Eight months into its existence, the iPod nano has more silicone accessories than Pamela Anderson. Not that this is new—it's happened with previous iPods—or unexpected—anyone with a basic grasp of economics can understand that with 10 million-plus iPod nanos in customer hands, there's a lot of demand in the market for protecting the scratch-prone pint-size player.

Zofunk Winks

So what does a company have to do to differentiate itself from the masses selling similar products? For Zofunk (previously Podfunk) the answer was right under their nose. Or above it, rather. In an interesting design concept, the company took advantage of the iPod nano's click wheel shape to develop Winks, a line of silicone cases that mask part of the click wheel, resulting in the appearance of a winking eye.

Available in black, brown, or white slicone, Winks are among the thinnest and best designed silicone cases we've encountered. The front covers the entirely click wheel, resulting in a completely flush finish that looks extremely clean. Cut-outs are provided for the screen, hold switch, and earphone jack, while the entire bottom can be flipped down to expose the dock connector. While this means the back of the Wink case has a slight gap at the bottom, we'll gladly trade protection of the dock connector for that. Plus it makes it a cinch to use accessries and docks since you don't need to hassle with removing enough of the skin to make things fit.

Screen protector and microfiber cloth included

All three Wink styles are available with six different colored eyes. The black and brown Winks are the better executions of the concept, as the white Wink sports a grey or colored eyelid. One thing we don't understand is why the center button is painted white on all the cases. Black seems the more sensible choice for the black and brown cases.

Like other well though-out silicone cases, Winks arrive standard with a non-adhesive screen protector and microfiber cloth for polishing your iPod nano. There's a premium to be paid for this unique design and attention to detail — US$24.95, to be exact. That's not unreasonable for a silicone case but certainly falls at the higher end of the spectrum (a quality silicone skin from iStyles (4 stars) can be had for just $12, but without screen protection, microbiber cloth, or nifty paint).

The Bottom Line

If you want to give your iPod nano a touch of style but don't want to sacrifice the tiny form factor, Zofunk's Wink is an excellent place to start.