Appletell Review: iPhone headphone accessories from Griffin and JAVOedge

Section: iPhone + Communications, iPhone Accessories, Features, Review, OriginalsAt the WWDC Keynote, Steve Jobs drew heavy applause when he announced the iPhone 3G headphone jack will be flush, not recessed as on the current iPhone. As I stated in our coverage, the response clearly illustrated just how passionate iPhone users can be, and how boneheaded Apple’s design team can be. But, surely no one will upgrade to the iPhone 3G just to get a flush headphone jack, right? Right?! Of course, not. At least, not as long as we’re also still dealing with Apple’s external microphone being placed on those horrid earbud headphones. Thankfully, Griffin and JAVOedge are here with their Headphone Adapter for iPhone and Handsfree Stereo Headset Adapter, respectively. This is good because, considering the new iPhone purchase policy, it may be quite some time before I’ll own an iPhone that allows me to use my headphones of choice. Griffin’s Headphone Adapter for iPhone ($9.99) is simply a little device that fits into the iPhone headphone jack, and then provides a flush jack of its own at the end of a small cable into which you can fit any 1/8” stereo mini-jack. It’s convenient, it does the job, and it’s fairly cheap. The thin housing also allows the adapter to slip through any case you may have on your iPhone, which makes it handy for most iPods, as well. Many iPod cases don’t take wide headphone jacks into account, but the Headphone Adapter for iPhone will make any pair of headphones compatible with whatever device you happen to be using. Even if you do upgrade to the iPhone 3G, your case of choice may still require a device such as this in order for you to continue using your favorite headphones. And speaking of headphones, I absolutely can’t stand the earbud headphones Apple includes with their iPods and iPhone. Aside from the fact that the sound is mediocre at best, I apparently have some kind of mutant ear that won’t hold the headphones in place. However, Apple’s earbuds are necessary to make use of one of the iPhone’s coolest features—the ability to pause your music when a call comes in and use the headphone/microphone combo to take the call, thereby allowing you to leave the iPhone in your armband or pocket or wherever it is. My headphones of choice don’t have a microphone, so taking calls means unplugging the headphones, grabbing the phone, and stopping whatever activity in which I’m engaged. This time, it’s JAVOedge to the rescue with the Handsfree Stereo Headset Adapter ($12.95). This cable provides the ability to interrupt your music to take phone calls, but with whatever set of headphones you choose. Simply plug the Headset Adapter into your iPhone (and yes, the adapter does fit into the iPhone’s recessed jack), plug your headphones into the 1/8” mini-jack, and you’re all set. You now get the complete functionality of the iPhone’s call inerrupt feature without having to deal with the earbud headphones. If a call comes in, just press the button on the microphone, and you’re connected. Even better, the Handsfree Stereo Headset Adapter includes a mic clip, so you can attach the microphone to your clothing for proper placement. When clipped at the top of my shirt, the Headset Adapter provided just enough cable to reach my iPhone attached to my belt or in my pocket. This is good in that there’s not a lot of loose cable flowing about, bad in that if I caught it on something, it would rip my headphones off my head. And consider that because the headphone jack is above the microphone and clip, I’m now plugging in my actual headphones just under my chin. Even if your headphone cable is only three feet long, that’s still going to be over two feet of useless cable dangling about your shoulders. So, a couple minor gripes aside, the Handsfree Stereo Headset Adapter is a fantastic deal at only $12.95. It frees you from Apple’s earbud headphones, the mic does a good job of picking up your voice, and it finally allows you to use the iPhone without having to actually hold it. If you want to take calls while exercising or being active in any way, you should really check this out. In fact, you should check both out. If the need is there for either, the price is pretty much right for both (the Headphone Adapter for iPhone gets docked a point for being a tick too high), and each does its job very well. Rating: Griffin Headphone Adapter for iPhone - 7/10 JAVOedge Handsfree Stereo Headset Adapter - 8/10 Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Appletell posts for the week of June 15, 2008

Section: Haven’t caught all of the Appletell news this week? Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! iPhone Flash confirmed (by Adobe)“This may come as a “finally” to some people, but Adobe has confirmed that a version of Flash is in the works for the iPhone 3G. In a conference call to report Adobe’s Q2 earnings, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen spilled the beans on the…” MORE »AT&T limiting iPhone speed?“ If you have visited the iPhone page on AT&T’s website, you may have been confused by the information provided. According to the Features section, “AT&T’s super-fast mobile broadband network puts iPhone 3G in the broadband fast lane with download speeds of up…” MORE »Is 8GB enough for the iPhone 3G?“As we ran our live blog of last Monday’s WWDC Keynote, I couldn’t help but get a little excited about all of the iPhone applications being demoed. This is a bit out of character for me, as I’m a Mac…” MORE »Legendary iCar becoming a reality?“Ok, everybody, time to ingest a nice, big grain of salt. Done? Mkay, moving on.  According to a recent issue of a German car magazine, Apple has resumed chats with Volkswagen about the iCar. Along with the picture of a futuristic car, the cover…” MORE »iSight HD coming soon?“ MacRumors just posted that a reader has found references to “iSight HD” in QuickTime system files.  For those who don’t know, the iSight, which is currently the branding of the camera integrated into all Macs…” MORE »Computerworld interviews IT personnel on iPhone; ignores key facts.“ “Apple Inc.’s announcement last week of a new iPhone designed to be more enterprise-friendly provoked a mix of curiosity and concern among IT managers who are weighing whether their organizations should purchase the trendy handheld for business use. The verdict: Apple…” MORE »AT&T;says no phone-as-modem plan for the iPhone 3G“Honestly, we don’ t know what come over AT&T. Report has it they will not be allowing teethering capabilities for the iPhone 3G. This means that all the rejoicing when Apple included 3G connectivity with the new iPhone was for naught. We will not…” MORE »Typinator makes web design easy“Ergonis Software has just launched an application for Mac OS X called Typinator that will make designing websites a whole lot easier. With over 100 built-in abbreviations, web designers won’t have to type as much code, and therefore they won’t have…” MORE »91% of Japanese Internet users don’t want the iPhone 3G“ A survey of Internet users from age 20 to 49 in Japan conducted June 5th and 6th, 2008 by iSHARE has found that 91% of the 402 responses received have no plans of buying the 3G iPhone. However, the survey…” MORE »Apple’s open secret: SproutCore is Cocoa for the Web“ WWDC got all the attention for the iPhone 3G and the apps demoed on it, which were amazing. However, we didn’t hear about something else...SproutCore! That new iPhone couldn’t have been the only…” MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple's other open secret: the LLVM Complier

