iPod, Accessories, and The Illusion of Lifestyle Products

My 20GB iPod made its way to me today. I’ve seen and used plenty of this particular model so it wasn’t an utter shock, but Apple’s elegant packaging is always a pleasure. My music library just exceeds the iPod in size so I was forced to make some decisions about what I take with me, but I don’t think I’m going to miss Vladislav Delay or all three Pole albums on the road.

And taking 20GB worth of my music on the road is now quite possible. I wussed out on installing the P.I.E. auxiliary input adaptor: warnings of ground loop feedback and torn-up dashboards more than offset the affordability of the device. I instead opted to have an AIWA CDC-Z137 CD receiver installed in my Civic. The unit has an auxiliary 1/8" input on the front faceplate, providing the essential connection between the iPod and the car’s stereo system. I tried hooking the whole works up today and the sound is clean and robust, even out of the iPod’s amplified headphone output.

Of course, a line-out solution would be even cleaner, and is supported in the 3G iPod’s dock connector wiring. Of the numerous iPod car chargers out there only the Monster iCharger and as-yet-unreleased SiK Imp have true line outputs, but both place them awkwardly on the side of the dock connector plug; do you want yet another wire draping off the wire going into your iPod, only to have to run that that wire to your auxiliary input? It makes for a messy dashboard/center console. Belkin gets it half right in their Auto Kit for iPod, providing an output on the cigarette lighter plug separate from the dock connector cord. Unfortunately, this isn’t a true line-out, but rather an amplified signal with volume control independent from (and overriding) the iPod’s own. Some users have reported ground loop feedback and/or distorted sound from the Belkin unit’s amplifier, but others have had a rosy time of it. I’m giving the Belkin a try out of sheer availability and preference for its placement of the “line” output.

Completing my new iPod’s accessorizing (on a caliber that would make a Barbie jealous, I admit and lament) is a translucent arctic white iSkin eXo2 for protection. There a variety of these so-called “skin” cases but the iSkin is by far the best reviewed. It’s lamentable that the iPod isn’t more durable, but then a more rugged design likely wouldn’t be nearly as appealing. The iSkin retains as much of the iPod’s original aesthetic as possible while shielding it at least a bit from its surroundings. After all that, the cased and connected iPod rides in the same RadioShack AC Vent Wireless Phone Mount I previously had good luck with. There are a handful of iPod-specific car mounts on the market, but why mess with a good and affordable thing?

Apple certainly has a good racket going, both for themselves and accessory manufacturers. Though I received this iPod as a gift, I’ve spent, well… I’ll let you add it up, but I’ve spent plenty to tailor the iPod to my lifestyle. Or, more realistically, to tailor my lifestyle to the iPod. It’s an utter illusion that the iPod is a product for hip people living hip lives; like all luxury goods (and it’s priced as such), the iPod is a lifestyle defining product, something to move you towards hipness. In this respect it’s an ingenious design: you’re more likely to have a conversation about what you listen to your music on than the music itself, shifting cool from content to medium. It’s nothing new, but brilliantly executed in the iPod.