The battle to wrap your fifth generation iPod Nano is bright colors is heating up, and now iLuv has launched its attack! It was only two days ago that I told you about Griffin and ezGear debuting some eye-catching Nano cases. Now iLuv has stepped in with three electrifying lines of its own. There's going to be blood in the water.

Style one (above, my fav) offers four city scenes on clear plastic cases. These go for $24.99. Style two includes three crazy tattoo-inspired silicone cases for $19.99 each. Style three includes three designs on clear plastic that make your Nano look like a video camera, selling for $24.99 each. This one could be the sleeper hit of the season.

No doubt Nano Case War 2009 is just getting started. Check back often for new developments and casualties.

It's crucial that Apple continue to release new iPods and iPhones, not just because we as consumers demand newer, shinier, smaller gadgets, but because a whole ecosystem of products demand it. Many companies rely on the iPod for their livelihoods.

No surprise, then, that new nano cases followed the new iPod nano announcement by almost minutes. Griffin has released two different lines. My favorite is the iClear Sketch collection (above), which comes in 13 attractive translucent patterns and colors. I can't even pick a favorite, they're all so hot.

The company's iClear Shade line offers solid-colored cases with graduated tints, while the FlexGrip lines' silicone cases are easy to hold on to.

ezGear has also jumped into the market, but not with as many offerings. The company has announced silicone ezSkin cases in two colors, onyx black and frost white.

While the latest iPod Nano was only announced on Wednesday, we're all agreed that it needs a kickstand. Now that it can shoot video, you need a way to watch comfortably, right?

Yesterday I blogged about Quirky's Kickster, which was created in 24-hours by the Quirky community. Today I've got the Scosche kickBACK n5, which offers a kickstand case with a little more padding, as well as random capitalization.

The kickBACK combines clear polycarbonate screen protection with black rubber on the corners, the areas that take the most impact in a drop. The back includes a cutout for the new camera, as well as the kickstand. Grab it from scosche.com for $24.99.

Sony Ericsson has officially unveiled the Xperia X2, the successor to the company's expensive, unlocked Xperia X1 smartphone.

The X2 will feature an 8.1-megapixel camera, a bundled 4GB microSD card, and yet another refreshed UI for Windows Mobile (though this time, it will be a 6.5 device) including 13 pre-loaded "panels," according to a company blog post.

There's also a slide-out, four-row QWERTY keyboard with decidedly computer-like keys, and a vertical strip of icons running along the bottom of the screen in landscape mode. In portrait mode, the band of icons shrinks in width but stays at the bottom.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 will hit "selected markets" later this year. Here's hoping the UI is more seamless and less buggy this time around. I'd also hope for a much lower price, but if anyone is good at overcharging, it's Sony.

If you're considering a bag with plenty of space, the Half Moon Bay Large would be a good option. It's the larger version of the original half moon bay laptop bag from Overland Equipment and can hold laptops up to 15.4 inches in size, and weighs a mere 1.5 pounds. The bag is a coffee-bean color with a golden yellow inner lining and has an adjustable shoulder strap.

The 14- by 16- by 5-inch laptop bag has a Velcro closure at the flap to keep your things secure. The bag is made of nylon and includes a padded slot for your laptop. There are two large deep pockets in the front of the bag for your accessories. For extra storage there's also a large mesh zippered pocket inside the bag and space in between for books and other large items.

I carried the Half Moon Bay Large bag around for a week. It kept my oversize laptop secure. I also carried my lunch, umbrella, iPod, keys, ID, and phone in the bag, and everything fit just fine.  

When you need more than just a camera case and less than a backpack or shoulder bag - if your're carrying one camera and one telephoto lens - check out the Lowepro Toploader Pro 75 AW crossover bag. It's a well-padded, top-loading or holster-style bag for a digital SLR attached to most any telephoto lens you'll buy. Zippered and mesh pockets on the top and two sides let you stick in a cellphone, electronic flash, notepad, batteries, sunglasses, and filters. The Toploader Pro has become my favorite bag to carry when I just want a camera and one lens, plus all the stuff that would otherwise fill my pockets. Price is about $70 street for Toploader Pro 75 AW, a bit more than other bags without all the pockets, and worth every penny.

The Mountain Hardwear Sing Slingpack ($90 list) is a stylish, egg-shaped, compact sling pack for laptops, tailored for women on the go. Equipped with a compression-molded foam back panel, and an adjustable padded sling strap for an easy over-the-shoulder motion, the Slingpack was just able to fit my 14-inch IBM ThinkPad T41 snugly into the well-protected laptop compartment. This backpack might be better suited to carry systems with smaller screens, like netbooks.

