[iREZ]

so im looking between these two ipod cases to protect my new ipod and was wondering what you guys had to say bout each. my main concerns are that my ipod stay protected from clumsy drops, screen stays protected, and that it looks nice. my budget is about $30 for this case, so im open to other opinions as well....

so tell me (show me)...what are you using to protect your ipod?

[ael719]

i have the contour showcase, which i loooved when i first got it, but right now i'd give it a 4.5 out of 5

when watching videos on my ipod, my arms tend to get sore from holding it up with my hand/s for long periods of time, i thought propping it up with something behind it would solve this, but finding a good angle to set it on is almost impossible

i'm looking into the marware sidewinder, which is a bit more functional, but definitely not as sharp looking

the contour showcase looks great and comes with a detachable belt clip, I have no need for the belt clip and think it looks much better without the belt clip, if youre really picky you'll notice that the case itself picks up scratches, mine looks heavily worn out, but the scratches are usually only visible at a certain angle, its not a big deal really

the contour showcase has a hole cut out for the track wheel which leaves your ipod vulnerable to scratches, i bought one of those clear plastic skin wraps to protect my trackpad, the wrap only cost around $5 (i've seen some that go for $25)

i saw an agent 18 at Target and from what i can tell the only difference b/t the contour showcase is the showcase has a black rubber lining around it and the belt clip, otherwise they;d be the same case

here are a couple of pics of my contour showcase:
http://homepage.mac.com/ael719/.Pictures/DSC00761.JPG
http://homepage.mac.com/ael719/.Pictures/DSC00751.JPG

[iREZ]

how's the screen area of the case...are movies still viewable due to the scratches or do you have to find a good angle to watch them?

[ael719]

The scratches are most visible when my iPod is off or when the screen is white (iPod menu background color). I haven't really had any problem with the scratches will watching a movie.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by ael719

http://homepage.mac.com/ael719/.Pictures/DSC00751.JPG

Hi there cute DS Lite !!

[angelmb]

I have posted a pic about the agent18 case here:

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=301487

feel free to check it out so it is not needed to post the same text & pict here to avoid redundancy.

[iREZ]

i ended up going with the agent 18 seeing how the contour has scratch problems, and apparently the ag18 has better scratch protection on its surface. 25 bucks at target, not too shabby.

[masugu]

The agent 18 is very cool. I have one formy Nano...If there are no new iPods announced on August 8, I may breakdown and buy a 30 gigger. Will definitely get the larger Agent 18 for that puppy as well.

[Yakov]

i like my a18 for my white pod. due to the plastics used, i think it wouldn't be quite as sharp on a black pod. scratches on the screen (with no undue stress, just day to day in my pocket) make watching movies a little bit less fun than it would be otherwise -- the video refracts through the scratch, very very noticeable. i don't think that any other case would solve this problem, though, and i'd rather the scratches be on the case than on the screen! the fit and finish of a18 is great, and the plastic grips on the side are very useful.

one gripe: i wish the whole thing were clear plastic, rather than cloudy plastic outside of the screen area. one nice thing about the ipod is that the back can function as a mirror -- but this "functionality" is obviated by the cloudy plastic. however, i suppose the cloudy plastic is definitely more scratch proof and possibly more durable.

summary: agent 18 = 4/5