Boo to all blister packs everywhere! I cut myself a tiny bit prying this one open, and I was using scissors and everything...

 

Incipio sent me the IncipioHitch, which is a USB adapter for the second-gen iPod nano (the aluminum one). And I'm glad that they did, because right now I only have an iPod-to-FireWire cable in the office, which can charge my nano but not sync it. (I sync my 4G iPod via FireWire, and that's the 'Pod I use most often at work, to bring files back and forth from home. My iPod-to-USB cables live at home and in my fiance's office. But I digress.)

 

 

 

The cradle is small and light. The optional 90-degree extension arm (which works with any USB device) is on the left. Quarters on loan from the Rik Myslewski Collection.

 

 

The Hitch is about the size of two quarters, with a USB connector on one end, and a cradle that contains a dock connector that lines up with the iPod nano's dock. The nano fits snugly, so although I don't have a first-gen nano on hand to test, I highly doubt you could cram one into the Hitch. Once the nano is in the Hitch, you can just plug it in to a free USB port, and Incipio includes a 90-degree extension arm that you can use if the USB port is hard to reach.

 

Plugged in to the USB 2.0 dock on top of my Matias USB 2.0 Keyboard for Mac.

 

Notebook users will appreciate the extension arm (photo by Incipio).

 

The Hitch is available now at www.myincipio.com, in black or white, for $14.99. And that's a bargain considering that buying a spare iPod-to-USB cable from Apple will set you back $19.

 

Look for a full review of the IncipioHitch - as well as the IncipioBud, a USB adapter for the iPod shuffle - soon on MacLife.com and in the pages of Mac|Life.

 

Points to consider:
> Lets you charge/sync your nano without a cable.
> Inexpensive.
> Includes 90-degree extension arm.