Utilitarians will look at the iGuy and shake their heads. From a practical stand point, the iPod toy, as Speck bills it, is an oversized case that adds unnecessary bulk to what's supposed to be a portable device.

Speck surely knows that, but they also know that for every person who sees illogic when they look at the iGuy, there are plenty of others who will respond more affectionately towards the anthropomorphic iPod conversion. Maybe that's a bit much to say for a white rubber case that adds two arms, feet, and a butt to your iPod, but the response I received toting around an iGuy was overwhelmingly positive.

Early iPod adopters will be happy (or unhappy, depending on who you are) to hear that sporting an iGuy solicits the same reactions from people who saw their first iPod three years ago when the original 5GB model debuted. Whereas an iPod on a table or in a bag today has become almost as commonplace as a cell phone, an iGuy standing on a table (its does so very easily and well) or its arms hanging out of a pocket turns heads and elicits smiles (mostly from females, if that's a factor for guys who think the iGuy just isn't very cool).

iGuy also lit up the face of a 9 month old who normally wouldn't have paid much attention to an iPod sitting on the floor. True to its "iPod toy" billing, iGuy's arms quickly found a home in the boy's mouth and happily withstood the gnawing. I'll leave it to parents to decide whether sheathing a $200-$500 digital device in a $35 piece of rubber to turn it into a toy makes good sense or not.

For most people, price will be the deciding factor behind an iGuy purchase. At $35 ($29.99 from Amazon) it's towards the upper price range of most cases, but it provides plenty of protection, including a removable clear plastic piece for the screen. It's a fun gag gift and a nice alternative case, but my iGuy and Mini iGuy will likely never be my primary case, especially when traveling.

On a side note, our 4G iGuy arrived with a couple small tears in the plastic around the hold switch. Speck assured us that such damage is the exception and not the rule, and all the company's products carry a one-year warranty. Speck will usually replace damaged products no questions asked, but sometimes the company will request a digital photo showing the damage.

iGuy & Mini iGuy	Kid-tested...
Arms are bendable, iGuy can sit or stand	Butts hide iPod dock and connector access