Playlist: Playlist's Plays of the Year: 2006, Page 3

Agent 18

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Best Skin iPod Case

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Smooth E for iPod nano ($20; AVA)

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As for the iPod nano, you want a case for your shiny, tiny player, but you don’t want to do bulk up its slim profile. AVA’s Smooth E has got you—and your nano—covered. This unique skin case is actually rigid: it’s a two-piece, hardshell case made of ABS plastic coated with a liquid polymer finish that feels unbelievably smooth. Inside, your nano reposes in felt-lined splendor, protected from the bumps and jostles of everyday life. The bottom of the case is open to let you plug in your headphones and sync the iPod, and a hard piece of clear plastic is integrated in the case’s cover to protect your nano’s vulnerable display. But the best innovation of the Smooth E is the case’s built-in Hold switch; it lines up with the nano’s own Hold switch and makes flicking it on and off a breeze. In fact, slipping your nano into the Smooth E might make it hard to tell which is getting more attention: the iPod or its case.—DM

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