I've seen iPod docks that are also radios, alarm clocks and even digital picture frames, but up until 5 minutes ago, I'd never seen one that was also a toilet roll dispenser.

Now I have.

Created by the company ATechFlash it boasts "4 integrated high performance moisture-free speakers deliver exceptional clarity and high quality sound". It requires a connection to the mains but will charge your phone up at the same time as playing your music and dispensing you toilet roll.

I'm not sure whether this is a great practical combination - or if it's A STEP TOO FAR. Either way it's kind of fascinating. Anyone want to 'fess up to owning one?

The iCarta iPod dock on ATechFlash - available to buy from their retail partners

[via Nicolas Nova]

Music for Shuffle #01 from Matt Brown on Vimeo.

Whether you are a shuffle user or not, there is no denying it has hugely effected the way we listen to music.

Albums are often written in a way so that one song flows into the next revealing the archetypes and various plot lines. However, if you listen to an album on shuffle there is the possibility that you will miss these things. Disconnecting the songs from each other and thus changing the experience.

Apparently Matthew Irvine Brown feels the same way as I do, and has just written an album specifically for playing on shuffle. This was done by ensuring that every track flows into all the other tracks, in any given order. Taking inspiration from "the past 20-odd years in genres like glitch and minimal techno," and ended up "sampling the skipping noises and using them as rhythmic and textural elements" to try and hide the noise the Shuffles make when a new track comes on. Very cool.

The album is available as a free download on his site.

Via Cult Of Mac

We love the line-up of iPod speaker docks that Speakal have released for CES 2011. Colourful and crazy, they look a bit like giant Wine Gums - just with iPod docks and speaker ports.

Speakal are the folks who brought us the iPig speakers - they're known for their wacky designs - and there are five new speaker docks in their CES 2011 collection. We've stuck 'em below. No prices yet but we'll let you know. Not what you want in your minimalist designer sitting room perhaps... but we love them:

Descriptions and pictures from Speakal

SBPKX-100 - SBPKX-100 is a portable docking sound system that comes in an array of stunning colors complemented by a soft colorable LED light. It features high quality audio with an acoustic accelerator and DSP audio processing and an AM/FM alarm clock with 20 pre set stations. The LCD clock automatically syncs up with your iPhone/iPod to ensure the time is always accurate. You can plug it into the wall or power it up with AA batteries making it a great solution for around the campfire or trips to the beach.

SB 12 - This premium speaker system surrounds your iDevice with a colorful halo of powerful sound. Its modern, industrial design superbly complements the modern home with a thin disc of superb fidelity featuring touch controls.

iExecutive - This luxury docking sound system boasts a wide array of playback options with iPod/iPhone/USB/SD/Bluetooth compatibility. It's sleek, aerodynamic design coupled with a powerful 20W subwoofer make this the ultimate centerpiece for the modern office. Additional functionality includes a radio, alarm clock, 20 pre-set channels, and video output.

Kurve - This compact, tubular sound dock blends 20 watts of clear and powerful sound with a colorful, clean form that accents your tunes with style. An integrated LED with 4 levels of brightness helps customize the atmosphere of any room.

SB5 - This fashionably designed oval speaker cranks out powerful bass with over 27W of total output. Bluetooth capabilities allow you to control your playlist from the comfort of your couch.

Speakal's website

Ever wanted to record stereo CD-grade sound on your iPod? Well Mikey is a dinky little iPod accessory that lets you do just that, creating high-quality audio files from iPod. Geared at the audio professionals among us, it's a really nice piece of kit.. This is Mikey 2.0

Anna puts Mikey through its paces...

£59.99 on Amazon

You may have noticed that your iPhone hi-fi system doesn't work too well with your iPad. Basically the adpators are incompatible. So there was clearly a gap for an enterprising manufacturer to come up with a solution to this.

Step forward WireFreeHiFi and its Airphonic system. It comprises a pair of dongles, one that attaches to your iPad/iPhone and the other to the docking station. You then pair them up and voila you are are able to stream music from the devices to your hi-fi system.

The Airphonic uses Kleer wireless audio technology, which its maker claims is better than Bluetooth and delivers full CD quality, with no drop-outs on music and no interference. Users apparently have full streaming, remote volume and track control at up to 10 metres line of sight. The system obviously also works with Spotify and Last FM as well as music you have stored on Apple devices.

It is available in two versions - one for the iPad and iPod for £79.95 and another which adds iPhone compatibility for a tenner more.

Would that be a iPod-compatible high fidelity audio system in a sleek dark package? why, yes it is.

The rCube from ARcam is a cube that serves as a portable iPod speaker. With a high powered lithium battery, they claim it can play for four hours at party level or eight hours at a more moderate volume.

The rCube features an integral iPod dock and, using KLEER technology, a direct music streaming system from any PC or Mac computer.

What you can tell from the pictures is that it is a dark plastic box, what you can't tell is that it is actually smaller than a football. ARcam promise that the amplifiers they pack allow it to fill a room with "stunning" sound despite the size.

Specs and the all-important price will become available closer to the time of launch in October.

