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JayBird's Tiger Eyes are one of the better-looking choices.

Now that Apple is thoroughly touting the headphone remote capability of its various iPods, third-party headphone manufacturers are scrambling to provide products with integrated playback controls. One solution we've seen is the in-line remote cable attachment that can connect to any set of headphones, thereby letting you simply update your favorite pair.

Of course, if you need to upgrade from Apple's stock earbuds anyway, picking up a brand new model with the controls (and mic, if applicable) built-in makes more sense. There isn't a huge variety to choose from right now, but we managed to round up four sets of earphones that offer the feature.

Check out headphones with iPod controls.

Welcome to the 411, my Q&A column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have the same questions, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

Thanks to Bonnie Cha for her help with the first couple of questions!

I am thinking of getting the BB Tour or the HTC Touch Pro 2 from Sprint. I was wanting to know, if you were going to purchase one of these phones, which one would you choose and why? I know the Pro 2 has Wi-Fi and may offer an OS upgrade later. Do yo think this would make a better phone than the Tour? -- Bruce, via e-mail.

It depends on your preference. For a simple messaging e-mail device, the Tour is probably the better handheld, since the interface is a little easier to understand. The Tour is also better if you want a world phone that you can use in any country on the globe. If you don't plan on using the phone outside the U.S. and you want a smartphone with a little more multimedia power, the HTC Touch Pro 2 is definitely the better of the two. The Touch Pro 2 offers Wi-Fi while the Tour doesn't, and the wider touch-screen interface on the Touch Pro 2 is also more conducive to video playback.

My cousin would like to get the Blackberry 8900 (I'll have to unlock it, of course) to use overseas, so I was just wondering what was the big difference between AT&T's 8900 and T-Mobile's 8900, because there is a $240 difference between the price on Best Buy Web site. Is there really a big difference between them just because AT&T calls theirs the Javelin and T-mobile's the curve? The specs look the same to me? -- Damion, via e-mail.

In terms of specs, both the AT&T and the T-Mobile version of the BlackBerry 8900 are about the same. The only differences are the carrier offerings. For example, AT&T has AT&T Music and AT&T Navigator on the 8900, while T-Mobile's version has UMA support so you can make calls via Wi-Fi if you have a T-Mobile HotSpot @ Home plan. But if you're going to unlock it and use it overseas, then it doesn't matter which one you go with, since you probably won't be able to use those services anyway. P.S. "Javelin" is just an internal code name, I believe.

Any comments on the Jabra Halo? I plan on using it mostly with my iPhone, (for hands-free driving), as well as for music enjoyment when not driving. Would you recommend this stereo Bluetooth device or suggest another? -- Frank, via e-mail.

I have to be honest, Frank: I wasn't a huge fan of the Halo. In fact, I didn't like it much at all. It just didn't sit well on the ears and the call quality was subpar. The best things I can say about it is that it's very attractive; it folds down to a more compact shape; and it does play music as promised. Even if I did like it, though, I wouldn't recommend using it while driving; I think only a mono headset is allowed in that scenario. If you want a headset that can be used in both stereo and mono, take a look at the Samsung WEP870, the Plantronics Voyager 855, or the Jabra BT8010 for starters. Do note, though, that the new iPhone OS does not have full AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile) support. This means that even though you can stream music from it, you can't control the music playback from the headset--you still have to play/pause and advance tracks on the phone itself.

The comfy, folding Jabra Halo headset isn't 100 percent compatible with the iPhone, but it's still a worthwhile investment.

(Credit: Jabra)

Cords suck. That's why people who switch to Bluetooth headsets have a hard time going back to the wired kind. And once you've tried a stereo headset, well, you're spoiled for life.

Consider me spoiled. The new Jabra Halo headset cuts the cord in style, giving music and movie fans a terrific wireless listening experience while allowing chatterboxes to keep conversing.

Alas, it's not quite perfect, owing to one design flaw and one technical glitch that's actually Apple's fault.

Smart features are everywhere. For starters, the Halo has no on/off button. Rather, these folding, over-the-ear headphones turn on when unfolded and off again when you fold them. Love that!

LEDs embedded in the headband show power, pairing, and battery status. I had an easy time pairing the Halo with an iPhone 3G and a second-gen iPod Touch.

In fact, I was able to keep both paired thanks to the headset's MultiUse technology, which supports connections to two Bluetooth devices. (A more real-world application would be pairing to your iPhone and your laptop.) Very handy.

The Halo has just two physical controls. The first is a slightly indented button in the outer face of the right earpiece; it's used to play/pause music and answer/end phone calls.

The second is a disastrously bad touch slider for controlling volume and skipping tracks (the latter done by double-tapping the top or bottom of the controller--a nearly impossible task given that you can't see where you're tapping). It's my one and only complaint with the Halo; a simple rocker control would have been vastly superior.

I have a second complaint, but it's with Apple's implementation of Bluetooth. Because there's no support (yet) for Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP), the Halo's controls are rendered partially inoperative. You can raise and lower volume, but I couldn't get play/pause or track skip to work.

These aren't deal-breakers (as noted above, these controls suck anyway), but they're definitely annoyances. For what it's worth, everything worked fine with my AVRCP-rocking Palm Pre.

On the unequivocal plus side, music sounds terrific, at least to my ears, and callers reported that I sounded just as swell. That surprised me given the Halo's lack of a visible microphone, but the headset actually has two of them--one of which cancels background noise.

Other perks include a patch cord for using the Halo with non-Bluetooth MP3 players; AC and USB charging cables (the Halo relies on a microUSB connector); and a Neoprene carrying case.

All this can be yours for $129.99, which is a pretty steep price for a headset. Shopping around, I managed to find it for $99, but even that's not an impulse-buy price.

