Tech Cases

I know, not much happening here in the Tech Cases department for quite some time. That is partially due to Megs having way too many fashionable bags to blog about all the time.

Fortunately for us, allison pointed me to the stylish iSkin tokidoki Vibes for iPods. These covers both protect your ‘Pods and add personality to your dime-a-dozen media player as well. As you can see from the picture, there’s a wide variety of tokidoki-styled covers available. If you own a video iPod, you shouldn’t miss out on these. Grab em for $30 at iSkin.com. For an additional $20, you can order headphones that match your skin as well.

As I finally made my way across the big pond, back to the good ol’ US of A, it seemed like I completed the transition without further complication. Can’t say the same thing about my trusted iPod Shuffle, which didn’t survive the flight. Rest In Piece, my loyal accomplice. Reason for the sudden death may have been the long flight from Europe to the US, the fact that I didn’t have a protective cover for it, or maybe just my lack of luck. Either way, it’s dead. Good news is, it looks like I may inherit a new iPod Photo soon. We shall see.

If you own a slick Nano, and want to avoid having it share the same fate as my Shuffle, you should really get a protective cover for it. The Dior iPod Nano Case will not only keep your portable tune player safe, but will also look great on your travels. The case is made of polished leather and has two vertical slots to hold credit cards or IDs. For $240, this Dior case may seem pricey, but then again — it’s Dior after all. What else is there to be expected?

While people don’t talk about iPods as much anymore, most of them still have at least one. I have 2 different iPods. The shuffle which is great for working out (ehhh who does that?!) and the new video iPod (which I have yet to set up from Christmas). Either way, many of us iPod owners love an iPod case. For a fun pattern with lots of color and attitude, the Paul Smith Swirl Mini MP3 Case adds a boost of light and fun to your precious music maker. This case is designed with a plethora of colored grained leather and has a front flap with a snap closure. There is a belt loop for wherever you would like to attach his case for ease of carrying along with cut-outs for your headphones and other cords to fit nicely out of the case. While the actual name of this case does not say iPod rather MP3, the description does say that the “Gusseted sides expand to fit any regular-sized iPod with click wheel design”. Clearly this case was made with Apples chicest and most influential design in mind. What cracked me up about the description was the mention that ” iPod not included”. Oh really?? Who would have thought that?! Buy this case via eLuxury for $195.

When looking for a laptop bag for the daily use, you run into the problem that the bag itself may be just too heavy. Add the laptop and you may easily carry 10+ lbs around with you. If you’re a commuter, you don’t want to arrive at your workplace with a sore arm. The Baggallini Commuter Bag only weighs in at 2.1lbs and is professional, yet fun. An outer pocket zips open for easy access to smaller pockets for your phone, airline tickets, etc. The inside will keep you organized with credit card slots, a removable ID holder, a key fob and a mesh pocket. A clever features is the back sleeve that slides over a suitcase handle, making travel through airports easy. You can choose from tomato red with mango, seafoam blue with black, and dark olive with spice. The bag goes for $89.00 via Kolobags.

For some strangely disturbing reason, I never fully caught on to the whole Apple iPod hype. My Sony MiniDisc player was my daily companion for several years, eventually a tiny iPod Shuffle replaced it that Megs got me a few months ago. But I never got to appreciate the rotating wheel and the vastness of accessories that the regular iPod had to offer. Since I got the Shuffle, I used colorful plastic covers that only protect the ‘pod’s front from getting scratched. To this day, they still remind me of those green hospital robes that keep patient’s back buttocks exposed… Yeah, I’m weird like that.

Louis Vuitton provide a full cover alternative, to those who want to let their Shuff’ dangle off their necks in style. The Louis Vuitton iPod Shuffle Cover is crafted from LV’s signature Monogram Multicolore canvas and lined with peach natural calf leather. Now isn’t that something? The fashionable cover has its price though – 130 dollars American. Certainly more than the generic $15 plastic covers, but let’s be honest to ourselves. The Apple designs deserve better.

And you thought Metallic Friday was over… wrong again! After seeing King Kong last night (alright movie, not awful-not great), I nearly froze on the walk back to the car. And I figured that chances were when I woke up in the morning there would still be no sun- and that just made me angry. Nevertheless, I woke up to grey cold skies. So if you are reading this, I have a message for you Sun. Dear Sun: If I left you behind in Florida by accident, don’t be mad at me and please please come up north for a little bit. But either way, I am continuing with shiny bags for today also.
It seems that in today’s world none of us can live without cell phones. In fact, if any of you can- I’d love to hear about it! Mine broke for 2 days and I nearly just cried (ok you got me- I might have shed a tear or two ). But if you want to protect your phone with something stylish, why not do it with some Prada? The Prada Cell Phone Case is made from saffiano gold leather and measures 4″H X 2″L X ¾”W. Too bad Prada doesn’t tell us exatly which phones fit in there, but I guess we could all figure it out the hard way by measuring our phones. Availabe in black and orange also, you can buy this protector through Saks for $190.

There is no need denying that every woman carries a lot of useless crap around with her in her precious purse. I’m sure tons of you all have iPods or some sort of other portables that you cram in there, too. Joe Hynek of Iowa State University developed a fantastic symbiosis of tech and fashion and made carrying that extra battery charger a thing of the past. More room for more junk in the purse, whee! The bag’s outside is completely covered with solar panels which convert the sweet sun light into energy which, in turn, is stored in internal batteries. Your portable can be charged via the complementary USB port. Ingenius! Why didn’t anyone think of that before? And at a price of roughly 300 quid, it’s not even that expensive.

With millions of iPods sold so far, and really no end of the craze to come, it’s of no surprise that fashion labels continuously keep on coming out with new accessories for Apple’s successful MP3 players. Coach have had iPod cases as part of their women’s accessories line-up for a while, but just recently added these three cute Mini iPod Cases that go for $88 each. The stuffers are made from nappa leather with contrasting leather appliqués and a 12” strap with dogleash clip. You can choose from three motives, either Butterfly, Lady Bug, or Flower. Nothing that I’d wear around (there’s much more subtle designs for a guy afterall), but for gals these cases are cute and colorful ways to carry their tunes around.

Our friend The Bag Lady pointed out a creation worth mentioning. The Bottletop Bag is a remake of the original Mulberry Bottletop Bag from back in ‘02, and features heaps of wires, twisted and intertwined, Coke caps, as well as a wired model of the African continent on its front. The bag has a built-in speaker and a radio receiver (incl. antenna), it seems to be compatible to iPods as well. Best part ~ the Bottlecap charity gives a part of its profits to sexual health projects in Africa that provide sexual and reproductive health education in the part of the world that needs it the most. Thumbs up! Once their online store actually responds to our browser requests, we can provide you with pricing and availability. Great, unique case/bag for a good cause.

There are plenty of iPod and iPod Mini Cases out there. Expensive ones, cheap ones, chic ones, ugly ones, you know the drill. But what about the cute little iPod shuffle (which I personally love to use to work out because I swear it is barely there)? There was the infamous Hermes Lipstick/Gum case, which I believe would and could hold an iPod shuffle, but there would not be easy access to the controls. So as much as many of you may despise Juicy Couture, try to hear me out. This little Juicy Couture MP3 Case/iPod Shuffle Case is a simple and cute little outfit. There are two colors to choose from: socialite (light pink) leather with pewter hardware (my fav) or black/golden. The chain strap shows off decorative chains with logo charms that hang from the left side, yet they do not overpower it. The last perk to this little case is the price. I am sure many of you could spare the $38 via Neiman Marcus.