iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

Shufflin’ Off to the Shuffle Store

You can find iPod Shuffle accessories pretty much anywhere you find products for bigger iPods, but here are a few to keep an eye out for, and they’re all available at the Apple Store (http://store.apple.com):

• The iPod Shuffle Sport Case. The iPod Shuffle isn’t waterproof, so if you plan to go running with it in the morning mist or lounge around in the salt spray of the beach, this $30 protective cover, complete with neck strap, is a good idea.

• The iPod Shuffle Arm Band. Runners and gym hounds probably don’t want their music player flying all over the place during a workout, The $30 white Arm Band securely straps the Shuffle to your bicep where it rides along as you jog or pump iron.

• The iPod Shuffle External Battery Pack. You get about 12 hours of playtime between charges with the Shuffle, but you can add on to that with this $30 snap-on attachment that adds the juice from two AA batteries. Although it adds some weight to the Shuffle, you can squeeze about 20 hours of music out of the player and make that long flight to New Zealand a little more entertaining.

• The iPod Shuffle Dock. This $30 combination stand and USB extension cord, shown in Figure C-5, lets your Shuffle stand at attention while you have it hooked to the Mac or PC. The Dock can be helpful for people with computers that have USB ports in hard to reach places or jacks that are too close together to fit a Shuffle in alongside another USB device.

Figure C-5. The iPod Shuffle gets a dock ...