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The iPod that you can drive over

File this one in the "extreme gadgets" department. Over the weekend I managed to drive over my iPod.
Written by Jason D. O'Grady, Contributor

File this one in the "extreme gadgets" department. Over the weekend I managed to drive over my iPod. With my car. Sadly, I didn't do it on purpose.

One of the best things about the second generation (aluminum) iPod shuffle is its diminutive size. One of the worst things about the iPod shuffle is its diminutive size.

Don't get me wrong, the iPod shuffle is excellent for listening to while doing yard work and other tasks when you really shouldn't be meddling with ratings. But have you ever lost a shuffle in your car? Good luck finding it.

Something similar happened to me over the weekend. My shuffle was in my car door (or so I thought) and somehow ended up falling onto my driveway. I didn't notice it at the time and only found after I had driven over it (at least once) with my car.

Did it work? Click through to find out and for two more pictures...

In the first image, the orange anodizing doesn't completely penetrate the aluminum. Small flecks of silver are exposed.

As you can see from the images the iPod shuffle's aluminum skin is remarkably strong. After driving over it with a 3,000 pound car, it only sustained superficial damage where the aggregate from the concrete pitted the aluminum surface.

In the second image you can see that the shuffle's extruded tubular case got slightly bent. The main housing that protrudes just beyond the power switch (picture left) got bent slightly from the weight of the vehicle. It looks like the two triangles that make up the "teeth" of the clip caused it to bend there. The iPod was driven over clip-side down hence the worse damage to the face of the clip.

The business side of the iPod (with the majority of the buttons) was really no worse for wear. There is a slight dent in the upper right quadrant between the volume up and next track buttons as can be seen in the third picture.

Surprisingly - it still works! Kudos to Apple for designing an extremely strong iPod.

I don't recommend trying this at home, but I feel pretty comfortable saying that this is probably the only iPod shuffle that could withstand being driven over.

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