Here is a look at two differ cases from I-Nique: the Tuff-Luv leather case and a standard silicon case. The first leather case is made of genuine leather that is nice and soft to the touch. All of the necessary ports and buttons are exposed and are easily accessible so you don’t ever have to remove the case in order to charge it or operate any of buttons. The top buttons are covered when the flap is down, but I found it pretty easy to individually press each of the top three buttons while the flap was closed.

Having players rendered useless due to a broken headphone jack is annoying. As we speak, one of my players is in for repair as the jack got loose and started losing audio on the left channel. The same thing happened with another player last fall when I was working a lot out in the woods and the cable got stuck on every single tree I came across.

There really isn't that much to do about such a problem once it has happened, but luckily there is something you can do to prevent it. Replug is a range of cables and adapters that are designed to break off naturally if the cable is yanked. I bought their basic adapter to see if it would help save my players. Read on for a review.

We have lately been taking a look at many of the new Noreve cases for some of the recent MP3 players. For those unfamiliar, Noreve makes high end leather cases for many electronic gadgets. The selection is quite extensive covering nearly all of the MP3 players featured on this site. Additionally, the product line extends to gaming devices, cameras, and even some netbooks.

The cases get pricey and fall in at the high end of the scale, but from the several Noreve cases I personally own, I feel that the price is warranted. The absence of brand price inflation is subsisted for good materials and quality craftsmanship.

Yesterday we joked about a manufactures getting together and releasing a single transfer cable to alleviate the need to buy all kinds of different cables. Some bought this April first joke until they saw pictures of this massive cable below the fold.

While a single cable will forever be a pipe dream and the proprietary vs standard debate will go on, you can easily and cheaply whip up your own “MediaWire” as seen in our April fools post. Read on to make your own.

There are upsides and downsides to having proprietary cables, we have had this debate before. The upsides being the ability to use your player on a doc or with accessories that require more than just a USB connection. But the two biggest problems are you need to carry an extra cable when traveling and docks and other accessories are not cross brand compatible.

This is all about to change. In a bid to alleviate consumer confusion and an open source accessory ecosystem Microsoft, Apple, SanDisk, Sony, and Samsung have teamed up on the what they have dubbed the “MediaWire” (previous code named "RX-1"). The standard has been set but they have yet to decide on manufacturing facilities for this new “super cable”, though I have been told it will likely be available near the end of Q2 of 2009. There are some photos of this cable below. Keep in mind that this is a prototype, but expect a more refined version of this "one size fits all" cable packaged with your next player.

Sure we have plenty of complaints about Cowon O2 mainly dealing with the user interface, but in the end is still a respectable PMP with the signature warm sound typical to Cowon.

The O2 is too big to fit in your pocket which makes it a good candidate for a protective case since its likely to tossed into a bag or carried by itself. If you have read any of our case reviews you know that we are fans of the Noreve cases. This one is no different. Check out the pics below with some thoughts on the fit.

I've seen pillows, teddy bears, cases and a lot of other stuff with audio equipment in them - but this is the first time I see a perfume bottle that comes with an included MP3 player and speaker. The somewhat bizarre combo is part of Calvin Klein's "We are one" campaign beginning in March, and the speakers will come with the "CK One" and "CK Be" fragrances.

The idea behind it all is apparently that music is an universal language, but I still find the concept a little bit peculiar. The fragrance sells for as little as about $20 on Amazon, but the special edition bottles will most likely have a higher price tag. If you use the brand already it might be worth picking up, but I suggest you look elsewhere if you're only after a MP3 player combo.

[selectism.com via Gizmodo]

I spend some time to day at a CES sideshow with a rep from the SD Association. These are the guys who iron out the details of this particular type of memory card to ensure compatibility across many different brands and manufactures. SD format makes up 77% of the memory card market, so if you are looking for the most compatible and now definitely the most technologically advance, SD should always be your choice. Sony comes in a distant second with 12% of the share, followed by Compact Flash (6%), MMC (3%), and xDP (2%).

