The iPod is not only the best-looking and best-selling music player to date but also a springboard from which dozens of accessories have launched and soared. These products turn your iPod from a mere digital music player into multi-functional tool--that happens to play episodes of Family Guy.

 

Some attachments are so useful that it makes you wonder why Apple didn’t think of it first. In fact, some of these accessories can become so integral to your iPod that it can feel naked without them. 

 

 

 

TalkTune Stereo

 

This handy voice recorder is so common that dozens line the shelves of every Apple store—yet every time I whip it out and slap it onto my iPod, I’m literally greeted with ooos and ahs of astonishment. Yes, I’ve turned my iPod into a recorder. You may curtsey.

 

Belkin manages to get some decent sound quality in such a tiny device (although it helps to have the recorder placed near the speaker in crowded rooms), which is perfect for taping conversations, lectures, voice-memos, and promises from a reluctant spouse.

 

Students and secret blackmailers will appreciate the ease of playback: just sync your iPod, and your voice recordings automatically to your iTunes folder. Once there, consider converting your WAV voice recordings to AAC, which takes up less space on your hard drive.

 

I’ve tried a competitor’s recorder, and this one producers a cleaner sound. I carry it in my purse at all times, waiting for the right opportunity to earn some hush-money.

 

 

BluEye

 

You know who you are: you’re the one who can’t answer your cell phone in time because you’re happily engrossed in your favorite podcast. And as you’re fumbling with your earbuds, you wonder why you haven’t succumbed to the iPhone’s charms.

 

(And then you remember the EFF’s class-action suit against AT&T.)

 

Enter BluEye. And as long as you have a Bluetooth-enabled phone, this remarkable widget turns your iPod into a headset. With it, your music pauses when you get an incoming call; when clipped to your shirt, the BluEye picks up your voice on a minute but workable microphone. Now you’re talking.

 

Although I didn’t manage to utilize the best feature--getting BluEye to dial out through my iPod--it’s still a powerhouse of an accessory. Have I mentioned the FM radio yet? Although changing channels was a pain, once I selected the presets, it worked just dandy.

 

It’s only real drawback is that it sucks your battery like a chupacabra.

 

 

iKaraoke

 

Good news, crooners. You no longer have to limit your heartfelt version of Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” to the karaoke bar. Now, thanks to iKaraoke, you can express yourself wherever you can find a stereo or computer with an audio-in line.

 

Griffin’s iKaraoke works as a filter, overlaying the vocal track without manipulating the original recording. Although Griffin recommends using a stereo system, I used the iKaraoke through my old PowerBook; this requires an audio intermediary, so I used FinalVinyl. Be careful. The sound levels are preset, and the only way to adjust the volume is through your Apple preferences.

 

The results are varied. For songs with fancy mixing, the iKaraoke does nothing to mute the audio track; older songs fare better. Still, there’s quite a lot of bang for a relatively small amount of buck.

 

If you like to belt out songs, you can make up your mind and keep your iKaraoke.

 

 

RockStar

 

There are times when you don’t want intruders listening to your music, because without paying for the privilege, that would be like stealing.

 

Enter RockStar, a multi-headphone splitter with one hardwire cable for your iPod. You and four friends can hook up to the RockStar and listen together, which puts you one step closer to having a hive mind. It also works in situations where speakers are impractical, like your high school cafeteria.

 

With an extra 3.5 mm cable (not included), you can plug in a second iPod and use the RockStar as a medium for mashups. You and your friends will enjoy new versions of music that only they can hear. To the groove of this new beat, the hive mind will plot world domination.

 

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Solar Charger

 

Who hasn’t thought, “Boy, I wish I could harness the rays of the sun to power my Gnarles Barkley tunes”? Well, ponder no more. The Solio solar charger saves you from the bummer experience of running out of power plus earn you some green street cred.

 

Depending on which model you choose, one hour of sunshine gives you 40 minutes or more on your iPod or 14 to 25 minutes of talk time on your iPhone. The Classic model even comes with a suction cup; place it on a sunny window, and you can lazily refuel those cells without expending your own energy. Plus, for those cloudy days, the Solio can be charged either via USB port or a wall socket.

 

As long as the sun keeps fusing hydrogen atoms, Gnarls Barkley and the other musicians in the ‘pod will never miss a note.

 

 

MiShare

 

Your iPod is lonely and wants a friend to share music with. That’s obviously the rationale behind the MiShare, a small widget that connects two iPods to each other, like Siamese twins. When connected, one iPod can upload music or entire playlists while the other receives it, bypassing a computer interface altogether. Certainly, the MiShare wasn’t created to steal music!

 

(Actually, your copyrighted song or video won’t play until you connect to a computer and authorize it. MiShare works best with your GarageBand creations.)

 

Transfering content from one iPod to the next has never been easier or quicker. MiShare transfers either the last song or video played, or whatever it reads on your on-the-go playlist. MiShare’s site estimates that one song can be shuttled in 10 seconds. It also shares photos.

 

Now your iPod will never be lonely again.

 

 

Singapore Airlines

 

This iPod accessory has a view screen, alright. It gives the perfect picture: you, surrounded by blue sky, soaring at 35,000 feet. Singapore Airlines is the first airline to give business-class passengers access to their iPods via the in-flight entertainment system, which makes Singapore Airlines the largest accessory on record.

 

With an integrated cable, you can toss aside your iPod’s 2.5-inch screen in favor of their 15.4-inch LCD screen; also, they provide noise-canceling headphones, so you can enjoy your music in blissful quiet.

 

Best of all, this accessory comes with flight attendants.

 

 

Tune Studio

 

The Tune Studio really is a remarkable piece of equipment: a portable studio, it allows you to record four different tracks directly onto your iPod—where you can mix your music on the fly. With the Tune Studio, everyday jam sessions can be forever enshrined in digital history; garage bands can eschew a professional audio engineer and use a sober roadie to check the sound levels. You can then upload your masterpiece to your Mac and polish it up on GarageBand.

 

On the plus side, this accessory may free small bands from cripplingly expensive studios. On the negative side, although you don’t need a professional engineer to work the controls, it looks as if only highly dedicated amateurs can master its bewildering array of knobs and inputs.

 

The Tune Studio is like a party on your iPod, and four musicians are invited. (But they have to bring their own microphones.)

 

 

International iTunes Music Card

 

While not technically an accessory, a prepaid international iTunes music card makes a great addition to your iPod. There’s something really fun about making up lyrics to incomprehensible songs. For example, “Yukiyunagi” easily becomes “Die, Die, White Devil.”

 

The problem with music cards from other iTunes stores is that it’s legally iffy. Before you download, you must input your address into the iTunes Music Store. And if you live in Indiana, there’s no way you’ll be able to get the J-Pop you crave. Unless you lie.

 

Fear of legal entanglements fell by the wayside when I downloaded Amy Winehouse from the UK iTunes store six months before anyone in the States had heard of her. Even though the song is in English, I still modified the lyrics: “The RIAA try to make me go to rehab, I say no, no, no.”