iLounge

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Friday, March 6, 2009
Category: Cases - iPod nano

With iPod cases in a state of near total saturation, companies such as Contour Design have opted to come up with new spins on earlier products in an effort to keep users interested. Thus, we have iSee inked ($25), a redesigned version of the company's prior iSee clear cases, this one with your choice of seven designs that have been inked on to the front and back of the otherwise transparent plastic shells. Bundled with a detachable screen protector that's held firmly in place once the top and bottom halves are snapped together, iSee inked leaves the Click Wheel and bottom of the nano fully exposed. Based on the many other clear hard plastic cases we've tested at similar and lower price points, iSee inked's screen protector is a decent but not ideal way of covering the nano's display, and though its unusually ridged bottom basically works with oversized headphone plugs -- if you push enough -- it has issues with other bottom-mounting accessories, thankfully except for Universal Docks, which it fits without a problem. From our perspective, Griffin does the same concept a little better with its translucent white-marked iClear Sketch cases, which are a little more accessory friendly, use superior integrated screen covers, and go for subtlety rather than high contrast with their markings, but if you want a wider variety of designs and don't mind the accessory or three-part assembly issues, iSee inked is a fine alternative.