iPod touch cases: Fashion plates Alaska

Leather is a durable, handsome material, but you might consider its traditional look passé. Now there's carbon fiber leather, where planar carbon is combined with leather. The material is found in Case-Mate's Carbon Fiber Leather case, and the result is a weaved look that has a bit of sheen to it. The case feels more like nylon that leather, but it has good grip.

The iPod touch slides into the case, which provides excellent protection (the leather is glued to a plastic shell. Case-Mate also includes a clear screen protector that doesn't interfere with your finger contacting the screen.

The only drawback with the Carbon Fiber Leather case is that the leather is susceptible to dents and scratches. After a couple of weeks, the case had some indentations and fingernail marks on the surface; they reminded me of the dings you might see on your car door.

The Carbon Fiber Leather is one of those cases that I would use when the occasion calls for a bit sophistication and style. The case is available in black, red, or silver.

Griffin Reflect

Griffin's Reflect puts a welcomed new spin on the typical polycarbonate hard case. Instead of using clear or colored plastic, the Reflect uses a chrome-like reflective finish. The finish is striking, especially when the case is new and fresh out of the box. After a few weeks, however, the finished dulled just a little bit; the plastic seems to have lost some of its luster due to the rubbing of the Reflect face against my pocket. But it still looks cool.

The cases comes in two parts: the front that covers the top, sides, and bottom of the iPod touch's face; and the case back, which has a rubberized coating to provide grip. The case snaps together and provides great protection. Griffin also includes a clear screen protector that doesn't hinder your finger taps.

If you think of your iPod touch as a fashion accessory and you change your iPod touch cases as often as you change your underwear, then consider the Reflect for those occasions when you want to add a little bit of sparkle to your ensemble.

Incase Slider Case

By covering just the outer rim of the front of the iPod touch, the Slider Case doesn't provide much face protection at all. However, it does provide a nice color accent, and it's available in black, orange, rose, and white.

The Slider Case is made of rubber covers the whole back of the iPod touch, providing a good grip. You can also remove the bottom and leave the top when you want to dock the iPod touch.

At $35, the Slider Case is a little pricey for the amount of protection it provides; it doesn't include a clear plastic screen cover found in other cases. But it's a well-made case that uses nice plastic.

Uniea U-Suit Premium

The U-Suit Premium uses Napa leather wrapped around a hard plastic case to protect your iPod touch. The leather feels and looks nice, not cheap. The silver metal edging gives the case a bit of flair to differentiate it from other leather cases.

There aren't a lot of frills with the U-Suit Premium, but Uniea does include a clear screen cover that doesn't interfere with your finger touching the on-screen buttons. It's a non-nonsense case that looks good, and handled everyday use well during a couple of weeks I used it.