More about the rCube on ARcam

We won't claim it's the most empirical survey in the world, but a study on Facebook by gadget insurers Protect your Bubble found that people valued their iPods over their cats and their wedding rings.

The survey asked Facebook users what their most treasured possessions were and iPods came out top with 12% of the 500 respondents voting for their iPods as their most prized possession. The survey also showed some strong loyalty to the Blackberry brand, with the smart phone coming in second, while wedding rings seemed to come in pretty low-down with only 1% of people choosing them as most treasured possession, well below the television (at 4.5%) and the games console (8%).

Still we don't know what proportion of the survey respondents were actually married, so it may not be as poor as a showing as it sounds. As the head of Protect your Bubble commented: "Perhaps some of the results show more about the demographics and preferences of Facebook users, with wedding rings and cars so far down the scale, but the iPod definitely seems to still rule as the gadget of choice."

Still even for the gadget-heads among us it is surprising to see that the Pod pips more functional gadgets like phones and laptops to the post. Still I guess it just goes to show that people really love music...

Here's the list:

iPod 12%
Blackberry 11.5%
iPhone 10%
Laptop 9%
Dog 9%
Games console 8%
Macbook 7%
iPad 6%
Cat 5%
Camera 5%
Television 4.5%
Car 4%
Video camera 4%
Other jewellery 4%
Wedding ring 1%

by Saskia Leach

Wafer-thin and still curved around the edges, the new iPod touch from Apple is a pretty luscious little gadget. It's in shops from now and as well as the new design, it features some bumped-up specs including more storage and the same high-res screen featured on the iPhone 4. It now has a front-facing camera, HD video recording and the capability for FaceTime with other Touchs or iPhones. As Steve Jobs put it - it's the iPhone 4 without the contract.

Old fitted iPod cases won't fit the new super slim Touch so, if you're into your cases, you'll have to buy a new one. Perhaps you want to attach it to yourself when you're running, perhaps you want to pimp it up, perhaps you just want to protect it from the cruel world.

Here are our 5 top case recommendations for the new iPod Touch

She is picturesque in her own way. She is also a collagen-pumped attention-seeking celeb. And her covered in skin-tight silver lycra is probably not what Steve Jobs or his Apple engineers had in mind when they designed the iPod.

In fact when Katie Price aka Jordan dressed up as an iPod, it really didn't look like an iPod at all. It looked like this:

To be honest I quite like the iPod worn as head-dress. Those Nanos as earrings are kind of cool. But I will swear that nothing with that much cleavage has ever come out of Cupertino. She doesn't look any more like an iPod than Lady Gaga does. Nor any other MP3 player that I can think of. Anyway, Katie Price pulled off the stunt to advertise her own brand of specially adapted iPod cases. They're pink, of course and have little hearts on them, and her er, coat of arms. There they are:

The Katie Price iPods Classics are on sale from her website.

If you're interested in some different ways of personalising your iPod Classic see: Pimping the Classic - Top Ten Cases for the iPod Classic

Related: Gallery: Ten Best iPhone 4 accessories,

Let's talk about the iPod Classic. iPod Touch cases are pretty well the same as old iPhone cases, but they won't fit the slenderer Classic.

Add in that wheel on the front for skipping through music and the Classic needs a whole different breed of case. The Classic tends to be the iPod of choice for true music buff,s it doesn't have apps for example, but it does hold a shed-load of music. Rock it up, make it professional or just a bit different with our selection of iPod classic cases.

The new Classic has a hefty 160GB storage, capable of carrying 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video, comes in white or black, and costs £193 from Apple.

Here are 10 we liked.

Related: Ten Best iPhone 4 Accessories

We all love games yes? But we really don't like paying for things. So what, on God's green and fragrant earth, could be better than free games?

Nothing! That's what. With this fact in mind I thought it was our duty, and our honour, to put together for you, dear Shiny readers, a compendium of the best 25 free iPhone games. We're not just talking the top 20 off the App Store -- no chance. We've personally tested each one a given it a Twitter style 140(ish) character review.

Don't ever say Shiny Shiny isn't good to you. We know you wouldn't.

Click image to start the gallery

Then click here for part two.

It shoots lasers and recharges your iPhone? Surely the two best things in the world ever! The RichardSolo 1800 for iPhone is a pocket-sized back-up battery. Plug the lithium battery into your iPhone's charging dock and it will start to recharge your phone or iPod - really useful for those battery emergencies when the power levels dip. (Also available for Blackberries).

Since phone batteries tend to run out around dinner time just when you're expecting two calls and need to look something up on the internet, this device could be a life-saver.

Okay so you will need to recharge the recharging battery at some point, but it provides you with a power safety net if your iPhone starts getting slow.

The laser is purely for fun-times. But fun times or what.

The RichardSolo 1800 recharger from richardsolo.com

I'm not sure about you, but I find it difficult to sometimes use my iPhone with my girly long nails.

It's fine when I'm using apps but trying to touch on web links can be a nightmare.
However American based company Ten One Design, has come up with a solution, which saves us from cutting our pesky nails off.

