Liberate your power strip! If you’re anything like us, you’ve got an overloaded power strip somewhere in your house with a pile of wires connected for charging up all of your portable goodies — cell phone, camera, mp3 player, an extra cell charger for when your friends come over with a nearly dead cell phone, etc. It’s an unsightly mess and, if you’re really unsorted, likely a fire hazard. So here’s to simplifying life and consolidating that socket frenzy into a single plugged multicharger.

The Five Device Recharging Station stores and powers up to five devices with four integrated AC ports and two USB ports with surge surpressors (the integrated surge protector is rated at 1,080 joules, the strongest available in a charging station). The grey front panel features nonskid surfaces to cradle your devices as they charge keeping your iPod, PDA and cell phone on display and within reach while juicing up simultaneously. This is extra handy for the traveling types as the unit easily folds flat for charging on the go (never mess with swapping cords in the hotel room again!). For $49.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer, put this on your must-have list for 2008 de-cluttering.

If you’ve plunked down any chunk of change for mobile devices (who hasn’t, right?), then you’re undoubtedly familiar with the frustration of protecting your shiny goodies from the big dirty world outside. Which explains why the market is so flooded with protective gear these days — stickers for your computer, wallets for your phone, rubber placemats for keyboards… the whole of technology’s going condom. The trick is in finding the right kind of protection; earlier this year I excitedly bought the Andy Warhol leather case for my iPod on the go, but quickly realized it was more trouble than it was worth — the full-protection meant I couldn’t see the display without unclasping the whole unit, it doubled the size of the iPod so it felt more like a brick than a sleek jukebox, and using the controls was mostly dumb luck of “maybe the forward button is here…”. The sticker-covers seemed like a good idea too, until I realized it a) didn’t cover the whole iPod and b) left a horrible gunk behind after being removed, which sort of defeated the whole purpose. So hooray for the folks over at Shades Cases for sending over some Shades iPod Cases so that we could test drive them to discover a great new case.

And make no mistake, these cases were put to the full test — out for exercising, around the countryside corn fields, swimming around in a messenger bag full of sharp objects, thrown around the car and temporarily lost under the seat, even subject to the horrors of a cluttered living room where things regularly were piled atop the iPod. The travel shows on the case (that I haven’t gotten around to actually cleaning), but the iPod within remains gloriously unscratched. The Shades Cases are low-maintenance wonders that let you slide your iPod in and out of the snug case easily via a narrow opening in the base that doubles for charging/USB access.

Even better, you’ve got options! Not only do the micro-thin weightless plastic cases come in a rainbow of color options (not to worry, the screen section is always a thin clear shield), but they’re also available in all of your favorite sizes for the iPod Classic, Video, Nano 3G and 2G, Photo, and 4G/CW with iPhone cases expected in the next month. For $14.95-$16.95 (with a “3 for the price of 2″ deal currently running on the manufacturer’s site), it’s an absolute deal and perfect way to appreciate the sleek design of your iPod while keeping its surface unharmed.

Now if they’d only create something similar for laptops…

Remember when iPods first introduced the video feature? It was a wild new frontier of mobile video viewing that let you take your favorite shows and movies wherever you went, but it’s had one consistent drawback — it doesn’t matter how fabulously detailed the viewscreen is, the thing is still only 2.5 inches big, and can be a perfect catalyst for eyestrain headaches.

So welcome to the future — straight out of some 80s futuristic flick, here comes the iPod Video Goggles. Utilizing a dual color LCDs SolidOptex™ Optical System, the goggles plug directly into your iPod without any need for extra adapters or power sources (not to worry, the drag on power is minimal) and provide the visual equivalent of viewing a 24” TV screen right in front of your eyes. The viewing band is even narrow enough that you’re not completely isolated from your surroundings, allowing for a quick peek above or below the frames to see what’s going on. Unfortunately this product is strictly iPod only — the goggles will not work with any other sources, including the iPhone.

Available now for $199.99 from ThinkGeek.

Sometimes we find products and have to wonder “is that really necessary?” But, after taking a quick poll to find out how long the people we know spend sitting around in the bathroom, turns out Ms. Necessity really is the mother of invention and maybe the Atech Flash iCarta Stereo Dock with Bath Tissue Holder makes a little sense. A little. Its major defense — when you need to change a track that’s just not working with you on the toilet, the iPod is right there, not stuck in another room. And if you’re using it as a bathtime buddy, all the better to have all cords and expensive devices safely out of splash range but near enough to appreciate without audio distortion.

