On the left is the standard white Apple iPod Nano (2G) dock that can be purchased as an accessory from Apple. The Nano itself, only comes with a dock connector to USB 2.0 cable forcing your iPod to lay down like a second-rate piece of hardware while it syncs and recharges. To me the beautiful black Nano sitting in the white dock just doesn't look right. I figured, no problem, I'll just hop on the internet and order a black iPod Nano dock...wrong. I searched and searched and found nothing. At least, nothing that was simple, elegant and would fit my second generation Nano. So, I figured, it was do-it-myself time.

I picked up a dock from the "local" Apple store in Oklahoma City while I was there this weekend. Bought some glossy black spray paint specially made for applying to plastics and created my own black iPod Nano dock. And, if I may say so myself...it looks AWESOME!!!

Removing the cover from the dock was fairly simple. It's on pretty tight, but a little work with a knife wedged underneath between the innards and the cover and I was able to release the small tabs that keep it in place. The only thing I might do different if I did it over was not paint it in a dusty garage with a two-year old running around "helping" me. There are some dust particles that got stuck in the wet paint. Nothing noticeable while the dock is just sitting on my desk, but if you pick it up and examine it in good light, you can see a few specks in the paint. After it dried, I just shoved the two parts back together and it works perfect. The thin layer of black paint does not seem to interfere in any way with docking and undocking the Nano.

I've posted pictures of the process on Flickr.