Ever since I heard about the court battle between two schoolgirls over an iPod that one lent the other, returned, and that subsequently went missing, I started wondering what people did to protect their iPods in public places. The iPod is such a popular device that many people wouldn't be caught in public without theirs, and I wondered what can be done to keep an iPod safe while at a table in a coffee shop or a desk in the library. Enter the iPod Safe.

The iPod Safe definitely looks intimidating; it encases your iPod in a metal case complete with a combination-operated cable lock to use to lock your iPod down to a table or desk. The locks come in white and black and there are different models for the iPod Nano and iPod with video. They all come with screen and click-wheel protectors to ward off scratches and the tops are open for easy access to the hold button and headphone jack. Japanese company Elecom released a press release stating they were planning to manufacture the device in Japan, but Americans looking for iPod security will have to wait a while for the iPod Safe to make its way across the ocean into electronics stores at home. There's no information on a release date or availability outside of Japan, but the iPod Safe will cost 5,040 Yen (approximately $41 USD) when it hits Japanese stores. [via Akhabaranews]