In the interest of full disclosure, we sell all of the 5G iPod cases covered below through our Think Different Store. Before you cry bias, however, there are a couple things you should consider. First, iPod cases sell quite well regardless—and sometimes in spite of—my reviews. Second, if you've read any of my iPod case reviews (including this one, as you'll see), you'll know I'm not afraid to give bad ratings to crappy products. Third, even if I decide to be biased, that's okay. The Super Bowl XL referees taught me that.

Well, here we go. The 5G iPod (or iPod with Video, to the unenlightened) has been out for some time now, and the iPod case manufacturers are starting to catch up. There's now quite a bit from which to choose, but none of the units I've reviewed are all that great. I don't know...maybe it's just me. I'd like to think I'm possibly burnt out on reviewing the same old cases retooled for a different iPod, but some of these have fundamental flaws that extend past their lack of inspiration. Case in point are these offerings from Speck Products, but the problem extends to other designers, too.

I sing the praises of the nano! Its small size! Its beauty! Its color screen! Its ability to pick up scratches! Okay! Not that last one!

Maintenance and management tools suite for Your iPod

With the invisibleSHIELD, there's no pretense of aesthetics or functionality implied. There is no design to the invisibleSHIELD. It's meant to be invisible, as you've hopefully figured out. The result of using this device is that your iPod looks like your iPod, albeit a bit duller. There's no functionality of which to speek, because your iPod works like your iPod did before you applied the invsibileSHIELD. No ports are blocked, no controls are covered. That leaves protection, and even there, the invisibleSHIELD isn't the best choice on its own. If you drop your iPod, the invisibleSHIELD will do little to prevent damage. There's no padding here, and there are no attachments to prevent such a drop from happening. So, why even bother with an invisibleSHIELD, then? You ask a nano owner.

While most companies are worried about changing the iPod's appearance, there are a few companies who know it's what's on the inside that matters. One such company is Talking Panda, and they'd like to see you use your iPod to not just listen to music and watch some TV, but to bridge the cultural divide. They'll help you do this by teaching you some guitar chords and ten different languages, including the international language: alcohol.

So, now that you've found that new iPod nano under your tree (or returned enough gifts to raise the money for a nano), here are several cases designed to both protect the little bugger and show off your personal sense of style.

With its solid-state, flash-based hard drive and light weight, the iPod nano is ideal for working out. Of course, you'll want it held securely (and maybe even fashionably) while you do your reps, so let's take a look at two different armband cases for the nano.

I'm extremely pleased with the iH5. Compared to other iPod speakers, it's a terrific price, and you get a lot more functionality: an iPod charger, a radio, and an alarm clock. It's easy to use and well-built, and the sound quality is excellent.

If you've had an iPod for a while, you've got iPod accessories. Besides the obvious things like headphones, iPod owners tend to buy AC adapters, car adapters, FM transmitters, wireless remotes, external battery packs, microphones, speakers, and more. I've even got laser pointer and flashlight add-ons for my 30-gig iPod! But where do you keep all these tiny items? The answer comes from San Francisco's Waterfield Designs with their nifty iPod Gear Pouches.

The Waterfield iPod nano case is a simple padded nylon sleeve for the nano. It's tough and stylish (as with all of Waterfield's products, you have a choice of colors in Waterfield's distinct checkerboard pattern), and the inner neoprene is silky smooth and will keep your nano safe.

Here's a device with the ability to blow up the music video and television industries, and I think that's just fantastic. The pickings are slim at the moment, but as the number of available TV shows and music videos grows, of course I'm going to download them. For the amount of TV I watch, paying to download only what I want would save quite a bit of money over my $60 a month cable bill. But, I won't let this review turn into yet another tirade against the entertainment industry. I'll focus on what matters, here, and what matters is that Apple has released the most useful, most powerful and most glamorous iPod yet.