Levi's RedWire DLX Jeans

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Linking up the iPod to the DLX takes little work. What's provided are six different cradles for different iPod generations, including the iPod mini but not the recently launched iPods. The iPod shuffle has also been given a miss here. Once the iPod is snapped in, there's an outlet on the cradle back to receive the RedWire connector that Levi's so proud of.

	Good old Fibretronic, not Firewire.

The RedWire connector is nothing new. It's based on a soft electronic component solution from Fibretronic which allows textile products to be integrated with electronic connectivity. In the DLX, the Fibretronic connector ribbon is colored a trademark Levi's red and it's washable.

Once the RedWire is attached, the iPod is slipped into a side pocket on the right pant leg. It's hidden so there's no bulge indicating the existence of the iPod. However, we fault Levi's for not designing a more protective enclosure for the iPod. The side pocket could have been made using a thicker material to soften the blow in the event of an impact. And regular protective covers for the iPod cannot be used to remedy this oversight since the cradle dock's design precludes the use of such.

	Those daft earphones.

Our review unit came with a pair of Levi's-branded earphones. What's cool is that there're two separate retracting mechanisms to rewind the earphones. What's lukewarm are the earphones which are obviously the sort used in unbranded MP3 players. There's a button hole above the click wheel to accommodate the clip-on for the earphone housing, however, the catch is that it's also situated at the belt loop level.

In order to use it, the user would have to go without the belt. Technically, a workaround is to clip the earphone housing onto the belt, but due to smallness of the built-in clip, the belt in question would have to be awfully thin.

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