It's launched the Pogo Stylus and Pogo Sketch, compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch, which are also now available in Hot Pink.

Peter Skinner, Ten One Design CEO said: "We've found that the Pogo Stylus and Pogo Sketch have been crucial to the female iPhone and iPod touch community.

"Since women cannot operate the capacitive touch screen using their fingernails, these products have become a much-needed mobile solution. And we're proud to be able to give our female audience what they want, now in a more stylish color."

According to the company the advanced material used on the tip of the styli is what makes it so extraordinary and revolutionary for multi-touch displays. It acts as a bridge by transferring the signal from the display to the user's hand.

Oh, and they're also perfect for those of us who like to wear gloves in the winter too.

Short of hiring someone to sit next to you cradling it - it is hard to make sure your iPhone/Pod/other beloved phone is completely safe while you're on the beach. I mean, not only is there lots of water: you've also got the hazards of sand, suncream and light-fingered beach opportunists.

We have helpfully compiled a list of Ten Ways To Keep It Safe. Not to spoil the suspense, but they could be spilt into three categories: one, taking it with you into the salty breakers in some amazing James Bond-like sealed up case; two, locking it up in a portable safe; three, cunningly disguising it.

Click the image to start the gallery

If you have the pleasure of being in possession of an iPhone (of any sort) or an iPod, you'll know that these slender pieces of hardware are expensive and that you really don't want to break them.

Sometimes those apple products are just too smooth and glossy for their own good. It's not that hard to imagine its glassy back sliding out of your palm and smashing *shudder* on the cruel ground or simply getting scratched up when you accidentally put it in the same pocket as your keys.

To prevent such disaster scenarios we've compiled a quick list of iPhone protectors. Cases come soft or hard, some cushion, some bounce, some simply stop it getting scratched and are really for flaunting your off-beat taste. It all depends on how much bulge room your pocket has, how much wear and tear you think your phone will get, and how much you're willing to spend.

Click on the image below to start the gallery

With all the buzz besieging the new iPod Shuffle and its tiny frame, I thought I'd take the limelight off it for a few minutes by featuring an iPod Nano accessory (not that you could ever forget they make other iPod apparatus). When you bought your new iPod Nano, I bet it took a while to ponder over the colour of choice to accompany you at your desk/when trying to drown someone out/on all future public transport trips, but what about that little issue concerning protection? It may be pretty, but that doesn't mean its vibrant outer shell doesn't need protecting.

If you thought the iPod Shuffle was about as miniscule as a quality MP3 player could get, feast your eyes on its successor and overall crown wearer of the teensiest MP3 player to have ever graced the planet. At nearly half the size of the preceding Shuffle, the latest iteration of Apple's most budget iPod option sure has the potential to be at the root of many a panic attack and frenzied handbag search. I say either prepare to lose it (you may want to get insured) or accept that you may become incredibly anal about keeping it your sights at all times. Just look at the picture - it's the same size as a key... a key!

Diminutive size aside, it is the first music player to actually talk to you. Just don't expect it to respond if you ask how it's feeling (it's not that kind of player). Instead, expect it to voice your song titles, artists, playlist names as well as how much battery life you've got left before it needs a power boost.

Who wants their in-car playlist dictated to them, with the interruption of vociferous radio DJs interrupting every ten seconds? Not me that's for sure.

Now iPod Nano 4G owners can finally join the rest of their brethren in the radio/iPod mashup arena by *finally* being able to listen to their iPod playlists via their FM radio. Griffin's iTrip provides the key. This little in-car audio streamer attaches to the bottom of your little player, which means no adaptor cables and no tangled wire-related break downs - it's completely wireless. The iTrip also features SmartScan that'll scan and save one clear frequency quickly and easily, so you don't have to do while driving and potentially run the risk of veering off the road (or into another car).

I like to think that if Elton John and I ever found ourselves in the same All Bar One, we'd strike up a conversation and get on like a house on fire. And then, just as he was leaving to get to McDonald's before it shuts, he'd throw me a box which featured a full compliment of these Starburst iPod Nanos, each of which features a laser etched Elton signature, and Rocket Man: The Definitive Hits. I would, of course, then go and donate the 12.5% original purchase price to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, to ensure I wasn't ripping off a charity.

Sadly, I think I'll have to shell out £449 (16GB) or £399 (8GB) for one of these Swarovski bedecked Nanos, since I wouldn't be seen dead in an All Bar One.

Get yours here [via Technabob]

You guys may be tired of our CES coverage by now, but did you know that the AVN show took place at the same time? That meant a plethora of excitement for our naughty toys section, and we got to ask the star of Pirates and Pirates 2: Stagnetti's Revenge a lot of questions about herself.

Jesse Jane is known for being one of the first adult stars to film in HD DVD, and just won an award for the Best All-Girl Group Sex Scene in her Cheerleaders movie this year.

We want to know all about her likes and dislikes, and her favourite gadgets. And wouldn't you know it- the sexy star has a penchant for Apple products...

See the full interview after the jump.