Review of the iPod Nano 4th Gen Armor Case from Otter Box

Today I am review my daughters iPod Nano 4th Gen Armor Case from Otter Box. I received input from my daughter on this review because she has been using the case everyday for more than 6 months now. We do have slight differences of opinion on the case, but overall we agree on our findings.

First, I have to tell you a little bit of the back story on why my 14-year old has an Otter Box in the first place. Several years ago when the second generation iPod Shuffle came out in silver only I bought one for Christmas. She loved that little thing. The problem was that it was so small that she left it in her jeans all the time and sure enough it was washed. I dried it out the best I could and after about 3 weeks it came back alive. Several months after that she accidentally washed it again, but also dried it. This time it took over 2 months to get a response out of it. Now the shuffle works fine except it won't sync up with a Windows machine.

The next Christmas we upgraded her to the red iPod Nano (Fatty). She loves that iPod and again she washed it. This time it didn't recover at all. I told her that I wasn't going to buy her a new iPod if she kept destroying them. This past Christmas I bought her the latest slim iPod Nano with video capabilities and I got her the waterproof Otter Box that I am reviewing today.

The iPod Nano 4th Gen Armor Case is a marvel of engineering. Yes, it is waterproof and yes it adds about 40-50% to the size of the iPod it encases. Is it worth it? Let's see.

Otter Box offers several different types of cases and in a future review I will cover the Defender for iPod Touch, but the whole Armor series is waterproof. It is made out of some kind of polycarbonate plastic and is clear all around except for the white rubber gaskets and the rubber base that protects the one available port on the outside of the case, the headphone jack. This brings me to a couple of the problems with the Armor case. You don't have access to the iPods hold button on the top and the dock connector on the bottom. The hold button isn't that big of a problem because the case itself really prevents accidental clicks, but the restriction of the dock connector is a problem. This means you have to take the iPod out of the case to sync or to charge it. I guess it is just one of the sacrifices you have to make for waterproofing.

There is a membrane over the touch wheel that feels slightly rubbery and overall I feel is about 90% responsive. This is where my daughter and I differ in opinion. She doesn't like the feel of it and thinks that it should be more like the Defender cases membrane. Although she says that she has gotten used to it. My daughter also says that the case is bulky, but that this is a blessing for her. It means that she doesn't put it in her jeans. She says that she just clips it onto the top of her jeans and when she can't be listening to the iPod she just disconnects the earbuds. The upside down design also helps with this. When you clip the case onto your belt or jeans the iPod is upside down with the headphone jack facing upwards. Great design choice by Otter Box.

The way you insert and remove your iPod Nano could be a little better, but I see why Otter Box did it the way they did. They needed the waterproof membranes to stay intact and be able to seal, so when you open it with the latch on the top the case only opens about 3 inches. This is enough to slide the iPod in and out of the case, but feels a little clumsy sometimes. The missing dock connector forces a person to open and close the case at least twice a day. I think there could be better ways to do this.

Overall my daughter loves the case and the iPod and she believes that if it weren't for the case this iPod might have gone the way of the others.

I believe that the iPod Nano 4th Gen Armor Case has been one of the best purchases I have made for my daughter. The money I spent on the case is keeping the $200 investment in the iPod safe and I am more than willing to overlook some of the problems if it just keeps doing its job. Is it worth it? My daughter and I say absolutely yes.

Score Breakdown

Interface: 7/10

Design: 7/10

Features: 8/10

Performance: 10/10

Overall: 32/40