My original review (but keep reading, because I've added something important to what I said originally):
This product came into being because of deficiencies in the controls for the 4th generation iPod Shuffle Apple iPod shuffle 4 GB Silver (4th Generation) NEWEST MODEL, Apple iPod shuffle 2 GB Silver (4th Generation) NEWEST MODEL, whose controls are so close to the ear-pieces of the headphones that they are not only awkward to use, but they get soaked with sweat (if you're exercising, which is what many people who buy the Shuffle use it for) and then may perform erratically or not at all. This product puts the controls down near the iPod itself, which can be clipped onto a shirt away from your sweaty head. But best of all, you can use your own preferred headphones. If you're like me, you prefer the better tone quality of bigger headphones.
At any rate, this is a product whose designer saw a need and filled it with a new product. Thank you, Belkin.
November update:
A couple or three weeks after I had received the Belkin unit and had written the above review, I discovered that the Belkin had simply fallen apart. As far as I know I had not been rough with it and don't remember accidentally hitting it against a wall or taking a sledge hammer to it. :-) But it fell apart and was useless. This was a shock. So I took a chance and bought a different unit, the one made by Scosche Scosche Control Adapter for 3 rd Generation iPod Shuffle and have now had it for about a month. It works just fine, seems to be a bit more solidly built, and best of all it hasn't fallen apart.
And all of you have had problems with sweat inactivating the iPod Shuffle, 4th generation, controls, I hope you'll write Apple and complain.
Scott Morrison Belkin Headphone Adapter with Remote for Apple iPod Shuffle
First off, it worked fine for a while.
Then the volume up button wouldn't click. Still worked, so whatever.
Then the middle button would get stuck. I would have to pry it back open with my fingernails.
Then the thing started acting up; it kept thinking the middle button was pushed. I would have split the thing in half, peel off the poorly stickied metal contacts, and it still thinks the middle button was being pushed.
OK product. Shoddy construction.
The concept is very simple, volume up, volume down pause.
Volume up works perfectly.
Pause mostly paused. One time it skipped to the next track.
Volume down raised the volume. I could get it to lower the volume sometimes, but it required just the right spot between the pause and volume switch, which most of the time first raised the volume or paused.
Mine was obviously defective, but, with other reviews I have read in different places, there are MANY quality issues with it.
It's a great idea, but don't waste your money.
I ordered this because my Shuffle 3G headphones had been rendered useless by my workout routine, just like everyone elses'. I use it with a set of high quality in-ear monitors, made for performing musicians (& therefore sweat resistant), and the good news is that I can hear no discernible loss of sound quality or addition of unwanted noise when the Belkin is plugged in between the Shuffle and my in-ears. So now I can control my Shuffle without the terrible Apple headphones. The bad news is that the build quality of this unit is not great. The volume down button never 'clicked' out of the box, and although it does work, it doesn't provide any tactile response, which leads me to believe it will fail at some point (to be fair, it's been working for 3 months now). Also, the center button seems to not respond as it should, making it difficult for me to get the VoiceOver feature of the Shuffle to work consistently, if at all, although I can usually get it to switch between playlists, which is crucial for me.
All in all, the Belkin is OK in my book, as without it, my Shuffle would be nothing more than a tiny, utterly useless paperweight, and with the Belkin, I can manage to listen to my music through the headphones of my choosing. This item, even with its' cheap construction, is essential to anyone who plans on working out with the Shuffle 3G.
I'm not sure what is worse: Apple's cynical decision to get more licensing revenue by making the new shuffle useless without an adaptor such as the Belkin, Belkin's shoddy quality or my decision to skip the Nano in favor of the smaller shuffle. In any event, the Belkin adaptor worked for about two weeks. Now it only functions to increase the volume...nothing else. Basically $20 worth of junk.
I have purchased two of these units because I, too have a problem with the standard earbuds from Apple falling out of my ear and the cord is too short (shame on Apple for that iPod design flaw). The first one I purchased lasted about a month before the cord started to pull out where it enters the control and eventually stopped working. The second one I purchased is starting to do the same thing even though I am trying to be much more careful about how I handle and store it. Belkin might consider a molded control that integrates the cord which would provide some strain relief for the cord. In addition, the control itself has times when it won't function, but I think that is more of a quality control issue rather than a design flaw. - Ipod Shuffle - Belkin - Ipod - Shuffle'
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