iLounge

Company: Rivet

Website: www.rivetnow.com

Model: Grab for iPod shuffle

Price: $20

Compatible: iPod shuffle

Rivet Grab for iPod shuffle

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Category: Clips and Guards - iPod shuffle

Pros: A pocket clip and beaded necklace for the iPod shuffle

Cons: Extremely simple, inexpensive design that adds little to shuffle that you don’t get in the box, a fashion accessory only.

Simple clips for the iPod shuffle are now in abundance; we’ve reviewed nearly too many to count. Now Rivet has added its own spin to the pile with Grab for iPod shuffle ($20), a clear plastic pocket clip and a colored plastic lanyard clip with a beaded necklace. The company sells clear, blue, pink, and graphite versions of the lanyard clip, blue and pink versions of the beaded necklace, and cloth necklaces in graphite and gray, the latter of which we did not receive for review.

Rivet’s past iPod Grab (aka iGrab) accessories have not attempted to fully protect an iPod so much as hold it and create belt or necklace attachments; they’ve also featured higher-end leather and metal designs for slightly higher prices than this. It’s therefore only a partial surprise that Grab for iPod shuffle does little more than give you an alternative to the lanyard you already get with the shuffle, and add a simple plastic clip to the mix.

The Grab necklace we saw is a nice beaded fashion piece - definitely a young woman’s accessory, in our view - with a metal, standard Rivet connector that attaches to a blue plastic shuffle holder. Rivet’s shuffle holder is almost the inverse of XtremeMac’s Shieldz for iPod shuffle - it covers most of the shuffle’s back, sides and top, but not any of its front. It’s mostly there to provide a way to attach to the metal necklace post, and serves little protective end - it’s really just there for looks, and looks fine. Rivet’s shuffle clip covers even less of the shuffle - basically, two small portions of its sides - and adds a small one-piece clip that’s pocket-sized, but will fit most belts. It’s not really impressive or flexible, but it does the trick.

While the combination of these parts won’t break your bank account, we expect more from Rivet, which typically makes much cooler accessories than this: its metal belt and necklace accessories are far more interesting than beads and cloth, and in our view, this package adds little to the iPod shuffle besides decoration. Recommended only if you’re looking for an inexpensive fashion accessory.