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Comment by yef | Hacker News Reader

So you have to use their earbuds? Hrm.

No, there are earbuds from other companies compatible with Apple's remote stuff. There's also an extension cord with which you can make any earbuds remote-compatible (though you'll have to deal with the cable mess).

See this review for some examples: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2009/02/13/replacement-ipho...

So you have to buy specially-compatible earbuds or a remote extension cord? Hrm.

I would guess that 80% of shuffle owners (maybe even all iPod owners) use the default earbuds.

For the ones that don't, I'd also wager that the aftermarket community will offer an in-line adapter that adds the buttons capability to any set of standard headphones/earphones.

This was the string of logic I followed. The people who will be most upset by the need for a converter are the ones who are hardcore fans. Like for my workouts I use behind the head headphones rather than earbuds. But the majority of users stick with the standard earbuds.

Where do you see that?

they moved the play controls to the headphone cable and removed them from the ipod itself. if you don't use their crappy earbuds, you have no way of skipping songs or pausing.

That's what is bothering me with this stuff.

You just can't put your own bigger headphones and use the Shuffle properly. Suppose you break the earbuds, you must buy some new ones to Apple to skip the tracks !

It's not the quality I expect from Apple products, just a "buy and dispose" thing.

It's implied from the tour. I mean, if you don't use their headphone, you cannot control anything on it. I have their in-ear headphone and it sounds great so it's not a bad thing.

Except if you want to go jogging. I agree that their headphones are great, but they don't attach securely enough for a good workout.

Yeah. Especially when you consider that the shuffle is (was) probably the ipod best suited for workouts. Oh well, good thing my old shuffle works fine. :)

You're correct, the iPod earphones (all of them) aren't suited well for working out. Weight lifting? Yeah, you can get away with them there, as long as you don't mind the low-quality sound. Any in-ear type will stay put better, however.

Running or cycling? Not a chance. iPod headphones will fall out of your ears within the first 100 feet. I've never seen anyone running with iPod headphones; just walkers or commuters on the subway.

Exercise headphones are "disposable" too. I'll go through a pair every 4-6 months because the speakers eventually get clogged up with junk from sweat and eventually get muffled out. Speaker wire connections get frayed too since they're moving around a lot.

Sony MDR-J11G headphones work well for me running and cycling. They're $10-15 each depending if you buy them on eBay or in a store.

Apple wants $29 for replacement headphones. Even if they were designed for sports as well as the MDR-J11G's, they'd still be a rip off at that price.

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