The Sing Slingpack weighs in at 1 pound 3 ounces, with an 850-cubic-inch capacity. Aside from the laptop sleeve, it has a decent internal compartment space (though you won't be able to carry a lot of books around), and a simple internal organizer--two open pockets and one zipped. On the outside is a larger central zip pocket, two smaller side pockets, and a long mesh pocket on the shoulder strap.

The Sing Slingpack was definitely designed to be efficient: My clamshell cell phone fit into one of the smaller side pockets, though it likely couldn't hold an iPhone or other smartphone. The other pocket is probably big enough only for change, a transit card or perhaps an iPod nano. I'm still trying to figure out what can fit in the pocket on the shoulder strap.

To say the the Rickshaw Bagworks Medium Commuter Messenger Bag is large might be a bit of an understatement. This roomy laptop bag is catch-on-doorways, take-up-an-extra-seat-on-the-subway, knock-out-fellow-commuters big. But hey, you'll never complain about not being able to carry all of your stuff with you.

It's clear that a lot of thought went into design with the Commuter. The laptop sleeve, which can house systems up to 15 inches is completely detachable, meaning you can carry it with you separate from the messenger bag. The front closures are magnetic, with velcro strips. If you don't want the noise of pulling apart velcro in a quiet lecture hall, "SHHHHHH" strips are included with velcro on one side and magnets built in to keep the bag securely closed.

Besides the roomy main pocket, the bag has two smaller front pockets and a thin pocket on the back. Unfortunately there are no easy access pockets for items like subway cards and cell phones, a frequent complaint of mine when it comes to laptop bags. Otherwise, I had trouble filling the Commuter, so even with a whole load of textbooks you should have plenty of space. That said, you likely won't want to fill up all the space. The bag is sturdy, but also a bit heavy because of the materials used and the removable laptop sleeve. It's already 3.5 pounds and, with a laptop thrown in, plus a book, iPod, planner, and other necessities, I ended up with a backache after walking around a particularly long commute.

Looking for a messenger-style bag, but hate the single shoulder strap? Timbuk2 has a new Swig Backpack in two sizes that'd be happy to help you out. It's basically got the messenger styling and utility that Timbuk2 is known for (as seen on the streets of San Francisco, New York, and Austin), plus it has backpack straps.

The durable Swig is available in two sizes, Small (holds up to 13-inch notebooks) for $80, and the Medium seen here (up to 17-inch notebooks) for $90. It's got a main compartment, like most messenger bags, that will swallow all your books and folders whole. The main compartment also has a built-in pouch for your notebook, with padding and a Velcro equipped strap to keep it in. It held the 15-inch MacBook Pro I used quite securely and safely. If you're the type that just dumps everything in one big pocket, then the Swig is your bag.

It might have a cathedral-like capacity, but that also means that the bag itself is huge. It's over 20 inches tall and 13 inches wide (7 inches deep), so it may look big on your back. The Small version is more proportioned for shorter folks. Though large, the Swig pack is comfortable to wear with both straps. The Swig's name does give it a hint to its ultimate purpose: the inside pocket can fit many bottles or cans of your favorite beverage and there's a "carbonated beverage opener" on one of the straps.

If you're looking for a unique, slim, and light case in which to tote your laptop and also want to make an artistic-type style statement, the GG2G Foleo ($56 direct) fills the bill--and it's made from recycled materials, too. What could be cooler? These necessarily one-of-a kind bags are crafted from recycled highway billboards, of all things, and can come with or without bamboo padding--your choice.

The bag is sturdy and nicely made, and the "re-vinylzed" water-repellent outer material has a sleek, shiny look and feel. All the Foleos come with a handle on the side (though you may not see them in the Web site's images), so you can carry the bag that way or tuck it under your arm like a clutch. The Foleo has one inner pocket--a thumb drive compartment. But if you need more storage space, you could easily stash this sleeve inside a larger case. 

The Foleo bags pictured on GG2G's site are all currently available. Once a bag is purchased, it's replaced by a new one, and no two look exactly the same. But if you have your heart set on a color palette, you can email Dayan Moore (a co-owner of GG2G), and she'll do her best to help you out. 

Why should iPhone owners get all the style? iSkin has now released its first cases for the BlackBerry Curve, Storm, and Bold.

The Vibes line of cases are available for all three BlackBerry models, and the Vibes FX line is available for the Curve. The difference is that the Vibes cases come in solid colors, while the Vibes FX cases have an argyle pattern and a screen protector that doubles as a mirror when your BlackBerry is off.

Not just eye candy, both lines offer high-gloss color with the look of a soft case, but the protection of a hard shell. They're also embedded with Microban antimicrobial protection to keep your phone germ-free.