On the other hand, if you routinely use your iPhone on a treadmill, at the gym, or even while lounging around the house, a headset like this is a very worthwhile luxury. We just need Apple to roll out some much-needed Bluetooth updates (add printer support while you're at it!) and the Jabra Halo will rank among the top products in its class (for iPhone users, that is).

The Mono Box may be the preferred option for hard-core Beatles fans.

(Credit: Apple Records)

Tone Audio's Bob Gendron scored advance copies of "The Beatles Stereo Box Set" and "The Beatles Mono Box Set" of the complete Beatles catalog. Four years in the making, Gendron thinks the remasters are a feast for the ears.

Tone Audio is an audiophile Web site, so when I read Gendron's claims of "Near-miraculous improvements in the key areas of information retrieval, hidden details, palpable physicality, expanded midrange, transient presence, and frequency response" to the remastered sound, I was jazzed. Bass, never a strong suit on Beatles recordings, has been improved, so we get to hear more oomph from Paul McCartney's bass and Ringo Starr's percussion. I can hardly wait.

Gendron seems to favor the mono box, mostly because the Beatles and their producer, George Martin, lavished their attention on the mono mixes of the original albums; stereo was an afterthought. Me, I'm a stereo kind of guy, so I'll start with the stereo set. And yes, I'll report back after I've had time to mull over the sound for myself. The Rolling Stones' recent remasters are nothing to write home about, that's why I've remained mum about them. Remastering, all by itself, is no guarantee of improved sound quality.

The Jabra Halo stereo Bluetooth headset, open and folded.

(Credit: Jabra)

I was quite impressed with the Jabra Halo stereo Bluetooth headset when I first saw it at CTIA 2009 in Las Vegas. It looked thin and lightweight, and promised to be the first wireless stereo headset with dual-microphone noise cancellation. Indeed, it was our cream of the crop nominee for best accessory at the show.

Now Jabra has made the Halo official, announcing that it'll be available for sale in Best Buy retail stores next week. Other features of the headset include multipoint technology, eight hours of talk or music time, Zirene Power Bass, and a 3.5mm cord option in case you can't or don't want to use Bluetooth. It also folds down to a more compact shape. The suggested retail price is $129, which may seem a bit costly, but if the HALO delivers on its promise, it would be well worth it.

DeVore speakers and Shindo electronics at ILS.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

The shop has lots of tube electronics, but solid-state lives there too.

(Credit: In Living Stereo)

Steven Mishoe opened In Living Stereo just a few weeks before 9/11, and it turned out to be the worst possible time to open a high-end hi-fi shop in New York City.

But ILS is still there on 4th Street, right across from where Tower Records used to be. And unlike the bigger, more established hi-fi shops, ILS sells music systems. Don't go there to pick Mishoe's brain about music servers or iPhone apps. No, In Living Stereo caters to people who listen to music at home. What a concept!

Over the years I've heard great sound there many times. Brand selection is choice, including tube electronics from Fatman, Leben Hi-Fi, Prima Luna, and Shindo Laboratory; speakers from DeVore Fidelity, Dynaudio, ProAc, Rega, and Verity Audio; and turntables from Rega and Shindo Laboratory.

Complete systems with a CD player, integrated amplifier, and speakers start around $1,200. Mishoe's an analog guy, so he stocks turntables starting around $400, tube amplifiers from $1,200, and speakers $500 and up.

Call ahead, make an appointment, and bring some of your favorite tunes to see how good they can sound.

Check out the ILS Web site to learn more about the store.

(Credit: CNET)

When we last saw JVC's El Kameleon car audio receiver, we awarded it our Editors' Choice award for its innovative interface and expandability. However, we wished that the unit featured a touch screen instead of a touch pad.

With the new El Kameleon KD-AVX77, we get our wish. The new El Kameleon features a superwide touch screen that fills up its entire single-DIN faceplate. But is a bigger screen always better?

I like my wide-screen movies as much as the next guy, but the new El Kameleon's super Cinemascope screen means that most movies will be stretched wide but will only be about as tall as a business card, making it less than ideal for prolonged DVD viewing.

We'd need to see a much bigger screen before we could recommended the new El Kameleon as a standalone multimedia solution. However, the El Kameleon's plethora of inputs and outputs, as well as its customizable interface make it a great starting point for controlling more complex multimedia systems with rear seat entertainment and external amplifiers.

Read the full JVC KD-AVX77 El Kameleon review.

There's nothing like good, old competition to keep tech prices in check. Case in point: earphones. The headphone market is heavily saturated, and that's why there are so many worthy earbud contenders in the sub-$100 price range. Klipsch is one company in particular that has impressed us with earphones in this price range, and its latest entry is no exception. The Image S2m is a stereo headset with an integrated mic and call button that sells for a very reasonable $60. Like its Editors' Choice award-winning sibling, the Image S4, these 'phones offer impressive sound for the money, though audio is not quite as crystal clear.

Read the Klipsch Image S2m review.

Klipsch Image S2m earphones--photos

Matching SACD player and stereo amplifier from Onkyo

(Credit: Onkyo)

Face it: Most people listen to music on CD, LP, radio, or some form of downloaded file, and each and every one is a stereo format.

Even high-resolution formats like SACD have stereo mixes, so it's no surprise that Onkyo just introduced two new stereo components: An integrated stereo amplifier, the A-5VL, and a stereo SACD player, the C-S5VL.

The amp seems like a rational alternative to a feature-laden AV receiver, jam-packed with so much wizardry you need to read and comprehend a 100 page user manual to get it to do much of anything. Stereo is simple; no need to navigate multilayer menus to turn the bass up or down. No, with the stereo Onkyo amp, all you'll ever do is select the input--CD, aux, radio, etc.--and adjust the volume. Then sit back and enjoy the tunes.