calling all yoof's with an ipod !

[Mattk]

My son wants an Ipod for his 13th birthday.As he wants to take it to school,I want to order it from Apple where I can get it laser engraved for free ie with postcode and name but my question is.....will this harm his street cred !? Its obviously the most sensible thing to do but dont want to balls up �200 worth of gear if this is a real teenage no-no as I cant erase it when its on there.

Thought and opinions please from yoofs

[fo3nix]

could you not just put his first name (ableit an abbreviated form perhaps) onto it?

that, or get a case for it that covers the back up (i'd highly recommend getting a case for the iPod, a strong wind will scratch it).

[WoWo]

yeah I'd get it done on the back, initials and postcode would be fine in my opinion. The iPod comes with a clip to attach it to a belt etc and this would cover it up anyway.

Not sure about letting him take it to school however. I took my luke skywalker figure to school in 1980 and a bully took it, the mental scars are still with me 25 years later.

[Mattk]

can I get shiny metallic stylee backs then ie to mimic the original surface ?

[chazza55]

You can get quite a few different cases on ebay.

For example this ipod mini "Armour".

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&cate gory=56170&item=5792654525&rd=1

In my opinion this would be the best option. Get the ipod engraved with name and postcode, then put this case on it.

Even as a kid, I would rather take a little stick if it ensured I hung on to a �200 Ipod!

Also, no-one would steal it as it would be obvious it wasnt theirs, AND they can't sell it on either.

If it is in the metal case, "BULLIES" wont see the name etc anyway.

[vickyclare]

Like you say, if your son is 13 years old, probably almost anything you get engraved on the thing will violate some sort of teenage code! 

I think your safest bet is probably to buy the ipod without getting it engraved and then when you give it to him on his birthday explain the need for personalisation if he's taking it to school and then just get him to decide what he wants on it, pop down to the local cobblers and get them to engrave it.  My mum got hers engraved there because she'd bought it from argos and it looks just as good as anything apple would do.  Plus you can chose the style etc and you don't have to wait 2 weeks! 
Ok, it will cost you but at least it would put your mind at rest!  It cost my mum �8 to have it engraved and then a little extra depending on how many letters you want.  She had 6 words engraved and it cost �12.

[twiglet4frog]

take it to school??? are u nuts?? i wasnt allowed a walkman to school when i was a kid so why they allow ipods now?? I would think schools would not allow it for fear off them getting nicked and then the parents complaining and involving police! and besides, they arent allowed in classrooms, and all the other time he is at school he could be trying to have a conversation with his friends than listening to music

[Mattk]

thanks for the advice guys.

twiglet he wants it mainly for the walk to and from school.its about a 30mins walk.i know its incredibly risky but he's a sensible lad and knows to keep it securely in his locker.

[magicbeatle]

If he dose'nt get mugged on his way to school! One piece of advice on this, buy different coloured headphones. The white apple headphones you get with it are a dead give away to would be theive's that you have an ipod in your pocket