Kenpo Jacket for iPod
Review

Kenpo Jacket for iPod
Kenpo Inc.

$275.00

http://kenpofashion.com/kenpo.html

When someone asks me about buying an iPod, I say whatever you do, plan to budget for several iPod accessories. For dedicated iPod fans, you know the deal. You gotta have a better set of headphones; a leather or cool little sock case; some way to hook it up to your car and home stereo, and if you’re a true addict, you’ll want portable speakers for your bedroom or a boom box to crash your friend’s party.

But how are you sporting your iPod , out and about during the winter months? Ever thought about an iPod jacket? Well the folks at Kenpo Inc. have created a jacket specifically designed for iPod users.

They sent me a jacket for review and I must say I’m impressed. Not only does this machine washable denim jacket (with four styles for men and two models coming for women early next year) feel snugly warm, it embraces geeky technology whereby you can control your iPod from the sleeve of the jacket.

That’s right, from the sleeve of your jacket. Say you’re out walking or at a game and you’re listening to music on your iPod. Rather than pulling it out of pocket to select a new song or turn up the volume, you can do this with one of the five control buttons on the jacket’s sleeve.

Here’s how they explain it: “The discreetly placed 100% fabric interface utilizes touch-sensitive buttons that are identical to those found on the iPod Device, meaning wearers can Play, Pause, Track Forward, Track Back, and change the Volume Levels without ever removing their iPod from the specially designed, padded interior pocket.”

To set up the connection for jacket control, you connect the 9-pin connector to your iPod and then set the security lock on top of your iPod. Two pockets next to the ribbon-attached cable are provided for your iPod. There’s an inside pocket with a velcro secure flap and a smaller outside pocket without a flap for easier access.

To hook up the headphone, feed the wire through the flap and connect it to the controller. A discreet little fabric loop is sewn into the inside line of the jacket to help keep the wires from dangling in front of you. However, I think a few more loops would be useful to run the the wires through inside back of the jacket so they’re completely out of the way. I usually run my headphone wires under my shirt or sweater to keep it from dangling in front of me. But I notice many of iPod users on campus where I take classes are not so finicky about the dangling wires as I am.

Of the five jacket sleeve controls, there’s one that protects against accidental operation. You push that button for 3 seconds to activate and access all other controls. The key lock will automatically relock after 7 seconds of non-us. At first I found this process a little annoying but once I got used to it, it wasn’t a problem. Sitting and listening to my iPod during my daughter’s dance lessons, I liked being able to push the forward button to select another song, as I was reading my book, or the pause control when someone came up to talk to me.

If you’re the kind of user who doesn’t like clipping your iPod to your belt or putting it inside your pocket, then you’ll find this jacket very nice for the winter months. So in this case, this iPod jacket is what the iPod purse is to women.

The jacket controller is compatible with all iPods and iPod mini models that utilize the 9-pin connector. It doesn’t work with the Classic iPods (Generation 1 with scrolling wheel & Generation 2 touch wheel model with Firewire port) or the iPod shuffle. For Nano users, a replacement controller is available from the manufacture.

For some, this jacket may be a bit pricey, but if you’re going to get a new jacket anyway, it’s a stylish and trendy apparel for avid iPod fans