Essential Accessories for your iPod [What to buy next if you get an iPod for Christmas]

Getting an actual iPod is only the beginning of your music experience. Hand in hand with the iPod is of course iTunes and a whole world of music, videos, audio books and educational material. After the initial thrill of using your iPod you might find that you need a few extra things to make your iPod experience perfect.

Power and cables

When you are at home you can charge your iPod via the USB cable provided, but when you are away from home how do you charge it? One of the most useful things for your iPod is an additional charging option. If you use your car a lot you might want to consider getting an car charger. This is a cable that plugs into your cigarette lighter or 12V accessory socket and charge your iPod’s battery during use. This is great when you go an long journeys and you want to use your iPod during the journey and you need it fully charged when you get to your destination.

There are also a range of mains power adapters which allow you to plug you iPod into the mains electricity. You also might want to consider getting a spare USB/Dock cable as this can be useful for connecting your iPod to your computer at work (if you are allowed) or when you are away visiting friends.

Sound

The iPod comes with some good in-ear headphones but there are a whole range of other ways to hear the music in your iPod. A top seller on Apple’s iPod accessory store are the in-ear headphones with remote. These headphones include a control capsule (located on the cable of the right earpiece) that lets you adjust the volume and control music and video playback (including play/pause and next/previous).

There are also a variety of external speaker which you can buy for your iPod. Generally the iPod slips into a combined speaker/dock system which allows you (and others) to enjoy your iPod music with a sharper sound and greater bass.

If want to wake up to the tunes on your iPod you can even get an alarm clock with an iPod dock which also charges you iPod for you.

Scratches

If you carry your iPod around in your pocket you might want to invest a protective case or cover. There are a whole range of these available in everything from leather to silicon and in every color imaginable! They also have they benefit that they are cheap!

Sport

If you want use your iPod while running or working out then a getting an armband is essential. These armbands allow you to insert your iPod into the pocket provided and you can then wrap the band around your arm or wrist, and secure it with the adjustable strap. These armbands are designed for the iPods which use flash memory (and specifically due to its size, the iPod Nano) so don’t try and use these with your iPod Classic!!!

It is of course worth mentioning the Nike+ Sport Kit which turns your iPod into your personal coach. By using a wireless sensor, which goes into a special built-in pocket beneath the insole of a Nike+ shoe, information is sent to your iPod (nano or 2nd generation touch), tracking your time, distance, pace and calories burned.

Finally

There are also different iTunes plugins, applications and utilities which you can install on your computer to enhance your music experience while at your computer. Look out for a post on those soon on TFTS.

If you want to see the latest iPod accessories look in the TFTS MP3 player category.