With netbooks becoming popular so fast over the last year, laptops are becoming more of an alternative to dedicated media devices for portable use. While they are still bigger than MP3 players, they now have battery life and pricing that makes them good choices. Having a netbook myself and also being a Bluetooth nut, I've been struggling to get stereo Bluetooth audio on my Acer Aspire One for months. Normal Bluetooth adapters are normally very unstable and the process is the least user friendly I can think of. The people at callpod knows this, and have released an amazing product called the callpod drone.

The drone is literally plug and play. It plugs into your computer, pairs with a headset, and works. It's main feature is Bluetooth audio, and so it uses a whole other kind of process to get things going than normal adapters. Read on for the full review.

For the many years of owning MP3 players and portable devices I have always just thrown my MP3 players and mobile phones in the little dash holes or center console. It’s always a royal pain scrabbling to answer the phone or change the tracks and I hate to admit it has nearly caused accidents.

I had dash mounts before, but they were always such rubbish. They clipped awkwardly onto the vent louvers and I actually broke the vent in one of my dope rides (‘88 Civic wagon) back in college. With those painful experiences I have been put off by car mounted devices.

I have been eyeing this ProClip setup for many years, but am finally getting a change to check them out.

As a huge podcast fan I find Revision 3 to be God's gift to podcast users. For those that don't know, Revision 3 is basically a TV channel based on podcasts, with weekly high quality video podcasts covering a lot of things. Tekzilla is the most known one for tech users such as ourselves, but they also have several other shows - including Systm.

Systm is a show that covers DIY. They've had episodes on everything from waterproofing thumbdrives with epoxy to scanning objects in 3D with a laser pointer. The newest episode however features something much closer to home for us on ABi - how to build a CMOY amp. CMOYs are basically the cheapest, easiest DIY headphone amps you can make and for those of you in a country with radio shack stores it should be a very nice first project for anyone that wants to go into DIY. Hit the link below to watch it being done on Systm.

[Systm Episode 81 - Soldering Your Own Headphone Amp]

When I fly I usually pack several MP3 players but only one for the seat since is such a pain to dig around in those tiny seats. In the past I have used a simple soft case to hold the player and the Shure SE530s (Amazing isolation and sound quality for flying, 'eff Bose!) all in one neat package. Though I did always worry about smashing it in between a seat or dropping it in the boarding and unboarding chaos.

So I stumbled on this little gem today at Best Buy. It’s made for the iPod (Ew, I know right?) but will work with anything that will fit. There is also a headphone cable leading from the inside to a plug on the outside for waterproof use.

I've lived in my hobby shop for large parts of my life. Some of the readers on here might have seen the giant wooden Zen Stone and I've also done bigger projects like the D2 Jukebox dock and other wood projects. A lot of people ask me how I do these things and while some of them require a certain knowledge of electronics, the wood part of each project is 99% knowing what machine to use and how to use it.

Both Grahm and myself love docks for everything, unfortunately few players and gadgets have docks available. This is where the woodworking really comes handy, as you can make whatever you need quick and cheap. It looks more difficult than it is so in an effort to help people make their own docks and stand, here's a guide on how to make your own docks and stands.

Noreve is a maker of fine leather cases for all kinds of portable gadgets. Andreas had a chance to check out one of their cases for the Sony A820 and was very positive about it. This is actually my first experience with a Noreve case. I’m not such a fan of cases on my gadgets since I appreciate them more in the raw, but after checking out one of Noreve’s cases I might just change my tune- especially with larger devices like the Archos 5.

Read on for my thoughts and lots of great photos.

Typically don’t use too many cases on my devices, mainly because they bulk up the device and I enjoy the used look. Though most like to keep their gadgets in top notch condition and I will give in when the devices get bigger and more expensive.

The Archos 5 is definite a good candidate for this. I-nique makes a plethora of specialized cases for many of MP3 players on the market. You can check out a list on their site. They are UK based but do sell in the US directly thought the site or though Amazon if you are more comfortable with that.

Below are a few pics and impression of this case.