EarPods

Samsung is even copying Apple EarPods for the Galaxy S6

The earbuds that will ship alongside the Galaxy S6 after it's announced on March 1 have been leaked to the world, and once again, it looks like Samsung isn't shy when it comes to copying Apple's designs.

While Apple didn't necessarily invent the earbud, it has made them popular by shipping them with each iOS device it sells. If the earbud leak from Tinhte.vn is true, it isn't only the smartphone that Samsung is copying.

Apple’s design guru Jony Ive lends his touch to Sotheby’s charity auction products

Apple's senior vice president for design, Jony Ive, has joined a designer friend to contribute special creations for a charity auction at Sotheby's benefitting Bono's PRODUCT (RED) campaign. Among the items is a pair of rose gold Apple EarPod headphones.

Ive, along with designer Marc Newson, represents a "design which is both iconic and sublime," the musician said in a statement. Other items which received the Ive touch which will be part of the November auction: a Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera, a Steinway & Sons Grand Piano and a 2012 Range Rover...

Kordl 2 prevents tangled earbud frustration

In a post earlier this year, I highlighted the original Kordl, which promised to tangle-proof earbuds. After my initial review, I found, quite surprisingly, the little thumbnail size of plastic works very well. One of the largest setbacks for the original Kordl was the attachment mechanism and how the earbud wires were held.

To enhance an already impressive design, J2 Product Development set out to make a better version and reinvent the proverbial wheel. Back in action and fresh off a 250% funding spree on Kickstarter, Kordl 2 is the new way to keep tangles to a minimum. Take a look below for a snapshot of the enhancements and a brief on the simple design...

EarSkinz add a pop of color to your white EarPods [review and giveaway]

Yes, white headphones are a style of their own. Apple made lack of color famous with white headphones, starting with the iPod. Seeing someone parade down the street with a pair of slick white headphones indicated individuality and a seriousness for refined taste and class. White headphones previously noted a way to be different. Some may still try to make that argument, but with millions of iPhones sold every quarter, seeing a white pair of headphones is hardly unique.

EarSkinz is adding a flash of color to everyone's otherwise plain EarPods. The ES2's are designed to specifically hug the new Apple EarPod with form fitting fashion. Arguing the covers provide better comfort, fit, and sound, EarSkinz successfully received KickStarter funding to produce a full production line of their new pod covers.

I enjoyed using a pre-release pair for the past couple weeks and, inside, I take a closer look at a fairly simple accessory. As an added bonus, we are giving a pair of ES2's to 5 lucky readers...

EarSkinz for EarPods offer both comfort and style

Apple was really proud to unveil its new and improved earbuds, dubbed EarPods, last fall. The company says it spent more than three years designing the headset, and tested a total of 124 different prototypes on over six hundred people, to get the right fit.

But even with all of that research, it's inevitable that the EarPods are still not going to fit quite right for some people. And if you happen to be one of those people, you might want to check out these new EarSkinz covers, which promise to fix that for you...

Apple’s EarPods trademark challenged by HearPod maker Randolph Divisions

When you have a few hundred million in walking around money and are worth more than any company on the planet, you become a magnet for lawsuits. That's the lesson Apple is learning as the iPhone maker fields increasing numbers of trademark infringement legal cases.

The latest: a hearing aid maker claims Apple's EarPods sounds just too much like its HearPod. Randolph Divisions filed the lawsuit against Apple in Hawaii District Court. According to the company, it registered the 'HearPod' trademark in 2007, years before the smartphone maker unveiled in 2012 its EarPods for the iPhone 5. Win or lose, at least Apple's legal team gets a trip to Honolulu to argue the case...

Kordl promises to tangle proof your earbuds

You reach for your earbuds already knowing they are a tangled mess, but you don't know any different. Why are they always tangled? The guys behind Kordl are trying to start a tangle free revolution with their Christie Street project. Having met with some Christie Street reps at CES, they have been keeping me updated on their new projects and were nice enough to send over a working prototype of the new tangle preventing clip of plastic...

Smarter Stand for iPhone keeps your device upright and earbuds tangle-free

What you see in the photo above is the new Smarter Stand for the iPhone and iPod touch. Created by Dotan Saguy, it's a dual-purpose accessory that acts as both a kickstand for your iOS device and a spool for your earbuds, so they don't get tangled.

It may not look like much, but don't underestimate Saguy's knack for turning simple ideas into hit products. He's already done it once with the Smarter Stand for iPad, raising over $150,000 via Kickstarter. And now he's looking to do it again...

iDB 2012 holiday gift guide: Oliver’s picks

It's that time of year again, when we're all scrambling around trying to find that perfect gift for the loved ones in our lives.

If you're anything like me, you revert to type and try desperately to find something with a technological bent. Be it earphones, an iDevice stand or some fancy software; gifts are hard enough to buy at the best of times, let alone when you know nothing about the subject matter.

Here I'll showcase a handful of handy gift ideas across the world of tech and specifically, Apple. Some are cheap. Some not so much. But hey, it's Christmas...

iFixit tears down Apple’s new EarPods

In addition to a new iPhone, and iPods, Apple also unveiled a new set of headphones last week. Dubbed "EarPods," the company said that it spent more than three years developing the accessory.

Today, the team over at iFixit performed their usual teardown of the headphones, and published an extensive report of its findings. And as you can imagine, some of it is rather interesting...

How the EarPods enable richer bass and crisper highs

Apple yesterday alongside the iPhone 5, new iPods and several other announcements also took the wraps off the EarPods, a new headset. Cupertino has finally refreshed its crappy in-ear headset with higher sound quality. Hopefully, the headphone is now shaped to prevent it from falling out of your ear.

The company spent three years designing the new headset and tested a total of 124 different prototypes of the EarPods on over six hundred people. You may have noticed three little holes poked in the EarPods, here's what these do to improve sound quality...

Here’s Apple’s EarPods video

Apple yesterday introduced the new in-ear headphones called EarPods that ship with every iPod touch, iPod nano and iPhone 5 (also available as a standalone accessory). The promotional video was published on Apple's web site, explaining how the company went about re-engineering its previous crappy in-ear headset and why it spent three years redesigning it.

Not everyone was aware of the clip and you needed QuickTime to stream it from Apple's web site. Not anymore, as Apple uploaded the EarPods video to its YouTube channel. Let us know what you think in the comments...