Home \ Reviews \ Brando Week: iShield iPod Case

Reviews

Brando Week: iShield iPod Case

July 26, 2005

iShield iPod case, flip shield open

The iShield Case for the Apple iPod is sporty and fun—you definitely won’t mistake it for a luxury case, even at first glance. It is primarily made of plastic, with a clear cover for the screen and white plastic for the rest of the case, with a metallic overlay on the lower front half and sides. To get your iPod into the case, pull down on the small white tabs on either side of the case in order to release the flip cover. Flip up the transparent top half of the case, and you can easily slide in the iPod.

Since this case is designed to hold a variety of iPod music players, it may be a tight fit or a rather loose one. A foam spacer is included with an adhesive back that you can stick into the case permanently if necessary. My 40GB 4th gen iPod fit into the case with just a bit of room to spare, but it didn’t rattle around or wobble. You can tell from the button/click wheel cutout on the front of the case that it was actually designed for an earlier iPod version, so if you have a 3rd gen device this case will work well without hindering your access to any of the buttons. There are also cutouts on the top of the case for the headphone jack and hold switch, and an opening on the bottom will allow you to sync/charge your iPod with a travel cable.

The belt clip on the back of the case deserves special mention. It’s made of white plastic, the same material as the back of the case. The clip is super strong; I wouldn’t have any worries at all about clipping the iShield to my belt or waistband without giving it another thought. You can rotate the belt clip, though it requires some force; this isn’t the “freewheeling” style of clip typically used on cell phones.The Brando site says that the clip is completely removable, though I’m not exactly sure how to accomplish that.

If you’re looking for a fun iPod case and the more feminine designs from Speck Products don’t work for you, give the iShield a try. It’s fun and very durable, completely protecting the screen of the device, while leaving the buttons and click wheel uncovered for easy access. The iShield for Apple iPod is available for $29 in your choice of metallic blue/white or silver/white at the Brando WorkShop web site.