I'll be more specific. I'm not looking for a set of headphones with great sound or anything, I'm just trying to find something that seems too specific to exist.

The most-used app on my phone is my podcast client (I LOVE it). For the longest time, when I wasn't listening in the car, I'd be listening with my headphones that came with my Nexus One. They're a headset with a mic (not in the best location), but the main thing they have is three buttons for controls. With my podcast client these buttons pause (and answer calls), and fast forward and rewind.

There are two problems with these headphones. The first is that they fall out of my ears if I'm running (which I'm trying to start doing). The second is that the buttons have started to malfunction (the plastic is pretty cheap).

The problem with replacing these headphones is that I can't find a single set that even has these controls on them! I didn't think they'd be THIS rare and specific to my phone. In addition to that, there's the problem (in my view) that headphone manufacturers have decided to make nothing but iPhone headphones. Every single set I come across has the iPhone control button on it, which is nearly useless for other phones. I understand why they make these sets, since so many people have iPhones, but there's starting to be lots of people with other phones, too.

I have a set with the iPhone button on it, and all I can do now is pause and answer calls, but I can't FF and RW, and this is essential for me when Leo Laporte does his five minute ads on TWiT

Do you guys know of any sets like this?

In a perfect world, I'd also love it if there were an inline solution that I could use in my car, so I could plug into my AUX in and have these physical controls. But for now, I'd be happy to find replacement headphones.

What do you mean by iPhone button? Do you mean sets that have a single answer/end/mute/pause button on them? Those headphones work with all kinds of products, not just Apple, and AFAIK, the design predates the iPhone/iPod's use of that feature.

The iPhone-specific ones seem to be the ones with three buttons on them, two of them being for volume control.

As to why manufacturers make such headphones it's because a market exists for them, whereas, a market doesn't exist for other handset makers because none of them have likely standardized on a set of controls. The "problem" is easy to fix. The head/earphones are already widely available from countless manufacturers, time for these misc. handset manufacturers to update their specs and software to support them.

As far as products that fit well into the ear, there are a lot to choose from. I like my Etymotics, which I picked up this past december. Other people swear by Shure and Ultimate Ears.

For control, you could always hack apart your current earphones and then also hack apart a control adapter specific to the iPhone/iPod to see if you might make any mods. I've come across some discussion of using adapters with different phones while researching headphones last year, but not specifically making any mods. It's possible someone has already done this.

If you want to go the Bluetooth route, there are a number of solutions that would work using AVCTP or AVRCP.

Jarba BT 3030 as an example.

Bruno, now that I think about it, you're right. I think I was just referring to headphones with the one button as iPhone sets because the manufacturers seem to refer to them as such. In actuality, there are few companies using the official Apple controls, and I think that's what I was confusing in my mind. Sorry about that.

So I guess I'm just looking for some way to have a few buttons for controls for my phone without having to turn it on and unlock it.

*edit*
I should have mentioned that I've come to the conclusion that I dislike in-ear headphones. But that doesn't matter anyway, because they don't stay in my ears when I'm running either. Perhaps I just haven't used the right ones, but I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars finding the ones that will fit in my ears and not come out. I've even tried every tip size that came with the set I have.

For keeping them in my ears, I was thinking of a behind-the-head design, or even better something that hooks over the ears (behind the head might not work because of my huge head ).


That's a neat product, Tom! Thanks for showing me that. It seems slightly unwieldy, but not too bad, and it gives me even more controls than I was hoping for. Do you think it would work solely as a remote? When I'm in the car, I wouldn't want it to connect to the Jabra because I'd want it to connect to the car, but I'd want to use it for remote control.

Etymotics would most certainly fit in your ear and not fall out. They're inserted right into the canal and create a seal to help keep out external noise, just like ear plugs. I had to get this design specifically because the standard bowl-shaped in-ear models (like the iPhone stock) falls out of one ear too easily.

And the third brand I mentioned, though expensive (as all hell) will make ear pieces molded specifically to your ears.

I have a pair of those, and while they're brilliant for buses, trains and planes, they're positively unusable for running (or at least for walking, which is the closest I really get) because the noise rejection is too good. You can't hear traffic. You can't even hear people shouting "Oi! Prat with an Ipod! Mind that lorry!"

Peter

Does Android offer the ability to select audio sources? I recently had a LiquidAUX and a MotoMouth II paired to my iPhone with both active. On the iPhone I picked the MotoMouth as the audio source, and the controller with the LiquidAux still worked.

This reminds me, need to contact Kensington, as the LiquidAux would work perfectly for my needs if the audio was reliable. Bought the MotoMouth as a test, and it works great in the same spot the LiquidAux has problems. Car audio is a pain.

Yeah, I suppose running on a treadmill might be the safest option when you can't hear your surroundings.

Safety is why I don't listen to any kind of music when skiing either.

Heh, yeah, I knew about Ultimate Ears. There isn't a chance I'll be getting one of those.

And I'm sure your Etymotics are good at staying in your ears, but not all ears are the same. I understand that they go into your ear canal in order to create a seal. My response was that I have a pair that does that too, and they simply DO NOT stay in my ears no matter which tips I've tried with them. They fall out every single time after about 20 feet of running.

It's a good way to work your upper body on a run, though. I spent half the time with my hands up, putting the damn headphones in my ear

Uhhh... yeah. What he said.

tanstaafl.

Matt, I expected you had a pair of the ones that simply stay on the inside of your outer ear, the kind that ships with pretty much every portable music device, as I'd never heard of inner-ear phones falling out before. With mine using the default three-ribbed silicone tips, I actually have to be careful taking them out since when properly inserted there's some negative pressure/suction keeping them in place.

The earphones came with a similar, but larger three-rib set of tips and a set that's pretty much identical to the earplugs I've used in the past. The kind you knead in your fingers before inserting them into the ear canal.

It turns out Etymotic does custom fit tips as well, for $100 on top of the price of whatever earphones you'll be using. You need to visit an authorized audiologist to make a cast of your ear canals.

http://www.etymotic.com/customfit/index.html

It's possible that the three ribs would have better friction for holding on, but I'm not sure I want to spend a minimum of $85 to find out if they'll work or not.

Sorry for the confusion. I do have two sets of headphones. The first was the one that came with my phone, and has the controls I want. Those are like the pack-in earbuds for the iPhone, and I agree that that design isn't ideal, although I'm not sure I like jamming headphones in my ear canals, so the buds work fine for me.

Once I started having these problems with the first headphones, I bought a pair that does in the ear canal. They're very nice, well designed, and highly durable. But they simply do not stay in my ear and it's the most annoying thing when you're running!

You can buy tips without buying earphones if you want to try certain shapes/profiles in advance. Some manufacturers may also have a sample program, but you might have to ask them directly about that. I've seen some handing out tips at tradeshows, so I would think they might do the same thing through the mail.

I also have a pair of over (and completely around) the ear Sennheiser headphones which I love, but they're probably not going to be very comfortable for jogging. Especially since they're wireless and the base station is fairly large. And needs to be plugged in.

Time to shave.

har!

If you get mown down but you didn't make a noise, did you actually get hit?