Please see our important reader advisory below. Here’s a genuinely good idea for iPod nano fans: rather than using cheap stickers or simple film, Moshi’s iGlaze provides a hard, scratch-resistant plastic false face for any nano, complete with a separate Click Wheel cover. A pink version lets you transform any nano into the previously popular iPod mini color, while a chrome silver one matches nano’s back, and white or black ones can either morph a existing nano or scratch-protect its current color. Though it’s not cheap, we’re genuinely impressed by iGlaze’s look and feel.
Though we were initially impressed by Moshi’s iGlaze nano ($27), and have opted to briefly review it with the rating assigned here, please read the comments below the review for additional details on this product’s marketing.
The concept behind iGlaze nano is pretty smart: since the iPod nano’s face (a) scratches easily and (b) comes in only two colors, why not create a new face plate that anyone can install as a semi-replacement for the one they originally purchased? For the price, that’s all you get: a plastic stick-on face plate that comes in one of five colors, features an integrated, scratch-proof clear screen protector, and enables even a scratched-up nano to look relatively new again.
To explain that a little further, each iGlaze kit actually consists of several pieces: a new front face plate, a matching Click Wheel cover of the same thickness, and a cover for the iPod’s central Action button that matches the other two parts.
The face plate adds roughly 2 millimeters to the nano’s original thickness, and makes the original white or black face plate essentially invisible, though it’s not covered in any way on the nano’s left or right sides. To install iGlaze, a sticky layer is pulled off of all of the parts at the same time, and they’re aligned on the nano, holding tight to its face with a clean but strong adhesive. We were able to remove the iGlaze components and replace them without a problem, but less delicate users may find this more of a challenge.
Moshi’s web site has instructions for safe installation and removal.
Simply put, we liked how the iGlaze nanos looked on our test iPod nanos: Moshi’s pink version was a real gimme of an idea, letting the many fans of pink iPod minis finally have a nano-ready alternative, and even though the chrome face plate version shows fingerprints as badly as the nano’s metallic rear plating, it’s a fun, and even smart offering. The ability to color-flip a black nano to white or a white nano to black with face plates is similarly cool, and there’s even a U2 iPod version now with a red Click Wheel and black body.
However, adding iGlaze to your nano necessarily requires a compromise: most of the best cases developed for the thin iPod won’t fit with iGlaze attached, as it adds an additional .7 millimeters to the nano’s sliver-sized body, and though Moshi sells separate bag-like cases that can hold the nano, neither they nor anyone else sells a play-through design made to accommodate a thicker than normal iPod. The company’s options, of course, were limited: make a thinner, sticker-like solution that anyone could use, or offer a true replacement front shell for the nano that few people would install, so iGlaze nano is a pretty good compromise, just not a perfect one.
