Power Support Crystal Jacket for iPod mini

Power Support’s Crystal Jacket for iPod mini is very similar to another case we’ve recently reviewed, Contour Design’s iSee mini. Like the iSee, the Crystal Jacket is comprised of two plastic pieces: A wraparound front piece that protects the front, top, bottom, and some of the sides of your iPod mini (though leaving the Click Wheel exposed and accessible); and a back piece that covers the back and the rest of the sides. As with the iSee mini, you can remove the back piece and replace it with your iPod mini’s belt clip.

However, the Crystal Jacket isn’t quite as well designed as the iSee mini. Most significantly, the Crystal Jacket is thinner and not as sturdy — it doesn’t offer as much protection and it comes off more easily if you drop your iPod. In addition, when you replace the Jacket’s rear piece with Apple’s belt clip, the Jacket leaves parts of your iPod mini exposed; the iSee mini does not. And unlike the iSee mini, you can’t use top-mounted accessories — FM transmitters, voice recorders, remote controls — when your mini is in the Crystal Jacket. On the other hand, the Crystal Jacket includes one of Power Support’s excellent Wheel Film covers, which provides scratch protection for the mini’s Click Wheel.

The Crystal Jacket is a good case; it’s just that Contour’s iSee mini offers better protection and a better design for the same price. –Dan Frakes