points for coolness. After some tugging and shoving (and eventual passing along to a more patient sister), the case was on. Scroll wheel testing began. Son became distracted by music issuing from iPod and wandered away. Scroll wheel sensitivity apparently not an issue.
Three weeks later . . .
The iPod is left unguarded for twenty seconds, so I had an opportunity to take a good look at the Shades case. I figure three weeks is a long enough time to assess durability. Some of his previous cases were barely hanging on at this point. I was a little surprised to find the Shades case is in great shape! No scratches, no tears, not a single speck of lint stuck to its (still) shiny surface. Pretty impressive. Other than the relatively minor drawback of being a tad difficult to wrangle onto the iPod (which may be because of a size discrepancy), the Shades case really does seem superior to the others he used.
And … it’s recyclable, along with the packaging it rode in on. Pretty sweet. And did I mention it comes in 9 colors? Check out the Shades Web site for pricing and ordering info.
