ifrogz tadpole Video iPod cases

I never thought I’d ever tell you it was safe to hand your iPod to a toddler, and it really isn’t, but at least right now it appears to be a whole lot safer, and friendlier, than it ever has been before. ifrogz has released their tadpole iPod Video cases and these colourful, silicone rubber thingies are the bee’s knees—or is that the toad’s toes?—for the age-challenged crowd.

You could, if you were really paranoid, pack your iPod in a ruggedized case and duct tape it to your child’s high chair or car seat. In my humble opinion, this is perhaps the absolutely safest, but definitely the least fun way to share your gadget with very young kids.

Big, easy to clutch handles—one on each side of the case—help little hands who want to hold securely onto the device to do so. In case those little hands want to drop your iPod, the tadpole’s heavy-duty silicone rubber provides a certain level of protection too. And we can’t ignore the fact that these ‘little hands’ are also almost always *grubby* ‘little hands’ too, but you’re covered on that front once again by the rubber, and also by the Screenz cover.

Now, ifrogz will also sell their tadpoles without Screenz and I pondered this for a good long while before realizing—duh!—that most anyone buying a tadpole will also have an ifrogz case already, or will be buying one at the same time (hint hint). I didn’t peel off my Mona Lisa decaled Screenz to try the tadpole out and it’s unlikely you’re going to get a really kid-focused click-wheel decal just to sooth your young ‘uns. Chances are they’ll be too busy watching Dory swim or Hammy buzz around out-running laser beams to notice your ‘adult’ click-wheel cover anyhow. No worries!

Okay, honestly now, after spending time considering threats to your iPod, shouldn’t we really take time to consider threats to the kids looking at it?

Firstly, there is that nasty problem of hearing damage. Jacking the volume on your iPod up to painful levels is something you’ve probably done once or twice (be honest) accidentally on yourself. Do you really want to do that to a kid? I hope you thought ‘no’ right then. Solution time: use the volume limit function on your iPod. Set it to a level that, based on the ambient noise, sounds just a little bit too quiet to your addled ears and it’s likely quite loud enough for anyone who hasn’t unintentionally ruined damaged their hearing while listening to loud music on tiny little white ear buds for years and years.

Secondly, there’s the mind-damage thing too, the whole issue of plugging the kid into an iPod like a digital babysitter. Now, the jury’s still out generally on this, but I think that if you keep things within commonsense limits, allowing children the occasional viewing of say “Over the Hedge” or “Finding Nemo” won’t necessarily turn them into vegetative parasites. Oh, and just like you’ve got the volume limiter, Apple has also included a duration limiter as well. Have you found it yet? Probably. It’s called the battery life. Any child viewing your iPod can get one, at most two movies out of it before Mommy or Daddy are going to have to recharge their little purple pal. That covers really long trips and really long waits, but you’re going to have to be sensible about shorter viewings. It adds up quickly. Just think about it, okay, and I’ll lay off the preaching.

In its tadpole, with its screenz, volume limited, the battery merrily draining away, your Video iPod quickly becomes a really neat, ad hoc portable media thingy (I hate to say pacifier) for those long draggy hours on the plane or in the car, waiting in airports or in pre-dawn line-ups outside of MacWorld keynote addresses, that simply drive kids rangy! I think any parent can see how being able to whip out one of Pixar’s finest to avoid toddler melt-down would be a boon.

Used wisely, the tadpole will keep your iPod safe while children view it. My ambiguity of feelings regarding kids watching too much TV and video kicked in here, but the tadpole really is well thought out, workable, and truly useful for frazzled parents everywhere. With much consideration, I would rate the tadpole as an 85%. No surprise there, in the end. Once again, ifrogz delivers the goods!