SproutCore, profiled earlier this week, isn't the only big news spill out from the top secret WWDC conference due to Apple's embrace of open source sharing. Another future technology featured by the Mac maker last week was LLVM, the Low Level Virtual...

iPod and iPhone Case Roundup: Working up a sweat

iPods are great for working out, but it always helps to have the right equipment. Here are four cases that let you give your iPod a run for its money.

iPhone = iPorn?

Section: Apple, iPhone + Communications, iPhoneWell, I guess it had to happen sooner or later. Video tapes, DVDs, cell phones...all saw their push into the mainstream increase greatly once the porn industry got ahold of them, and now CNN is saying that the iPhone is “...increasingly the source of forbidden fruit.” Well, duh. Have you seen the quality of that screen? These kind of reports are always good for a laugh, mainly because it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? Where there’s a video screen, there’s porn. But I always learn something I didn’t know. For instance, have you ever heard of “moan tones?” I’m guessing you can’t buy those through iTunes. In Europe, a video chatting market allows customers to pay an average of $50 a month to exchange dirty messages with actresses. However, the article goes on get iPhone specific: ...thanks in large part to the iPhone’s video dexterity, short clips are becoming a staple of the mobile porn business. The speed promised by the iPhone 2.0 is much anticipated. Google Trends, which measures Web buzz, shows a sharp increase over the past year in the popularity of the term “iPhone porn.” Guess we better add that to the keyword meta tags here at Appletell. The article gets even funnier, featuring quotes such as “It’s by far the porn-friendliest phone,” from Devan Cypher, representative for San Francisco–based Sin City Entertainment. I can’t help but think Apple is missing a great marketing opportunity by not putting that in the advertisements. I mean, the whole “iPhone 3G is an iPhone killer” theme is clever, but come on! iPhone 3X! Apple spokesoman Jennifer Bowcock is quick to point that Apple doesn’t condone iPhone porn distribution. This won’t stop iPhone users such as blogger Jason Swifter from dreaming, however. He wrote on his blog at iphonematters.com, “I wish there was an application that allowed you to undress people by dragging your fingers across the screen and literally dragging it off.” Whoa! Dude! I think you just created a new euphemism, there! iPhone users can look for this debate to heat up soon. On one hand, you have the porn industry: Sensing the start of a profitable new era for pocket porn, the adult entertainment industry is investing heavily and feverishly broadening its marketplace of iPhone porn. On the other hand, you’ve got angry parents and Ms. Bowcock: The genre’s availability could spark new demand for mobile-phone porn blockers, as parents realize that children could access adult content on Apple’s device. “Our iPhone 2.0 software will give customers the opportunity to turn on parental controls,” says Apple spokeswoman Bowcock. Of course, none of this is Apple’s fault. The porn industry will target any media device with a video screen, but the popularity of Apple’s iPhone and its easy-to-use web browser will undoubtedly make it a lightning rod for protest groups and media reports. The negative attention could hurt Apple, but not enough to offset the sales that will result as people see these reports and say, “What? I can get me some porn on that thing? Honey, do we got ourselves an Apple Store near here?” If Apple wants to “..figger out a way to keep the young ones moral after school” (thank you, Harold Hill), the best thing they can do is make sure iPhone users know all about Super Monkey Ball and such. After all, if you’ve got a choice between Jenna Jameson and a monkey on a ball, who are you going to pick? Via [Time.com] Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Switched On: The iPhone's iFunnel

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment The first iPhone arrived at a time that suggested Apple needed to protect its iPod franchise -- but Apple delivered something that was much more than an MP3 player that could make phone calls. You probably won't be editing any iMovies on it for some time, but in the iPhone Apple has essentially delivered Macintosh 2.0. It's portable. It's affordable. It's connected. And it runs OS X, complete with its own breakthrough pointing device, your finger. Whereas the first Mac came with productivity applications MacWrite and MacPaint, the iPhone came with applications for Web surfing, e-mail, and consuming media, the evolution of what much personal computing has become. Furthermore, Apple has shown that it has learned from mistakes it made with the first Mac. Whereas early monochrome Macs were a tough sell for game developers, Apple has highlighted games as some of the most impressive early third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. And whereas Apple was notorious for keeping Mac prices high for many years, the next-generation iPhone takes advantage of carrier subsidies for an out-of-pocket price of $200 in the US (and even less or free in some countries). Despite the many changes that have transformed the software industry since 1984, the iPhone, along with its SDK, development tools and app store, have the potential to bring the work of OS X developers to millions of people who don't own Macs -- that is, if Apple lets them.Continue reading Switched On: The iPhone's iFunnelPermalink | Email this | Comments