With the ever-increasing popularity of the iPod and all its various forms, it follows that more and more accessories will become both important and appealing to iPod owners. Here are three new accessories that iPod owners may want to consider purchasing.

Podolock
The Podolock is a hard acrylic case for the iPod mini that helps to secure it from theft or unauthorized use. Along with the case is a cable that goes through the top of the case that enables the user to dock the iPod to a table, steering wheel, or other stable base. With the increasing numbers of iPods being stolen, cases like these may become handy for iPod owners. Podolocks will begin shipping next month and will be available for about $20, with the cables ranging from about $10 to $20.

TuffWrap Accent
TuffWrap Accents are new cases for iPod Video that will protect the devices from scratches and bumps. Optional inserts protect the screen and click wheel. There are three options for these two-tone silicone cases: blue and gray, yellow and black, red and black. The cases also feature ribbed sides for a more secure grip, and the texture of the overall case prevents the iPod from sliding unnecessarily. TuffWrap Accents sell for about $29.95.

Iconz
Iconz are stylish and fun durable cases that feature a logo, icons, or images that cover the face of the iPod Video. The backs of the cases are translucent, and the Iconz feature play-through control for the click wheel and integrated screen protection. Available images include cartoon and/or movie icons such as the Superman or Batman logo, your favorite MLB team, or your NBA team. Iconz with NBA images including a team and, in some cases, a player are available for the iPod Nano. Iconz for the iPod Video are available for about $29.95, while the Iconz for the iPod Nano are available for about $24.95.

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The industry was intrigued by Wednesday’s announcement that episodes of the hit ABC shows “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” will be available for Apple’s new video iPod. Episodes will go on sale for $1.99 on iTunes the day after they are broadcast.

For ABC and its parent Walt Disney Co., the bet is that the new technology will bring in more new fans of the programs than will be taken away from watching them on traditional broadcast television.

The network’s affiliates were not told the deal was in the works before Wednesday, and they’re the people most likely to be concerned about its impact. Now the iPod will join digital video recorders and DVDs as another way of seeing television programs other than their regularly scheduled times on the ABC stations.

Leon Long, chairman of ABC’s affiliate board and general manager of WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Miss., wasn’t worried.

He said if viewers have the choice of watching “Desperate Housewives” on their wide-screen television with surround sound or a two-inch iPod screen, they will almost certainly watch it on TV. The iPod option will likely be attractive to people who missed an episode and want to keep up with the story, he said.

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You’ve heard it all over–Apple’s iPod Video is the best video player there is. You don’t question it anymore because a lot of people claim it is so. But is it, really? Not quite. That honor rightfully belongs to Zen Vision, a Creative Labs product. Zen Vision is every good thing iPod Video is, and more. The size of the screen for video playback in Zen vision is a whopping 3.7″ high-resolution screen, which is a lot of steps ahead of the iPod Video’s 2.5″ screen. On paper, 1.2″ may not seem to be such a huge difference, but it really does matter once you’re in front of the screen.

Aside from that, Creative Lab players–in which the Zen Vision is included–have something very useful that iPod players don’t have–a feature that allows listening to and recording FM radio. In this way, you can catch up on your favorite radio shows any time you want. Creative Lab players also have a built-in voice recorder which is great for taking notes in classes or work; it’s also very helpful in giving yourself some reminders every now and then.

Of course, there are some areas wherein the iPod Video reigns supreme. In terms if battery life, iPod Video has 20 hours, while Creative Zen Vision only has 13 hours. To make up for this weakness, Creative Lab offers the option to purchase extended-life batteries, but this will cost you extra.

If you’re torn between the Creative Zen Vision and the iPod Video, here’s something to consider–the iPod’s screen is smaller, but it offers better views even when looked at from different angles. The Creative screen, though larger, is best viewed straight on; when viewed from other angles, the pictures aren’t as clear. If your priority is storing music over video, get the iPod Video. However, if your main concern is storing video, and storing music is only a nice additional feature for you, then you’re better off buying Creative Zen Vision.

Nowdays, a digital audio player isn’t enough. People are looking for a player that can do so much more than churn out music. As a result, manufacturers are in stiff competition with each other to come up with the latest innovation. As of this moment, the latest is the video player. iPod has one, Creative Lab has one. iRiver also jumped on the video player bandwagon with it U10 video player. iRiver’s U10 is a bundle of contradictions. Sometimes, it seems to be the perfect choice for all digital media lovers; sometimes, you just don’t have any idea what iRiver folks were thinking when they were designing the player.

Let’s begin with the positive. iRiver’s 2.2″ screen, though smaller than those of iPod video (2.5″) and Creative Zen Vision (3.7″), has a higher resolution and quality. The battery life is also something to rave about at 28 hours. That in itself is a good thing, but it’s made even better by the price–$199.99 and $249.99, depending on the disk size.

Now let’s move on to the negative. The U10 come in two sizes–512MB and 1GB. For music files, these sizes are adequate, but for video files, they mean nothing. Unlike Apple and Creatice, iRiver does not offer video players with a disk size of around 30GB.

Aside from the dismaying disk size, iRiver also has a hard-to-use navigation system which can’t hold a candle to iPod’s clicking wheel system. You need to have a bit of a techie in you to find your way around iRiver U10. However, most people don’t want something that’s hard to operate, so in this aspect, iRiver fails to appeal to the pop culture market.

As of now, the iRiver U10 feels like an experiment, something which iRiver will use to decide what the market really wants–is it disk space, battery life, or extra features? Perhaps iRiver is just biding its time, waiting for the perfect moment to release a player that can surpass iPod and Creative. This remains to be seen.

George Wood is a successful webmaster of many popular sites including watches and wine site. If you want to read more about music players, click over to George music players site.

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