Metal iPod shuffle cases seem the natural fit for the user that desires the most durable protection for their music player. They're also quite cool if difference is your thing, giving your iPod shuffle a unique look and a heftier feel. Unfortunately, good execution of the idea appears more difficult than arriving at the concept.

Griffin iVault

We weren't impressed with Speck's Metal (2 stars, August 2005) and Griffin Technology's iVault is only marginally better. Machined from aluminum, the iVault is a two-piece design that is held together by four screws. Unlike the Metal, the iVault does not include a cap for your iPod shuffle. In fact, the iVault forgoes the cap entirely, leaving the iPod shuffle's USB port exposed with the iVault extending just slightly beyond the port to provide basic protection. Leaving the USB port exposed isn't a glaring fault, but it does undermine the ultimate protection one might expect from a metal case. Griffin includes a 33-inch USB cable that fits the iVault for connecting your iPod shuffle to a computer without removing it from the case, provided you remember to bring it along when you need it.

Griffin also includes five small Philips screws with the iVault, so if you lose one you're not out of luck, but unlike Speck omits a complimentary mini screwdriver. You'll have to bring your own.

iVault in red

Curiously, the screws fit our silver iVault better than the red one, where only moderate torquing stripped threads on the iVault and made the screws prone to falling out. Do this more than a couple times and your iVault won't stay together very well.

Both of our iVaults also arrived with slightly scuffed up surfaces despite being sealed in their retail plastic. The anodized finish is also decidedly more matte than appears on Griffin's product page, although this serves to reduce the appearance of scratches, unlike Speck's chrome Metal. Still, judging by customer comments on various reseller Web sites, it appears this discrepancy in surface finish is both misleading and frustrating to customers.

Griffin iVault (left) and Speck Metal

Like the Metal, the iVault is incompatible with common L-shaped mini-jacks due to the case's top lip that's more than a few millimeters high. You'll need to use Apple's earphones or other headphones that have a straight mini-jack, like Logitech's Curve (5 stars, September 2005). It would be nice if both companies included a small headphone extension cable for accommodating L-shaped mini-jacks.

Metal iPod shuffle cases have too many flaws to give them mass appeal, but if you yearn for the extra protection or more secure feel, Griffin's iVault gets the nod for its lower price, multiple colors, and not having a flawed cap design. Just go easy on the screws.