DLO Jam Jacket Pro For Your iPod Mini - Does Just What it Says... and Not Much More

When it comes to picking adequate protection for your iPod Mini, I have already suggested the iSkin. But if you need to listen to your tunes while working out or being active in general, what then? While adequate for everyday use, I'm not sure I would subject the belt clip of the iSkin to strenuous activites. So, I had to come up with another solution. Due to sheer luck and cheapness, I came across the DLO Jam Jacket Pro 3-pack.

First off is the packaging. Your standard grade plastic is in use here, although luckily you won't have to resort to a plasma cutter to extract your items. In the package is the armband, and three colored skins (frost, pink and blue). If you're looking for anything else, you might want to keep looking for your active Mini solution, because that's all there is. Each skin has an opening for the click wheel, and an opening at the top to insert the Mini. On the back resides two slots to snake the velcro-laden stretch armband.

Operation is painfully simple; slide armband through the slots, and the iPod in the skin. Attach unit to your arm, and you're off. The armband has plenty of velcro, so it can be adjusted to almost any size arm, unless you like to juggle Volkswagens at the State Fair. Unfortunately, that's about it for the positives. The skins have a cheap, integrated skin protector, a far cry from the plastic inserts for the iSkin. Over time, these get grimy and dirty and distort the screen. Inserting your iPod in the first, say, twenty times is going to take a little work as well. You must be careful to not put pressure on your screen, thereby forcing your fingers to try and not slip off the sides of the Mini. Fortunately, this gets easier as time goes on. Unfortunately, it also gets easier for the iPod to fall out if you are upside down for some strange reason. I also feel that the DLO skin is thinner than the iSkin, and probably wouldn't do as good of a job protecting it from drops.

One of the things I love about the iSkin is the fact I can slip off the bottom and place my Mini in any sort of dock, my Tunebase included. I don't feel as comfortable doing this with the DLO. For one, you have a bulky armband to deal with. With the perceived thinness of the DLO, I'm also afraid of ripping or tearing it. This necessitates changing the Mini back and forth between skins anytime I want to go to the gym, wearing out the fit of the DLO more aggressively. I'm sure in time I will not be able to use my chosen color at all due to the loose fit.

For the suggested retail price of $39.99, I can only recommend this product for those of you who will be using your iPod primarily on your arm. After all, it does that pretty well. But if you're going to be using it in a variety of ways, keep looking. However if you can score these for $1.99 like I did at CompUSA, then feel free to give them a whirl.