The iCarta accepts all dockable iPods and has two 2-way built in speaker systems (2 x tweeters, 2 x woofers!) for a full range of sound. Requires a 12V 1.5A AC adapter, so be sure to have an extra power outlet hanging out somewhere near your toilet before investing $79.99 on this little bathroom conversation starter. Clearly this is the birthday gift for an Apple nut whose bathroom is his sanctuary.

Coming soon to a bike near (under?) you: the iHome iH85B speaker, built to safely take your iPod tunes wherever your wheels may carry you. Cyclists and motorists alike have voiced their concerns about people riding through cities with earbuds that distract the rider from paying attention to the sounds around them; this product offers a safer solution that lets you enjoy your music without blocking atmospheric cues. This water-resistant speaker case clamps directly to your bike frame and comes with a handlebar-mounted RF remote for easy controls while you’re on the go. The unit also doubles as a charger when connected to its AC adapter and promises a full, rich sound with a Reson8 passive speaker. Soon to be available for $99.

I was over at my friend’s house the other night admiring the shelf-sized speaker system that his iPod was plugged into — mint-green with a wooden face, trapezoidal, and ever so clever in its throwback simplicity. And, as function doesn’t always follow form, it was nice to hear that the speaker quality held up without volume distortion.

“Where’d you pick this up?”
“Urban Outfitters.”
“No seriously… where?”

Turns out he wasn’t pulling my leg — UO is offering the Specktone Retro stereo speaker system through their online shop only, so don’t expect to find this at your local store. The high gloss speaker, that not only fits all iPod gens but is also kind enough to charge them when docked, features a 4” subwoofer, 28-watt output and analog circuitry. Also included: a wall power adapter and 2 matching iPod skins for the matchy-matchy types (video & nano sizes). For $129, this little gem definitely gets a thumbs up.

Armband mp3 holders are great for your morning jog, but how about something you can use the rest of the day without looking like a sidewalk warrior? Look, we all knew the LED belt buckles were just a bad, bad idea — but let’s not go throwing the baby out with the belt water. The folks over at TuneBuckle have built a better buckle for your iPod nano.

TuneBuckle protects your nano in a scratch-resistant case forged from aircraft quality aluminum, with a patent pending capture system that holds onto your nano even when the belt is unhooked. The Slate Gray TuneBuckle comes in a one size fits all 1.5 inch wide black canvas belt — to get the perfect fit, just cut the belt to size down for that distressed canvas look. Say goodbye to pocket-scratches and hello to playing more with your belt on the metro.

Available in three different protective models from show-off to stealth for $49.99 at the TuneBuckle site.

Sick of wires which constantly get tangled and are hard to manage? Arriva is prepping wireless iPod shuffle headphones which instead of using Bluetooth like many other companies, achieve wireless “transmission” by increasing the proximity of the player to the headphones.

The headphones attach to the iPod shuffle in a “wrap-around” like way, and you put them in your ears like any other set of headphones. The iPod shuffle is directly attached to the headphones (shown in the image above), eliminating the tangle and chaos of wire mess.

The device is currently still in production though the company has stated they will be made in different colors to match Apple’s range of iPod shuffle’s.

Via [Crave]

Introducing the iWay, a new product which plugs directly into the dock connector port of your iPod 5G and allows you to plug in SD memory cards to un-load images onto your iPod for storage.

After uploading, you can either retain the images on the SD card or erase the card to free up space for new photos. This is perfect if you want to have more room for shooting in the field, or if you want to showcase images to a client while in the middle of a shoot without having to lug your heavy laptop around.

The iWay retails for $69.95, and works only with the 5th generation iPod.

Product [iWay]

Altec Lansing take the stage once again with another innovative iPod accessory. The latest Altec Lansing iMV712 was first shown off earlier this year at Macworld & CES - today it has finally hit the street for a cool $350.

The device itself features an 8.5 inch LCD display on the front of the unit, making it perfect to dock your iPod 5G up to and watch video clips. On the audio side the unit features 3-inch neodymium speakers and a built-in 4-inch subwoofer for maximum audio quality from the small unit.

It looks like a killer product which I expect to be popular over the next 6 months leading up to the holiday season - great job Altec Lansing, you’ve done it again with another innovative product.

Press Release [Altec Lansing]