The Smartwrap is a simple piece of flexible silicone rubber. It is bone shaped (I'd say closest to the femur but I AM NOT A DOCTOR), it has a matte, textured finish so it's grippy, weighs .2 oz, and it comes in 9 colors (8 if you disqualify translucent as a color). The two holes on either end are accessed by an opening that is flexible in size and flat so is doesn't pinch or put too much pressure on cables as you slide them through. Sumajin does not recommend using the Smartwrap with USB or telephone cables.

The green Smartwrap closely matches the green in the iPod shuffle button.

I've used the Smartwrap on the Apple earbuds, Etymotic ER-6i, and Shure E3c and it's worked just fine with all of them. I tried it with the Apple iPod firewire dock cable and although the cable just barely fit into the hole at the end of the Smartwrap, it was too thick and stiff to wrap.

Although the Smartwrap is very light, you don't want any extra weight hanging off of your ears or swinging around while you wear your earphones. I wrapped the cable so that it was close to the iPod and it seemed to work fine that way.

I do have a concern about headphones with stiff or low-quality wire and long term durability. The wire is wrapped in a small, fairly tight bend. I think the Apple earbuds or any other high-quality cable would be fine, but if your earphones had stiff or cheap quality wire, there might be a concern about the wire breaking after long term or repeated use. I would welcome a wider Smartwrap so that the cable wouldn't have to be wound so tightly.

Of note, the ipodkitz from itzkitz (I've got a product review in the works) includes a Smartwrap as well.

Now, let me address the silliness, for lack of a better word, of this product. Can you live without it? Absolutely. Does it cost too much for just a piece of rubber? Probably (but it's an iPod accessory so what did you expect?) Hell, you could even make something like this out of common household products (milk jug, toilet paper tube, hot dog). But they wouldn't be a pretty color, they wouldn't stand up to abuse like the Smartwrap could, and they might smell bad after a couple of days.

Normally I'm a practical guy and I'm too cheap for things like this. But, I'm actually impressed with the device and I quite like it. It's the execution and the design that really sets it apart and makes it pleasing. I usually carry at least two pairs of headphones with me and the Smartwrap has really helped out. It seems to be nearly indestructible, and earphone wires will be around for a long time to come so you can get a lot of use out of it. If you've got the money to spend, I'd recommend it. If not, try the toilet paper tube idea. 4/5 stars.

The Good: Slick design, good material, durable, attractive, works well.
The not so good: Could be wider so the cable wouldn't have to bend so tightly, frivolous luxury?

For more information:
Smartwrap.net - USA
Sumajin.com - Worldwide