Accidents happen, particularly to small portable hand-held devices like iPods, BlackBerrys and mobile phones that are taken in and out of pockets and bags all the time. They are also expensive to replace so it makes sense to protect them. Not surprisingly, therefore, the market for protective cases for these most personal of personal electronic devices is growing rapidly.

I favour the classic look of real leather for my BlackBerry and recently ordered a set of cases for myself and my daughters iPhone from Fortte (www.fortte.com), one of the leading suppliers of custom-designed leather cases for mobile devices.

Fortte designs and supplies a range of cases for Research in Motions family of BlackBerrys, as well as most of the other popular smartphones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), Sonys PSP hand-held video games machine and mobile phones including Motorolas Razr and Sony Ericsson models. Most cost around £10 each.

Potential customers choose their style of case and leather colour online and can personalise it with an embossed logo or name. My order took just a few days and the cases, made in Bolivia, are well designed and manufactured and look extremely sleek.

The “open face” black leather case for my BlackBerry Curve should protect it from day-to-day scratches while providing in-case access to all the main functions except the camera. Other leading suppliers of leather cases for portable devices that I have tried include Prima (www.primacases.com), which uses Italian leather and Sena (www.senacases.com).

For a more modern look, check out the cases designed and supplied by Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO), a company founded in 2001, which began by producing the worlds first iPod sport case. Today, DLO (www.dlo.com) supplies a range of cases and “jackets” for iPods, iPhones and a wide range of other portable digital music players including cool, rubbery, flexible silicone cases, hip cases and protective hard-shell cases in a variety of styles and colours.

The company also supplies a “surface shield” for that shiny new iPod that adds a thin, invisible layer of protection to all surfaces of the notoriously scratch-prone iPod with video – the front iPod face including the screen and the click wheel, as well as the back chrome iPod body.

Application is quick and easy. Two soft polish pads are included to ensure a lint-free surface before you apply the surface shield and if you subsequently decide to remove it, no sticky residue is left behind. The protective pack costs $15 online.

Another favourite of mine, ifrogz, (www.ifrogz.com) supplies a full range of flexible silicone cases in ultra bright colours for the full range of iPods. The rubbery cases are designed to provide full access to all the iPod controls including the navigation wheel, while protecting the device from scratches and bumps. The cases also include reinforced side “bumpers”, which have protected my 160Gb (Gigabyte) iPod Classic from some nasty falls – I have an electric blue ifrogz case.

Apples own stores sell another form of iPod protection – iPod socks – in a range of six funky colours for $15, though they provide more protection against scratches than falls.

For the ultimate in iPod or smartphone protection, you should choose a semi-rugged waterproof hard case from a company like Otter Box (www.otterbox.com). Otter Box cases are waterproof up to 100ft, which makes them ideal for the beach and sports activities like windsurfing.

Otter Box also supplies ruggedised cases for laptops – I have been testing the OtterBox 7000 case, which costs $170 and easily accommodates a lightweight machine like a ThinkPad X60, Sony Vaio TZ or some of the Fujitsu Lifebook models. The case protects against rain, dust and dirt as well as the normal rough and tumble of travel. Internal dimensions are 14.2in (361mm) wide x 11.2in (284mm) deep x 1.9in (48.3mm) thick.

The choice of carrying options available to travelling laptop owners is also growing – you do not have to opt for a standard black shoulder-bag any more. Timbuk2 Hemp (www.timbuk2.com) sells an “earth friendly” messenger-style bag with a waterproof lining and fleece-lined mobile phone pocket for about $165.

问题总是要出现的，尤其是那些小型掌上设备，如iPod、黑莓（BlackBerry）及手机，我们往往在一次又一次地将它们放进包中或口袋里，然后再拿出来。如果想要更换它们，价格通常相当昂贵，所以聪明人都知道需要保护这些最为私人的设备。因此，不出意料的，此类电子设备的保护套市场正在迅猛发展。

对于自己的黑莓而言，我喜欢真皮的那种经典感觉，并在最近从Fortte网站（www.fortte.com）为自己和女儿的iPhone订了一套保护套。在为移动设备量身定做皮革保护套方面，Fortte是一个主要供应商。

Fortte设计及销售一系列的保护套，对象包括RIM公司（Research in Motion）的黑莓产品，及其它品牌的智能手机、掌上电脑（PDA）、索尼（Sony）的手持游戏机PSP、摩托罗拉的RAZR手机及索爱（Sony Ericsson）手机。大多数产品的价格都在10英镑左右。

潜在客户可以在线上选择皮套的风格与颜色，并可以通过打上自己的名字或标志对其进行个人化改动。在发出订单短短几天之后，我收到了设计精美、制作优良的皮套（玻利维亚制造），看起来相当雅致。

我的黑莓Curve 的黑色开式皮套会保护它免收日常刮蹭的伤害，并在穿上“外套”的情况下，还能使用照相机功能以外的所有主要功能。我还试用过来自其它几家主要供应商的移动设备皮质保护外套, 包括使用意大利皮革的Prima （www.primacases.com），及Sena （www.senacases.com）。

想要更现代一点，你可以试一试Digital Lifestyle Outfitters公司（DLO）所设计并制造的保护套。这家公司成立于2001年，在当时制作了全球第一款iPod运动型保护套。今天，针对iPod、iPhones 及很多其它种类的MP3, DLO （www.dlo.com）提供一系列的保护套与“夹克”,包括有弹性的炫酷柔韧型硅胶保护套及时尚型与硬壳保护型保护套，每一类都有着多种风格及颜色可供选择。

DLO还销售一种“表面防护膜”，可以为新iPod镜面般的外表添加一个透明保护层，以确保易受刮蹭的新一代iPod的屏幕、导航轮及背面的镀铬亮面免受伤害。

使用过程快捷而简单。两个柔软的擦拭垫可以用来先将表面擦净，之后就可以帖上防护膜。如果有人今后想要摘掉防护膜，不会遗留任何粘黏物质。这一套东西网上售价为15美元。

另一个我很喜欢的供应商是ifrogz, （www.ifrogz.com），该公司提供一系列颜色异常亮丽的保护套，涵盖了所有的iPod型号。这种胶质外套的设计可以允许人们使用iPod的全部功能，包括导航轮，又能同时保护iPod不受刮蹭与摔打。这种保护套还有着经过强化的侧翼“缓冲垫”，有了它，我160G的iPod Classic好几次重重摔落在地都未受伤害。我的iPod外套是火花蓝颜色的。

苹果（Apple）自己的商店销售着另一种iPod保护品——iPod袜——共分六种个性颜色，售价15美元，但它们更多地是防止刮蹭，而不是摔打。

要想得到终极iPod或智能手机保护，你应当选择Otter Box （www.otterbox.com）的一款半糙质的硬式防水保护套。Otter Box保护套的防水深度可达100英尺，这使得它们成为了沙滩及帆板运动的最佳选择。

Otter Box还为笔记本电脑提供硬式保护包。我正在测试Otter Box7000这一款保护包，价格为170美元，它可以轻松地装入一台轻重量的机器，如ThinkPad X60、索尼Vaio TZ及富士通（Fujitsu）的Lifebook型号。这种保护包可以防雨、防灰尘以及旅途中的磕碰与颠簸。内部尺寸为长14.2in (361mm) x 宽11.2in (284mm) x 厚1.9in (48.3mm)。

笔记本电脑用户的电脑包选择也在增多，你不再需要背上一个普通的黑色电脑包。Timbuk2 Hemp（www.timbuk2.com）销售一种“绿色环保”的信使风格电脑包，内部具有防水层，绒毛手机口袋，售价约为165美元。