Short Circuits

A brief look at new and noteworthy experiences among DVDs, video games, gadgets and the Web.

iPod Touch now fully fortified I've finally found a reliable protective case for my iPod Touch: the Otterbox Defender (www.otterbox.com). Others were too flimsy, not protective enough or a poor fit. The Defender, on the other hand, has a thin membrane to protect the touch screen, a hard plastic shell that completely encases the device and a soft silicone skin that feels comfortable but also helps absorb shocks if dropped. All buttons and jacks remain fully accessible. The only problem I had was that the protective layer over the touch pad adhered unevenly to the screen, creating dark splotches. Wiping the screen and case clean with a cloth didn't help. So I contacted Otterbox. "This sounds funny, but before you put your device in the case, rub your palm across the screen," suggested company exec Kristin Golliher. That not only sounded funny, but completely counterintuitive. Here I was trying to keep everything as clean as possible, and she was telling me to just smear my grubby hand across the screen. It worked. "It's the natural oils of the skin that keep the plastic from sticking to the screen," she explained. "Your hands should be clean but you don't want to wash your hands just before doing it. You can also try wiping it along your cheek to pick up the oils from your face." Well, there you go. The Defender for iPod Touch retails for $30, but a Google search quickly turns up online retailers selling it for well below $20.

RANDY A. SALAS

'Hannah' hits the film scene "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (Disney, $30-$45) is an innocuous feature-length adaptation of the popular Disney Channel series. Miley Cyrus stars as Miley Stewart, an ordinary teenage girl who secretly moonlights as Hannah Montana. When Miley/Hannah gets too caught up in the celebrity swirl of Los Angeles, she's relegated to her family's home in Tennessee by her widowed father (Billy Ray Cyrus). While there, she must cope with country life, evade a tabloid reporter seeking to expose her double life, save the community from a developer and meet hunky Travis (Lucas Till). The film might be, at heart, every Disney princess movie you've ever seen -- only with a stretch limo instead of a pumpkin-turned-coach and a prince who wears a cowboy hat.

WASHINGTON POST