V-MODA re-ups Vibe Duo headset for iPhone with music control

Anyone who's been repeatedly reaching for a iPod remote control clipped to their wardrobe while using their iPhone -- only to discover that it doesn't exist -- will be delighted to hear that V-MODA has revamped its Vibe Duo headset to add integrated music control. The control button, which seems to be positioned and operated the same way as the one on the iPhone's bundled headset, can be used to fiddle with calls as well as tunes. It's not quite the four or five button set we'd like to be able to track forward, back, play, pause, and change volume, but considering that the iPhone lacks a control socket beside its jack, we'll take what we can get. Get the updated 'phones now for the same $99 as the original.

[Wwhat @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:43PM]

How about you 'take what you can get' and dump that pitiful iphone and buy something good then?
Seems so silly to me to knowingly buy a POS for huge bucks and then lament how lousy it is and how you suffer.
Excuse my frankness.

[Tehrab @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:55PM]

If you think $400, or even $600, is huge bucks how about you get off the Internet for like ten minutes and find a real job?

Just a thought.

[Wwhat @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:56PM]

Huge bucks for what you get, a locked down phone that only has 'image' going for it.

[Pilgrim @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:02PM]

I didn't hear complaining. They just said the control socket is in a different place on the iPhone. What I don't understand is why people who don't want an iPhone are so noisy about that fact. There are lots of phones I don't want, and you don't hear me whining about them.

[trvs @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:47PM]

the only thing worse than apple fanboys are the anti-apple fanboys.

quit your whining. nobody cares.

[Tehrab @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:35PM]

You know, you are right. Aside from the best mobile browser to date, cleanest mobile email client to date, best voicemail implementation known to man (mobile or otherwise), the only iPod in a phone, the best mobile music store and the only viable mobile YouTube experience, the "image" the device confers unto my otherwise sexy bod is pretty much the only thing worth having, imo.

[Shannon @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:51PM]

Well said, Pilgrim. Never understood that about people on the web. With anything on the net (items, computer platforms, pop stars, etc), if you take the time to write about them, even negatively, you evidentially "do" care about said subject. It's definitely arguable that sometimes, no interest/reaction at all is the worst thing for a company/person.

[Wwhat @ Oct 2nd 2007 5:32PM]

yeah it's all 'best known to man', and I bet you tested all apple products, and only apple products..

[CharlieX @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:43PM]

We seriously need a control of some sort, especially for in the car. that touch screen is too hard to use when you're in traffic

[jps @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:07PM]

Man, I totally agree.

I was thinking of trying to disassemble an iphone headphone adapter (not the belkin one, as it seems to lack a headphone out) and solder in a switch, then seal the whole thing up with some heatshrink tubing and attach it permanently to my tape adapter.

Unfortunately, I swore I saw an adapter that had the headphone out ring on it, but am not coming across it on my normal blogs. Anyone else remember this or am I just nuts?

[brandon h @ Oct 2nd 2007 10:23PM]

Just get a DLO iJet and strap it to your steering wheel with a peice of velcro. It works fine with the iPhone, just be sure to plug it in FIRST and plug in the headphone jack SECOND, otherwise the iPhone will think that you have a speaker pluged into the dock connector and will pipe the audio out the dock rather than the headphone jack, sending you into hours of madness trying to fix it. Also make sure it is actually working before you take off, nothing worse than trying to unplug and replug the thing while driving. If the audio doesn't work, just unplug and replug the headphone jack to tell the iphone that you really do indeed want it to use the headphone jack.

http://www.theistore.com/ijetdock.html

Or better yet, since it comes with a steering wheel mounting kit:
http://sewelldirect.com/Scosche-iPod-Wireless-RF-Car-Remote.asp

[John @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:46PM]

It's a shame waht Sony did to its Clie. That thing had the potential to become the best multimedia/PDA/communicator device. Sony just doesn't follow through on the genius of their engineer and designers; it actually seems to sabotage them on purpose.

[L @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:10PM]

Totally unrelated, but spot on imho :D ...

If Sony had ditched PalmOS in favor of something more multimedia-centric, multi-tasking capable like a customized (and OPEN) Linux flavour, todays Clie's could be utterly fantastic devices.

After all, they already had a 480x320 full-touchscreen, media-oriented handheld with great battery life and good enough performance to playback videos and surf the web in 2003 - the TH55. Just imagine how a current, "Walkman-ified" iteration of that would be!

Yeah, Sony's HQ made an utterly dumb decision...

