by Andrew Robinson 

Like many of you, I love my iPod and carry it with me almost everywhere. I’ve owned pretty much every model released, and one question has had to be an­swered with each one I buy: How am I going to carry this and still use it comfortably?

While fashion hasn’t always been my number one priority (some of my iPods have lived clipped to my belt, Batman-like), I recently came across what may be the Ultimate Cool in iPod fashionista accessorizing: The BlackCoat from Koyono, www.koyono.com.

Sporting integrated iPod controls, you actually plug your iPod into a cable that is integrated within the jacket itself, and are able to control your iPod via buttons worked into the fabric of the inner liner of the jacket. Play/Pause, Forward, Back, and sound controls allow you to stow your iPod in the jacket’s inner vest pocket, yet still be able to navigate your current playlist. While no screen is built in to the jacket yet (I’m thinking that’s a ways off) I find that while commut­ing, sound and forward, pause and play are all that’s really needed rather than having to haul the iPod out each time — I dislike the long-cabled remote Apple makes available.

The sleek BlackCoat comes in (of course) matte black for that metrosexual chic look, with a ‘Latte’ color in the pipeline, and has two versions — a stretch cotton for US$179 and a Premiere version in Nextec nylon for US$249.