iPod is Cool Again
iPods used to be cool. But that was all the way back in 2001, which in hipster-years translates to the paleolithic era. Apple has now sold over 80 million ipods. So since everyone from the pope to your eight year old sister is using one, you will rack up a grand total of zero cool credits when you walk out of the Apple store with your shiny new iPod in hand.
So how do you set yourself apart from the pack? Read on, as I present to you the Top 10 Ways to Make Your iPod Hip Again...
10. Lose the White Earbuds
Nothing screams "I own an iPod" more than a pair of white earbuds dangling from your ears. To be less conspicuous and choose a color you really like, you can always grab a pair of earbuds from Aural New York, available in a variety of colors with a shape and sound quality similar to the standard issue iPod model.
Just Cause You Feel It by Steven Daily
Daytime TV fashion make overs are no longer the exclusive domain of style blind victims. Now, even your shiny new iPod can radically change its look. A company called Gelaskins offers by far the slickest skins for your iPods. They are easy to apply, are bubble free and can easily be removed without creating a sticky, gunky mess. But their true value lies in their images- from Van Gogh to up and coming artists, there's bound to be something that tickles your eye.
8. Hummer-ize Your iPod
Ever feel like all those so called protective cases are only there to protect the wallets of those who make them? If you want some truly hard core, industrial strength protection, you can always go for the full metal blast shield, just like the one pictured above. It was created by a Japanese iPod owner who had to witness the crushing of his iPod thanks to a commuter train with less breathing room than the inside of a can of sardines. The determined modder built a fortress around his new iPod photo to the tune of half a kilo of solid aluminum. He reckons it will withstand a .22mm bullet, and who am I to argue?
7. Create a (Very) Expensive Diversion
In this world of million dollar cell phones, dishing out $300 for an iPod isn't exactly too impressive. To relegate your iPod to being a mere showcase for your obscenely expensive accessories, start by dressing it up with diamonds, like this iPod nano case encrusted with 586 precious stones worth a paltry $12,495. Then continue with earbuds virtually worth their weight in gold; for $900 the Ultimate Ears UE 10 PRO will make you want to ditch your stock iPod earbuds lickety-split so fabulous is their sound.
6. Chill on Your Sofa Like a True Slacker
Forget about all those overpriced music docks with their crappy little remotes. With the Belkin TuneStage 2 your iPod is the remote. A gizmo attaches to its base and can beam your favorite tracks via bluetooth to a receiver hooked up to your stereo. The inventor of the remote control, rest in peace, would be proud.
5. Make it an iTheater
Next time someone thinks they're all that because they can play the latest episode of Lost on their video iPod, one up them by playing the special extended edition of The Return of the King. Thanks to software called Handbrake, you can convert any video, including DVD's, into an iPod friendly format.
4. Play Some Tunes, Save Some Lives
If you're in the mood to plunk down 200 buckeroos of your hard earned
cash on a snazzy iPod nano, why not be bold and choose red for a
change? More precisely, iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. You
can feel somewhat less guilty about blowing all that cash as $10 of
your purchase will be donated to the Global Fund to provide assistance
to AIDS victims in Africa.
3. Hack the System
Some programmers spent quality time reverse engineering the iPod, all in the name of installing iPodLinux, a pared down version of the popular open source operating system Linux. Why? It's simple, every iPod is nothing less than a little computer and what Apple offers in terms of extras is rather limited. With iPodLinux, you can can do anything from playing mindless shoot em ups like iDoom (yes, that Doom), play music tracks saved in unsupported music formats or even get all intellectual by reading Wikipedia.
2. Make Your iPod X-Rated
The ever enterprising sex toys industry, always keen to make a quick buck, just couldn't keep their dirty little fingers off of Apple's most iconic gadget. So take your iPod where Steve Jobs never hoped it would go, and offer your partner the iBuzz or the aptly named OhMiBod for a Valentine's day gift they aren't likely to forget.
1. Make the Old New Again
Once the iPod has become so shiny, so high tech, so thin and so lightweight, there is only one way it could go to become hip again. Like all fashionistas already know, sometimes you have to go back in time to move forward with style. Enter the Retropod, the creation of one (backward) thinking John Young who removed the innards of his plastic yellow Sony cassette walkman to encase his iPod. Unfortunately for him he got a cease and desist letter from Sony about six weeks after he started selling his lo-fi cases to the public, but that's the price to pay to be on the cutting edge, big corporations just don't get you.
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