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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
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iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

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Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
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Discover New Music

  • The Stooges

    • 8 out of 10
    • The Stooges
    • Another pillar of my musical foundations, The Stooges' first album is one those records whose influence far outweighed its popularity. Like The Velvet Underground & Nico, hordes of people wh

  • Machine Gun Etiquette

    • 8 out of 10
    • The Damned
    • Punk rock is mostly associated with three chords and a bad attitude, but the Damned were one of the few bands of the era bent on bringing musicianship and a good sense of humor to the scene. And while
  • Hello

    • 8 out of 10
    • Poe
    • Poe rocked my world with "Angry Johnny" (I want to kill you/I want to blow you/Away) and "Trigger Happy Jack" (Trigger Happy Jack/ You're gonna blow/But I'm gonna get off/Before you go), as powe

  • Physical Graffiti

    • 10 out of 10
    • Led Zeppelin
    • This album bears every flavor of genius from the five records that came before. It is, I believe, the band's finest. With Physical Graffiti, Zep came raging back to their musical home territory -- har
  • Spilt Milk

    • 10 out of 10
    • Jellyfish
    • The second and final album from this power-pop group makes me wish Jellyfish had been able to make just one more record together. The album is best enjoyed as a whole piece, flowing from one track to

Reader Specials

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In-Depth Review

invisibleSHIELD

My wife had a dilemma... she uses a DLO TransPod in her car (and loves it). But every time she wanted to use her second-generation iPod nano with it, she had to remove it from its case to make it fit. After trying several different cases with no success, she was at her wits end. She hated the idea of her beautiful new pink nano getting all scratched up, but she also hated having to insert and remove it from its case every time she wanted to use it in the car.

Then we discovered invisibleSHIELD, an absolutely perfect solution to her problem. Fabricated from a unique clear material originally designed by the military to protect the leading edges of helicopter blades, this tough clear film was just the ticket.

Available in pre-cut kits for all iPod models as well as for individual iPod components such as the screen and the wheel, invisibleSHIELD. The $19.95 full body kit for her iPod nano included four custom-cut pieces of the clear plastic material--a big piece for the body and screen, plus smaller precision cut pieces for the wheel, the select button, and the area next to the hold switch. It also included a little spray bottle of SHIELDspray, which you spray lightly on film before applying it to your iPod, and a small plastic squeegee for pushing excess spray and bubbles out from under the invisibleSHIELD. It took me less than 5 minutes to apply all four pieces to her nano. Once you've affixed all of the pieces to your iPod, you let it "rest" for 24 hours to allow the SHIELD to completely set up.

It works great. When applied properly you can hardly see it at all, but it is there, protecting every surface of your precious iPod from nicks and scratches. I was concerned that after a while the film would begin to peel away from the iPod but that hasn't been the case. After several weeks of heavy use, all of the pieces and their edges remain firmly affixed to the iPod, and the whole thing still looks as good as the day I applied it.

The only downside is that you have to be very, very careful not to get dirt, fingerprints, or other schmootz on the sticky side of the film as you are applying it to your iPod. I wasn't careful enough with my second try (on my 30GB iPod Video) and now there are some dust and finger marks visible under the film. They don't really affect the functionality but they don't look very nice, either.

Photo courtesy of ShieldZone.com

Note: I would have shown you a photograph of an iPod with invisibleSHIELD applied but it's since it's completely clear, it would have just looked like an iPod to you.

The manufacturer obviously believes in this product. Not only do you get a 30-day money-back guarantee, you also receive a lifetime replacement guarantee. Really. If your shield ever gets messed up, they'll replace it for free, for life. Don't you wish everything had that kind of guarantee?

By the way, in addition to iPods, they also offer custom-cut invisibleSHIELD kits for other devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and other MP3 players.

The Bottom Line

How can you not love a reasonably-priced product that is easy to apply, does exactly what it's supposed to do, and comes with an awesome warranty? I like this product so much that I plan to apply it to every new iPod I buy from this day forward.

Just The Facts

invisibleSHIELD from ShieldZone Corp.

MSRP US$4.95-$24.95

Pros:Protects your entire iPod, extremely thin, nearly invisible, lifetime warranty.

Cons:Can't use a lanyard, wrist strap, or belt clip with it, challenging to apply without getting fingerprints, dust, and other icky stuff on the sticky side.

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