[John @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:20PM]

Oh, sorry for not being explicit. The Clie had the best tethered remote control of any PMP/PDA. Few, if any, other Pocket PCs or Palm devices even bothered to design one.

[L @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:01PM]

Oh, I see ;)

I never had the chance to use a Clie for a longer time (couldn't justify the amount of money as a teen back then)...but I always thought that they were "the cool kids" among all the drab business PDAs.

[bubba2274 @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:11PM]

I have the vibe-duo, I bought them when I got the $100 credit from Apple, but I have yet to open them because I was waiting for a headset that not only had a mic but the itunes controls... Looks like I am gonna get this headset... Now I just hope there is something to distinguish the difference, so I know I am getting the correct one.

[Edwin L @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:19PM]

You can already skip forward a song on your IPhone on your headphones just click the control on your headphone twice and it skips to the next song. Does everyone know this I was aware of it after 1.1.1

[Anthony @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:32PM]

You've been able to do that since release.

[bob e @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:34PM]

" It's not quite the four or five button set we'd like to be able to track forward, back, play, pause, and change volume"

You are kidding right... what good is a touch screen if you are wanting buttons to make it wasier to operate

[Shannon @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:51PM]

Because unlike the old iPod, the controls aren't obvious (or have tactile feedback) unless you unlock the phone from sleep (or double click the home button as of the update). Much faster to currently change songs with the current headphones, or a set of headphones with a wider range of controls would be nice.

[spass @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:55PM]

Bob, you do need real tactile controls.
I need to take the iphone out of the pocket, turn on the screen, etc,
If I jog, I need to actually stop, just to change the song on the touch screen

[spass @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:42PM]

I wouldn't call this "with music control" unless it include the ability to track forward, back, play, pause, and change volume.
Apple?

[mastac @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:08PM]

In the 90's, I had a walkman (not by Sony, but maybe Panasonic or Toshiba) cassette player which had the same type of remote the iphone does (single button, three line on the plug in jack). Still I was able to do many more operations. The trick was having long clicks and half clicks. I know Steve Jobs wouldn't want this, since it's not "intuitive" but still I hope it could be incorporated. From my foggy memory, the commands were: Play/Stop (click), skip forward (double click), skip backward (tripple click), fast forward (click and hold: 1.5 click), rewind (long hold)....

[Shopping Bag @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:20PM]

I have these and they are probably the best headphones out there with an integrated mic. One thing Engadget left out of their review (and the one thing that makes me love these headphones more than any other) is the fact that V-Moda went to a cloth based cord shield so you don't have to deal with the stupid stiff rubber cords like you did on their older headphones.

[bubba2274 @ Oct 2nd 2007 9:46PM]

Hey shopping bag, I was wondering the vibe-duo that you purchased that can control the itunes portion of the iphone as well as answer calls, were they in a brownish box?

I purchased a set of these, and they were in a brown box and it says for mp3+ iPhone and on the side of the box there is a sticker that says "nero"

The apple p# on the box is TN543LL/A

Can you tell me if those the ones you own??

Thanks

[Andrew @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:29PM]

$99? No way. Paid $30 for Apple's ear buds which don't even fit my ear. Pft

[Tom @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:44PM]

when will apple start carrying these?

[gonzo66 @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:55PM]

the iphone headphones have a pause/ffd button in the microphone part.

[Grammar freak @ Oct 2nd 2007 3:26PM]

So how's the sound quality?

[toronado455 @ Oct 2nd 2007 3:30PM]

Ugh. More wires.

[Bob Mc @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:11PM]

They're convenient, but those were the worst sound headphones I've ever had in my ears.

[Tom @ Oct 2nd 2007 9:53PM]

I'm guessing you mean the bundled iphone earbuds?

[Bob Mc @ Oct 2nd 2007 10:06PM]

Actually, no. I got a pair of the Vibes for my birthday, and I returned them the next day. Absolutely no treble. I've read reviews that said they were great, so mine may have been broken.

[Silver Patd @ Oct 3rd 2007 7:04AM]

I could not find info about the button feature on vmoda site. The only place i found reference to the new feature is Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2oazfs but it is not clear to me if you can control playback and volume with this button?

[Arjy @ Oct 6th 2007 3:36PM]

Yes, why do I still see the old ones on the apple store? I'm afraid to order...

[moby @ Oct 8th 2007 7:53PM]

You can buy them here

http://shop.v-moda.com/p-35-vibe-duo-w-control-playback.aspx

Not sure if the apple store has them yet.