IPod earbuds
Encyclopedia
Headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
that ship with all music players designed and marketed by Apple Inc. These earphones are manufactured solely by the Fostex
Fostex
Fostex is a Japanese manufacturer that is one of the largest transducer and OEM speaker makers in the world, founded in July 1973 by Foster Electric Co. Ltd.-Company history:Fostex , founded in July 1973 by Foster Electric Co...
corporation of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
History
The white earphones (or "earbuds") that ship with all iPods have become symbolic of the brand. Advertisements feature them prominently, often contrasting the white earphones (and cords) with people shown as dark silhouetteSilhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
s that are usually seen on iTunes gift cards. The original earphones came with the first generation iPod. They were revised to be smaller after Apple received complaints of the earbuds being too large. The revised earphones were shipped with second through early fifth generation iPods, the iPod Mini, and the first generation Nanos. The earbuds were revised again in 2006, featuring an even smaller and more streamlined design. This third design was shipped with late fifth generation iPods and the second-generation nanos. All first generation iPod Shuffles and the second generation up until 30 January 2007 (when color models were introduced) were shipped with the second design; those that shipped after that date were distributed with the third design of the earbuds. The third generation iPod Shuffle
IPod shuffle
The iPod Shuffle is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the smallest model in Apple's iPod family, and was the first to use flash memory...
comes with the earphones with remote on the right earphone, and third generation iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
comes with the earphones with remote and mic on the right earphone.
Safety
The theft and robbery of iPods has been a noted concern in several countries. To avoid robbery some owners of iPods replaced the telltale white earphones with other headsets, to avoid unwanted attention. It has been recommended that replacing the distinctive white earbuds with older headphones suggest cheaper equipment and help reduce robbery risk.In 2005, New York's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
placed advertisements on the subways warning passengers that "Earphones are a giveaway. Protect your device", after iPod thefts on the subway rose from zero in 2004 to 50 in the first three months of 2005. In 2007, in San Francisco, an increase in iPod robberies prompted BART officials to place flyers at stations warning riders that the signature white earbuds could make them targets for iPod theft.
Varieties
There are currently 4 varieties of iPod headphones: The basic Apple Earphones (no controls), which ships with all iPods except the 3rd Gen. Shuffle and 3rd Gen. Touch (32 and 64 GB); the Shuffle Apple Headphones (with Remote), which ships only with the 3rd Gen. Shuffle; the Apple Earphones (with Remote and Mic), which ships with the iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 3rd Gen, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S, and are also sold independently; and the optional "premium" Apple In-Ear Headphones (with Remote and Mic), introduced on September 9, 2008, which are sold independently. The last three of these versions have buttons that allow users to adjust volume and control music and video playback. The control capsule located on the cable of the right earpiece includes three buttons and a microphoneMicrophone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
on the last two versions. Users can: adjust volume by pressing the + and - buttons, control music and video playback — including play/pause and next/previous — by pressing the center button, and record voice memos on supported iPod and iPhone models. There have been many reports of moisture problems with the remote/mic earbuds. The original iPhone and iPhone 3G came with a modified version of the Apple Headphones - The iPhone Stereo Headset. These were the Apple Headphones but with an additional clicker and remote on the right side of the headphones. The iPhone headset differs from the Apple Headphones with Remote and Mic by not including the volume control.