Possibly the Best iPhone Headset available
Like many iPhone owners, I have been searching for the best headset to replace the stock earbuds. Personally, I'm not a fan of earbuds, and thanks to some poor design decisions by Apple (shocking!), iPhone owners are at a disadvantage.
First, the headphone jack is NOT standard, despite Apple's claims on their web site. On the iPhone Q&A page
(
http://www.apple.com/iphone/questionsandanswers.html), Apple actually claims "iPhone has a standard 3.5-mm headphone jack, so it is compatible with most portable stereo headphones." The headset is recessed and the fact is that MOST headphones CANNOT work without a $10 klunky adapter. And from the looks of it, Apple could have hollowed out more of the casing to make room. So, any wired headsets have to use an adapter, or be trimmed with an exacto knife (which I've done), if they don't have a rare, micro-sized connector. And if you do manage to get a standard headset connected, it works for listening only, with no microphone for phone calls.
Next, Apple chose to limit the Bluetooth support. By not offering A2DP Stereo Bluetooth, only mono audio can be sent to the headphones. The hope is that a software update could address this, but it's a surprising ommission since many cheaper phones offer this today, and it's a popular iPod add-on. I've always been puzzled by those Apple
ads showing dancers shaking their booty, with that darn white headset cable prominently featured. By now you think they would have gone wireless.
So, there is no easy way to have quality headphones with either wired stereo WITH a microphone, or to have wireless stereo. But this is not meant to be a gripe session... I actually found a solution!
My research began even before I bought my iPhone. First, I searched my inventory of headsets to see which would fit. I found a Nike headset that had an adapter cable, plus a headset with a shorter wire (so you could plug it into an arm-mounted MP3 player), and trimmed the adapter cable, knowing that if I made a cutting error, it was only to the cable and not the headset. But that worked, for listening. I still wanted one solution for phone and music.
I happened to see a Bluetooth headset at Staples for $90. It was a hybrid model. The unit plugs into a 3.5mm headset jack but for phone calls, Bluetooth kicks in and mutes the wired music port. This is meant for people carrying BOTH an MP3 player and a Bluetooth phone, but it works great for the iPhone! Even better, because the iPhone knows to pause music when a call comes in. The connector, while small, isn't quite small enough to fit in the recessed jack, but as I was about to trim it, I noticed that the connector "shield" actually slides up so no cutting was necessary! (not sure if it was designed that way or I got lucky). The unit can clip to your shirt and has nice large buttons for volume and answering calls.
Most importantly, while the device ships with earbuds, they are swappable because the unit has its own 3.5mm jack (standard!) so you can plug ANY stereo headset in. Bose, Bang Olufsen, Sony... you name it!
The best news is I found many of them on eBay for about $25. The model is "JABRA BT325 STEREO BLUETOOTH HEADSET" and as long as you don't mind a wired headset that still needs to be charged (USB mini-B style, AC charger included), this is a great solution!
I hope this is useful to some of you! Take care and rock on!
