One of the consistent weaknesses of the entire iPod/iPhone line for its entire six year life is the iconic white earphone set that comes in the box.
They’re not absolute dreck, but neither are they up to the hardware they come with. Merely adequate, there hasn’t been much improvement since 2001, save for the inline remote/mic built into the cord with the ones that come with iPhones. And hey, what about those foam things, huh? They don’t last long - if you can keep them at all, that is; I wonder what Apple was thinking including them in the box. Using them’s a clear mark of an iPod newbie.
It’s as if the earbuds were mere afterthoughts they threw in the box with the iPods and the iPhone; maybe they assumed it was an unnecessary effort and expense to give nice ones we could actually appreciate, spending all the R&D budget just on the hardware. But if they assumed that we’d dump them eventually in favor of better third party buds, it doesn’t make sense that they made it exasperatingly difficult for iPhone users to swap out the buds for better ones with the repressively off-sized audio port they built into the phone. I mean, WTH?
There are very few third-party buds with plugs that fit, and even rarer third-party iPhone-specific buds that have the same remote control/mic built into them (one of the better ones is the V-Moda Vibe Duo, but its bassy, in-ear noise-cancelling style isn’t for everyone; in fact, users have noted that it’s an unsettling experience to use these in-ears as a handsfree set for some reason.)
So to the rescue come enterprising companies that literally bridge the gap. Ranging from cheap to ridiculously expensive, the adaptors can be as plain as can be, or savvy enough to find a way to add a mic function to your existing third-party multimedia-ready buds.
In the plain-jane category is iFrogz’ Fitz plug adaptor. Although it claims to have a third audio channel built into the plug to accommodate earphones that have a microphone in them I haven’t been able to test if it works, or is just a hook to reel in customers. All I know is, jacking the original iPhone buds into them kills the remote function right off, so it isn’t a pass-through device, function-wise.
Fitz is just a 3.25-inch cord with an Apple-standard male plug on one end, and a conventionally-sized female jack on the other. It comes in white and in black. It does what it says it does, and that’s …it. Aside from lengthening your cord by over 3 inches, it does nothing more, nothing less. So in that, it works as advertised. Doesn’t degrade the audio or add noise, as far as I can tell (and as a radio producer, I can tell, believe me). Now I can use all the other buds I’ve accumulated over the years of my never-ending quest for the right pair, and the iPod-portion of the iPhone finally feels, or sounds, as it should.
Fitz costs US$7.99, but in my country it’s hard to come by unless you order online. The one local store that has lots of it, a shop called iStudio, shamelessly sells it for PHP900, or nearly 200% over SRP. Still, people are snapping them up. I was fortunate to source it cheaper at another shop at PHP500, but if you value the iPod side of your iPhone, it’s worth the added cost. At least until Apple wises up and finally releases a kick-ass Apple-branded pair.
Now that’d be something, wouldn’t it?
November 20th, 2007 at 12:55 am
The earbuds were redesigned with the iPhone and new iPods. They no longer come with the little foam earbud condoms and they are shaped slightly differently. In the past the old earbuds would never stay in place, but I was pleasantly surprised with the fit of the new buds.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
I don’t know why so many iPhone users mindlessly complain about Apple’s new recessed headphone port design. If they really knew the truth about the design, they should be thanking Apple instead.
I’m not an iPhone user but I do own an iPod. And as a longtime user of portable electronics for countless years, I can tell you that one consistent problem I’ve always had with portable units is that headphone jacks are very easy to damage anytime the cord gets snagged on something and yanked sideways. The sideways action of the cord getting yanked causes the female contacts within the unit to spread. The spreading of the contacts generally results in intermittent playback in one of the sound channels where sound will no longer play from both channels simultaneously until the male jack is held or positioned exactly right. The slightest movement of the headphone jack from this position will then cause one of the channels to go out. Over the years, I’ve had this same problem occur with almost every portable music player I’ve ever owned (from Sony CD players, to Sony portable DAT players, to expensive Nakamichi portable tape units). And in every case, the problem was caused by bad port design. Furthermore, the only fix for the problem once it occurs is to send your unit to the shop and have them open it and solder in a brand new female jack (trust me, I’ve had this done) - and the new port will only last until the cord gets snagged on something and yanked once again. So for countless years, I’ve hated the design of the female port.
Smartly and thankfully, Apple has completely resolved this problem with its new iPhone port design. By recessing the female port on the iPhone, this creates a raised wall of support around any male plug you plug into the unit, which acts to hold the male plug in place vertically should the cord gets yanked sideways. This support wall holds the male plug rigid and prevents the female prongs within the iPhone from spreading (which would then necessitate you sending your iPhone into the shop to be repaired). It’s an ingenous design and resolves a very real problem in the real world and users should truly be thanking Apple instead of criticizing them mindlessly. I know that users do not prefer the new design, but trust me, it resolves a very real problem. It’s a design I hope all portable electronic makers adopt.
November 19th, 2007 at 3:47 am
i dont know where u live but here in north america that is the standard size for headphones and they all work with the ipod/iphone, but i agree they need to make some better headphones. i bought myself a pair of bose earbuds ($130) and they are perfect and have amazing base for their size and the sound is crystal clear.