The Web is filled with folks coming up with makeshift solutions from paper clips to cutting plastic away from headphones for some of the issues I've written about here.
For example, my friend Patrick, otherwise known as "he who waited hours in the iPhone line with me," agreed with my observations about previous generation iPod accessories that, on first glance, don't work with the iPhone. (He also had to wait three days in limbo for his iPhone to activate after being ported from Nextel while his wife's phone worked instantly, but that's another story he can tell you, complete with colorful metaphors.)
Me and Pat at the end of our iPhone wait in San Francisco
Pat, being the persevering type noted:
"I've noticed and been trying out some of the old iPod accessories that I have in the house/car and I've come to some conclusions. For example, I was so psyched to think that the [factory-installed] BMW (glove compartment) adapter would be a two-in-one-charger for my car and an iPod connector. Not sure if you've seen the 'not compatible' notification on the iPhone, but some of the old iPod accessories actually work in the 30-pin dock connector if you opt to switch to Airplane mode. Pretty cool. So, at first I was let down that I couldn't use some old accessories, but actually, you'll just have to send all of your callers to voice mail if you want to listen to your music in the Beemer and/or the bathroom on your Bose SoundDock."
Airplane mode, intriguing. This may well serve as a legitimate excuse to avoid those calls you don't want to take. Hrmm. Thank you Apple for a new reason why I missed that call from the good ol' boss.
As for the headphone "pop, pop, pop" issue I noted yesterday, while our iPhones were searching for a Wi-Fi fix, my friend Zach noted that the issue is most likely caused by the extradeep, recessed headphone port that iPhones have that iPods don't. So, most headphone connectors are too short to really connect with the iPhone's sound outputs (The sexual innuendo with this observation is boundless I swear). This is pretty annoying to me, but eh, market paths can be changed, right?
But Kevin Fox has noted the same issue on his blog, Fury.com, although with a different take:
"As those of you who have already bought iPhones know, most headphones don't fit the iPhone due to how far the plug is recessed into the case, meaning that unless a headphone plug has a very narrow flange behind the plug, it won't fit. A lot of people have commented that this was short-sighted or uncaring of Apple, but I think it's a calculated move toward world domination."
As Kevin notes, a paradigm shift may well be in the works, (he should know a little something about paradigm shifts) but with stop-gap solutions like this from third-party vendors, I'm weary. I'm not sure I want the paradigm to shift if it's not Apple or Google driven. What I do like, however, is the community-based approach at problem solving these bugs we can all do for now.
Being brave, I finally took my iPhone to the gym to listen to it while I worked out. No fear of dropping it could stop me now. Usually, I have an 8-gig iPod Nano with me. For a workout, I don't usually use the headphones that come with the iPod, since they: (1) fall out of my ears; (2) don't have enough bass to motivate me to run/erg/push that extra mile out; and, (3) let's face it: the standard-issue iPod earphone sound quality, well, just sucks.
To alleviate this unfortunate state of affairs, instead of the standard-issue headphones, I use the Koss Porta Pro headphones. They're light, and the fidelity, bass and overall sound quality is pretty good and true--this includes pop, rock and hip-hop as well as classical and jazz. Likewise, on an airplane, I use the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. I'm a stickler for sound and/or serenity (no, not the "serenity now" deal from Seinfeld, but those headphones save my ears as well as my iPod's battery).
Anyway, back to the gym. I was getting all ready to do a long bike machine set. I adjusted the seat and the pedals, put my Koss headphones and got ready to work out. I had already synced and queued up my workout mix. The mix started with an up-tempo Jamiroquai song ("Don't Give Hate a Chance"). I started my pedaling--only 30 minutes ahead of me, I thought--but then I noticed that every few seconds, there was a popping noise in my headphones. Well, it was three pops in a row, to be absolutely precise. "Pop, pop, pop," it went. I unplugged the headphone cord and the music started to play over the iPhone's speakers. No popping to be heard.
I was perturbed. Did I short out my headphones? It wasn't the track itself. I thought to myself: What gives?
So, being prepared, I got out my Nano (a just-in-case measure in the event of drop-the-iPhone paranoia some can get) and pulled up the same song and plugged in the same Koss headphones into my Nano: no problem, no pops. I did the reverse experiment and plugged in the standard-issue iPhone earphones and, of course, no popping noises.
Later, I tried a similar experiment with my JBL On Time sound dock and got the same result: "Pop, pop, pop."
On closer inspection and through further guesswork I looked at the iPhone's headphone plug and noticed that it was three lines. One for the left channel, one for the right and ah, the microphone! So, that must be it, right? I still have no idea.
But as for the JBL sound dock, which connects with the iPod/iPhone at the bottom? This I'm not so sure about.
Well, at least I have other iPods that I can use my good headphones with, but that seems like a less-than-ideal solution.
That said, I do note that it's kind of cool to have conversations on the iPhone with its earphones because you feel completely enveloped by the other person's voice. Which, depending on who you're talking with, can be a very good thing (imagine your sweetie), or a very bad thing (imagine your boss).
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