iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition

iPod Extenders

There are so many new add-on gadgets for the iPod, the average consumer might be forgiven for forgetting all about its music-playing abilities. There have been hundreds of iPod accessories over the years, but because Apple often changes the internal and external design of its signature products, compatibility can be all over the map. So make sure the doo-dad you’ve got your heart set on actually works with your model iPod.

For example, the voice recorders made by Belkin and Griffin Technology don’t work on the newest iPod models, but work on the third and fourth-generation iPods that arrived in 2003 and 2004. If you want to record voice memos on a fifth-generation video iPod, the MicroMemo Voice Recorder ($80 at http://www.xtrememac.com) is one option. The point here is to make sure that the object of your accessory affection actually works with the iPod you have.

If you want to keep up with the iPod accessories mad dash to the marketplace, check in regularly with Web sites like the iLounge (http://www.ilounge.com) and the iPod News Network (http://www.ipodnn.com) for news and reviews of the latest products. Here are a few iPod add-ons worth mentioning.

iPod Camera Connector

Odds are your digital camera’s memory card is smaller than your iPod’s hard drive, but the iPod Camera Connector lets you put the two together and turn the iPod into an image vault to store pictures. Once you link camera and media player together with this $30 square of white plastic and electronics, ...