Click to View

While an otter may not be the first animal you think of when you ponder what wildlife has to offer the realm of hi-tech gear protection, OtterBox could change that. Rugged containers for your iPod, iPhone, smartphone or PDA are the mobile offerings from a company that knows how to pack stuff safe.

The "Defender Series" for handhelds offers triple-layer protection to prevent scratches and dust on the keyboard, cushion falls and absorb the shock from bounces, jolts, and whatever else may come its way.


          Palm Centro Defender

Alls cases are fairly similar, with the high-end running around $50. Holsters and refurbishing kits for the cases are also available—suggesting the company knows that if you spend $50 for a case, you're likely to be:

a.) someone who burns through things

b.) will somehow who will want to fix it when it breaks/leaks/etc.

The company also sells cases with scanner pods, for use in warehouses or other environments where PDAs are used for inventory and other bar-code reliant activities.

Some iPod cases are less expensive-such as one for the iPod Nano ($13), found in the site's Bargain Bin.

So what's a rugged case got to do with an Otter? Hard to know. Somehow, we're inclined to doubt that if an otter ever gets its hands on your ruggedly-encased device you'll ever get it to function again. But maybe we're underestimating…