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Just days before Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack, Griffin Technology has introduced a new iTrip Clip clippable adapter that enables any pair of wired headphones with a 3.5mm jack to function as wireless headphones via Bluetooth.
To use the iTrip Clip with Apple's wired EarPods, for example, an iPhone user would simply plug the headphones into the adapter and pair the accessory with the smartphone via Bluetooth 4.1. The self-powered adapter also works with AUX cables for Bluetooth audio in the car.
iTrip Clip has play/pause, volume, and track controls, and a built-in mic that can be used to make phone calls or Siri voice commands.
The adapter's rechargeable 800 mAh battery lasts up to 6 hours for music playback or 180 hours in standby. A micro-USB charging cable is included in the box.
iTrip Clip will be available in September for $19.99.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Here's a concept for an Apple-designed one:
IMO it should be as small as possible and having playback controls isn't strictly necessary, with a lot of headphones having remotes these days and the phone still being reachable in your pocket.
Source: http://blog.partlysean.com/page/2
Thanks for the tip! If new iPhones are going to be sans headphone jack, I guess I should probably switch to bluetooth anyway instead of dealing with a stupid lightning adapter.
I'm also planning to start traveling with it as well. I fly American mostly, and it would be great to plug the BT transmitter into the headrest Entertainment system on the back of the seat in front of me, so I don't have to keep unplugging my headphones to let passengers out.I also had a situation where I rented an older car on a trip that only had a 3.5mm jack on the radio, and I made a couple of attempts to buy a cheap cable at a convenience store, but neither had them. The BT dongle would have been very helpful.
Ideally an Apple dongle would be perfect so I wouldn't have to carry a micro-USB to Lightning adapter for charging (though that would be easy enough to leave plugged into the BT transmitter all the time), especially if I can control the sound from the iPhone.
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All of these devices are based upon Bluetooth A2DP adaptor chips that have been on the market for over ten years. A web search will find you the current crop of prociders. There are even Arduino Shield modules using these chips that you can code yourself.
I think the fact that people are unaware of these devices speaks to the notion that people don't seek out solutions they might actually benefit from, if they have no need to, but rather respond to products directly marketed at them, or upgrade when their old methods no longer function. Sometimes when watching late night TV I see all kinds of direct marketing products being sold on TV, many of which I find would be very useful to me over the way I'm currently doing something. What usually prevents me buying them is the fact they aren't made by a brand I know anything about.I found out about them because I wanted to see if I could find a wireless solution for use with an old iPod, otherwise I would have never been looking. People who already have wired headphones, and aux cords, don't need to find wireless solutions, because they already have an inexpensive solution that does the job. Even if you showed them a BT dongle they might pass it up as what they're using is good enough. Yet for many of those same people, if the headphone jack is removed and they are shown a wireless product, they might wonder how they ever lived without it.
That's how I felt when I started using my BT dongle in my car. It changed my whole communting experience.
Thanks for the tip! If new iPhones are going to be sans headphone jack, I guess I should probably switch to bluetooth anyway instead of dealing with a stupid lightning adapter.
Once you get a Bluetooth headphone/earphone that actually works (no disconnects, decent audio quality), you are never going to want to go back to wired. So much freedom being wireless!