Vibes cases sell for $29.99 and Vibes FX for $32.99. See the whole lineup at the iSkin site.

Yep, I've succumbed. After waiting since 2007 for the iPhone to come to T-Mobile or Verizon, I've pulled the trigger and ordered a shiny new iPhone 3GS during the first wave last week. Never mind that it took until Wednesday of this week to get to me, but that's another story.

I acquired a few holster-style cases from various sources, and I can tell you this: the Compass/Magnetometer in the iPhone 3GS does not like magnetic closures on the cases. I first used Speck's odd but very protective SwitchWay case, and after using it, I found that I had to recalibrate the compass  every time I took the iPhone out of the case. I also used a no-name holster that I'd used with an iPod Touch, and that also garnered the same results.

The no-name case uses two magnets to keep itself shut, and the SwitchWay uses four magnets (it can be worn vertically or horizontally). Apple's support docs have warned against using magnetic cases since the iPhone 3G last year, but I'd used the no-name case with the first generation iPhone while I tried it out back in 2007 with no ill effects.

According to a review on iLounge.com, the SwitchWay was redesigned with a Velcro closure, and I'd certainly recommend one if you like a holster for convenience. In any case, I'm off to the Apple Cube to get a DLO HipCase, which I know has Velcro.

I should point out that calls, emails, and text messages came through fine in any of the cases, magnetic or not, so that's not an issue, but it is exceedingly annoying to have to re-calibrate the Compass everytime I needed to use it (including in maps). It also took progressively more time to reclaibrate the Compass the longer I kept the iPhone in the magnetic cases. Buyer Beware!

The Apple iPod Shuffle has always been a model of simplicity. The latest version includes a clip, but no controls, on the Shuffle itself. You need to use buttons built into the earbud cord to change volume or advance the song.

That's a clever system, but it's not for everyone. That's why Scosche introduced the TapStick case. Not only does it protect your Shuffle's surface with a polycarbonate shell, but it also adds three buttons, letting you play, pause, and adjust volume from the Shuffle itself. One upside to that is that you're no longer forced to use the Shuffle's included earbuds, and are free to use whatever headphones you prefer.

The TapStick comes only in black or white. I'd like to see more colors and patterns in the future. Just because the Shuffle comes in only two color options doesn't mean cases have to follow suit. It sells for $29.99, which is on the steep side, especially since the Shuffle itself costs only $79.00. The TapStick also includes a three-foot audio cable, to connect your Shuffle to your stereo.

The iPhone 3G S was announced just yesterday, and already one company has produced a line of accessories for it. iLuv today announced its iPhone 3G S accessories, including cases, a windshield mount kit, and an armband.

The iCC77 Flexi Clear Thermoplastic Polyurethane Case is a lightweight, flexible case for the iPhone 3G S that's both tear- and damage-resistant. It will come in four color choices (pink, blue, clear, or black) and will be on sale for $24.99 in mid-June.

Other protective cases include the iCC705 Graphic Silicone Case ($24.99, July), iCC79 Hard Case with Stand ($29.99, available now), iCC74 Clear Crystal Hard Case ($24.99, available now), and the iCC75 Holster with Stand and Cover ($34.99, available now).

Road warriors will find a use for iLuv's iCC781 Windshield Mount Kit with Power Combo Pack. Since the new iPhone is now capable of turn-by-turn directions, this kit will come in handy for mounting the iPhone to your dashboard, so you can view the screen easily . The kit also features a car charger for powering the iPhone. Look for it in July for $34.99.

Health nuts can take their iPhone 3G S along with them on runs and to the gym, thanks to iLuv's iCC212 Armband for iPhone 3GS. You can purchase it now for $34.99.

The DRI Technical Notebook Sleeve is the newest addition to the DRI Technical luggage collection from Kena Kai. The rugged-chic bag is gray with an orange outline and comes with a removable shoulder strap.

The DRI is made from a tarpaulin material with heavy-duty nylon webbing for strength and durability. A welded seam technology helps protect whatever you put inside it from water, and the bag's roll-top closure further protects your notebook. Inside is a padded inner lining that keeps your notebook safe and in place.

I carried the 15.4-inch DRI around for a while, mostly on rainy days, to test out the waterproof claim, and it did the job. The notebook stayed dry and safe in the bag. One issue I had was that the shoulder strap was uncomfortable; it's too thin. As its name implies, the bag is best used as a sleeve.

The DRI Technical Notebook Sleeve is available in three sizes: Netbook, 13.3-inch, and 15.4-inch--priced at $34.99, $39.99 and $44.99, respectively, at Kena Kai.

Post by Iman  Edwards