Your Nano Gone Retro

Back in the olden days, before there was iPod, and even before Sony made music collections portable with the Walkman, the kids were known to enjoy music on the go with the help of a transistor radio. Larger than a shirt pocket, but small enough to carry around, they were especially popular in the middle decades of the 20th century and produced a distinctive kind of sound—thin and tinny, with a narrow frequency response and a tendency to distort at high volume. The effect was anti-high fidelity…but it was portable.

Tiny Dancer

Creative’s TravelSound is incredibly compact and plays forever, but its so-so sound might not be enough to rock your world.

Power Up Your iStuff

We’ve all been there: You’re away from home, your iPhone is dead, and you really need to call someone. Or maybe you just hopped on the bus, and the only empty seat is next to that lady who talks to everyone—and your iPod just ran out of juice. Kensington’s battery packs can come to your rescue, recharging a dead iPhone or iPod without the need for a really, really long extension cord.

Shift your tunes into your car.

Getting music from your iPod to your ears is usually easy—use headphones or one of the kajillion iPod speaker docks littering the countryside. But the question of how to get music out of your iPod and into your car stereo can be a bit more vexing. A direct, wired connection sounds the best, but if you don’t have a built-in iPod connector, or a fancy stereo with a line-in jack on the front, your options are limited to expensive aftermarket iPod-friendly stereos or yanking your current stereo out of the dashboard to install a cable yourself.

Get Outdoors!

You might not think taking your expensive portable technology into rugged terrain is a good idea, but there’s no reason to use the excuse that your MacBook or iPod are too delicate to take outside as to eschew the great outdoors—or an opportunity to exercise and breathe fresh air. With the proper gear, your tunes and your data can venture outside with you and go back inside no worse for the wear.

Get Outdoors!

You might not think taking yourexpensive portable technology into rugged terrain, but there’s no reason to use the excuse that your MacBook or iPod are too delicate to take outside as to eschew the great outdoors—or an opportunity to exercise and breathe fresh air. With the proper gear, your tunes and your data can venture outside with you and go back inside no worse for the wear.