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dreamsharkOne of the two things I use every day from my impulsive accessory-buying spree of a few weeks ago is the Song Sling. It's a lanyard with built-in retractable headphones, attached to a rubbery sheath that impales the pod from below and connects it to the headphones with invisible wires running up the sides of the rubbery sheath and through the lanyard. (If that sounded dirty to you, you need to get out more). You can see what it looks like here.
Reasons for buying it:
1) Every time I used my shuffle I had to spend 10 minutes untangling the headphone wires.
2) And no wonder. What's the design genius in a headphone jack on the bottom of a device meant to dangle on your chest? No matter how perfectly you've calculated the length of the wires, you've got wires initially headed down when you want them going UP.
3) Every time I took the earphones out of my ears they would bang around at waist level or below, risking all sorts of damage. So I would wind and loop them around the lanyard, eventually leading back to problem #1.
4) The Song Sling looks really cool, in a rubbery, techno-geek kinda way.
It works! All the problems listed above: solved! Except for #4, which can only be considered a problem in the sense of what it says about my taste.
The earphones are very much like the original ones that came with the iPod in size, shape and sound quality. I DO wish there were some way to order earbuds in different sizes, since these (like the originals) are slightly too large for my ears and keep falling out. However, they dont fit any WORSE than the originals, and sound fine. The part of the lanyard that goes around the neck is a flat ribbon, which is more comfortable than the original rope lanyard. The whole thing seems to be very sturdy and well put-together, at least so far.
Sometimes the retractors get slightly jammed , which can be corrected by pulling the earbuds all the way out and carefully straightening out the cord. The retractors are probably the weak point of the whole arrangement; I worry that eventually they may jam or break, pretty much ruining the whole thing. So far, so good. The case is very minimalist, just barely fitting around the edges of the Shuffle. This means it doesn't give the kind of protection that a full cloaking case would give, but I don't really see the need for that anyway. The only problem is that if you don't get the Shuffle positioned perfectly in the rubber casing, it can start to slip out when you're wearing it. It's probably not going to fall out completely, since it has that prong sticking into the bottom, but it's still a little unsettling, and certainly unaesthetic.
NOTE: the Song Sling does not come with its own USB cover, so you need to remember what you did with the extra USB cover that came with the ipod - the one that doesn't have a lanyard running through it. For some of us, this is a big hurdle, especially since Apple doesn't seem to be selling replacement caps. I finally found mine, after quite a search, under my computer keyboard. One minor annoyance with the basic design of the Song Sling is that you have to take the iPod out of the sheath to charge it, which means setting the USB cap down someplace and hoping you don't lose it (again). I put a little bit of gummy stuff on the top of the cap so it can be stuck back inside the sheath when the iPod is out of it. I'm not sure this was the best solution, since the gunk is kinda ugly, and you have to look at it every time you take the iPod out. But it makes me feel less insecure about losing the cap.
My only other complaint is the very limited color selection: girly-girl pink, powder-blue, or battleship grey (I chose blue). I imagine there will be additional colors soon if the product catches on. Oh, wait, I do have one other complaint. The little foam hats that come with the earphones are even shoddier than the ones that came with the original iPod earbuds, which is saying something!! I ripped two of them just trying to get them on (fortunately it came with two extra). Which brings me to the other 100% successful accessory purchase. Replacement foam hats, in a variety of cheerful colors. These are remarkably hard to find. The only brand I could find online was Sumajin. They are more expensive that you might expect (I think it was $9 for 6 pairs), but noticeably sturdier than the black ones and prettier to boot. The blue ones go perfectly with my Song Sling.
Reasons for buying it:
1) Every time I used my shuffle I had to spend 10 minutes untangling the headphone wires.
2) And no wonder. What's the design genius in a headphone jack on the bottom of a device meant to dangle on your chest? No matter how perfectly you've calculated the length of the wires, you've got wires initially headed down when you want them going UP.
3) Every time I took the earphones out of my ears they would bang around at waist level or below, risking all sorts of damage. So I would wind and loop them around the lanyard, eventually leading back to problem #1.
4) The Song Sling looks really cool, in a rubbery, techno-geek kinda way.
It works! All the problems listed above: solved! Except for #4, which can only be considered a problem in the sense of what it says about my taste.
The earphones are very much like the original ones that came with the iPod in size, shape and sound quality. I DO wish there were some way to order earbuds in different sizes, since these (like the originals) are slightly too large for my ears and keep falling out. However, they dont fit any WORSE than the originals, and sound fine. The part of the lanyard that goes around the neck is a flat ribbon, which is more comfortable than the original rope lanyard. The whole thing seems to be very sturdy and well put-together, at least so far.
Sometimes the retractors get slightly jammed , which can be corrected by pulling the earbuds all the way out and carefully straightening out the cord. The retractors are probably the weak point of the whole arrangement; I worry that eventually they may jam or break, pretty much ruining the whole thing. So far, so good. The case is very minimalist, just barely fitting around the edges of the Shuffle. This means it doesn't give the kind of protection that a full cloaking case would give, but I don't really see the need for that anyway. The only problem is that if you don't get the Shuffle positioned perfectly in the rubber casing, it can start to slip out when you're wearing it. It's probably not going to fall out completely, since it has that prong sticking into the bottom, but it's still a little unsettling, and certainly unaesthetic.
NOTE: the Song Sling does not come with its own USB cover, so you need to remember what you did with the extra USB cover that came with the ipod - the one that doesn't have a lanyard running through it. For some of us, this is a big hurdle, especially since Apple doesn't seem to be selling replacement caps. I finally found mine, after quite a search, under my computer keyboard. One minor annoyance with the basic design of the Song Sling is that you have to take the iPod out of the sheath to charge it, which means setting the USB cap down someplace and hoping you don't lose it (again). I put a little bit of gummy stuff on the top of the cap so it can be stuck back inside the sheath when the iPod is out of it. I'm not sure this was the best solution, since the gunk is kinda ugly, and you have to look at it every time you take the iPod out. But it makes me feel less insecure about losing the cap.
My only other complaint is the very limited color selection: girly-girl pink, powder-blue, or battleship grey (I chose blue). I imagine there will be additional colors soon if the product catches on. Oh, wait, I do have one other complaint. The little foam hats that come with the earphones are even shoddier than the ones that came with the original iPod earbuds, which is saying something!! I ripped two of them just trying to get them on (fortunately it came with two extra). Which brings me to the other 100% successful accessory purchase. Replacement foam hats, in a variety of cheerful colors. These are remarkably hard to find. The only brand I could find online was Sumajin. They are more expensive that you might expect (I think it was $9 for 6 pairs), but noticeably sturdier than the black ones and prettier to boot. The blue ones go perfectly with my Song Sling.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-29 02:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-29 03:42 am (UTC)I've somehow misplaced my entire iPod shuffle somewhere. I'm sure it's in the house. I mostly use it in the car and try to bring it in the house when I get home so it doesn't bake in my van; usually it's in my purse, sometimes I set it down by my keys/wallet/etc. I bet it's just hiding under some pile of papers. Silly little thing.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-29 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-29 11:00 pm (UTC)