Listen up, 2.5mm-to-3.5mm headset adapters. You too, crappy shape changers required by an absurd chunk of the worthwhile phones out there: We’re through. Game over. Just like voicemail and hand shakes, we’re officially declaring war on any middleman component required to pump audio from a cell phone to decent headphones, along with the phones that use them.
There was a time when this sort of thing was acceptable. It was only a few years ago. Most phones were hitting the shelves with but a few hundred megabytes of storage space, while standalone audio players touted capacities that all but the most dedicated downloaders had a hard time filling. Then came microSD and its high capacity variant, allowing users to pack up to 16 gigs of data (soon to be 32 gigabytes and, with the eventual evolution of SDXC, up to 2 terabytes) onto a card roughly the size of your thumbnail. Then came the iPhone which, whether the decriers like it or not, made much of the general populace give a damn about what their cell phones could do. With 3G networks up across the country and 4G networks beginning to roll out, audio streaming and on-the-go music downloads are becoming commonplace.
Phone manufacturers can no longer afford to implement media playback as an afterthought – but if they insist on requiring headset adapters, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Enjoying audio on the go has always been a two part experience. You have the first part, the player itself, acting as the storage and control unit. You have the second part, the headphones, which allow you to bask your ears in aural delights without blasting away everyone around you. That’s all it should be. Introduce a third component, and the whole idea gets thrown out of whack due to one key problem.
It’s the same problem that forces TV networks to dispense 3D glasses in grocery stores nationwide every time they want to do a 3D segment: people lose crap. They can jam their cellphone in their pocket, and headphones are cumbersome and commonly used enough across multiple devices that they’re actually somewhat hard to lose. That little 2-inch wire tacked on to the end for use with a single device? Two days after taking it out of the box, it’s stuffed in a drawer or glovebox, destined for an “Oh, that’s where I put that” moment months from now.
Making things worse, phone manufacturers often decide that they don’t even need to include an adapter in the box. Take the T-Mobile G1, for example. It was the world’s first Android-powered phone. It had a relatively decent media playback offering, along with access to Amazon’s MP3 store. Yet, for the first 2 months after launch, there was no adapter included in the box. Sure, you could use the absolutely terrible headphones they included in the box, which were pre-shaped for compatibility with the HTC ExtUSB port. Or you could jam needles in your ear. Same difference, really. Phone manufacturers seem to have the idea that if they include a crappy pair of headphones in the box, they’re off the hook. This idea is crap.
So now they’ve forced you to use some stupid dongle whenever you want to use your own buds, but they didn’t put one in the box. At least they’d make it easy to buy one, right? Nope – usually not. These items are too low-margin for most manufacturers to bother selling directly, and carriers rarely offer them. RadioShack has the 2.5mm-to-3.5mm bits, but I’ve yet to see any carry even the most popular brand-specific adapters. With the obvious options out, you’re now forced to make a purchase on Amazon or slum it with the third party resellers on eBay, just to listen to your music on the phone you just dropped $200 bucks on.
Eventually this problem might just fade away, thanks to stereo Bluetooth headphones. That is, be it that you want to drop another few hundred bucks on a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones, and if stereo Bluetooth headphones ever stop being complete trash. Even with the nicest Bluetooth headphones I’ve tried, the slightest bit of interference can make the sultry sounds of Norah Jones or Marvin Gaye sound as if they’re being played back through a garbage disposal. Maybe Bluetooth 3.0 will come and save us all – until then (and probably long thereafter), we’ll go ahead and stick with our standard, 3.5mm headphones.
We’ve been saying this to manufacturers for quite some time now, raising the issue any time they demoed a phone on which a 3.5mm port was absent. We’ve heard every excuse, from “There’s no space!” to “It wasn’t cost effective”. Garbage, every one of them. Figure out how to make it fit. As for the cost of squeezing it in there? Consider it the final cost of any research, development, and licensing associated with media playback, as it’s all entirely in vain if you’re requiring an audio adapter.
From here on out, this is going to be one of the very first things we look for. If your phone requires a headset adapter, your phone sucks. If a new phone is announced and lacks a 3.5mm headset port, we’ll make every effort to highlight this fault. When we review phones that lack 3.5mm headset ports, we’ll put it in big bold letters. We will never again recommend anyone buy a phone that requires an audio adapter. It’s time for these things to die.
Thank you. I thought that I was the only one that thought it was ridiculous. You have no idea how mad I was when I bought a new phone and found that I had to spend $40 on a set of headphones because the plastic around the base of the adapter that I bought wouldn’t allow the adapter to plug into the phone.
So you can imagine that I was REALLY happy when I found out that all MP3’s put on the phone are sorted by filename with no other choices. There is no randomizer so you have no choice but to listen to each album all the way through.
FYI, the phone in question is an LG Rumor.
theres a rumor?
LMAO!
“we’re officially declaring war on any middleman component required to pump audio from a cell phone to decent headphones, along with the phones that use them”
I have a better idea: “DON”T BUY THEM!” – as simple as that.
These guys have figured out the iPhone headset thing pretty well:
http://www.showmecables.com/viewItem.asp?idProduct=8183
http://www.showmecables.com/viewItem.asp?idProduct=8335
Something that needed to be said. Great post :)
I’m still pissed at my 1st gen iPhone and the awful adapter I have to use since normal headphones don’t fit into the little hole Apple decided to stick me with.
As one of the people who hacked off that little plastic ring from my favorite pair of earbuds to be able to fit them into my 1st gen iPhone, I couldn’t agree more.
There is a trend, over here in Europe, to use professional grade headsets (type Plantronics EncorePro) on mobile phones. In order to do so, you need the adapter.
While you are at it:
- phone chargers (looks like this will be standardised, keep them honest)
- laptop chargers (yes I know there are ’some’ reasons, different ratings, etc) but the pile of power bricks I have sat in a drawer says something is very wrong
- standardised docking(s) for laptop batteries and standard output power ratings (this one is a little wishful thinking on my part)
- transformer and connection for any other gadget power source
We are all concerned about the environment, legislate if necessary. This would reduce waste. This would also be wallet-friendly.
and I definitely second this one!
standard chargers for phones , laptops, cameras (esp sony) are a must!
and no more non-standard USB connectors. Samsung, Motorola… nobody want’s to pay $20 for a mini-USB cable with a connector that can only be used on your crappy device
Hear! Hear! I seriously won’t buy a portable device that doesn’t allow charging via (mini) USB. The only adaptor I use in the car is a double USB power /lighter thing and that works for my blackberry , my headset and my GPS.
Thank you for this.
Can you now do a post about banishing Styluses (Styli?)?
They have to be the next thing to go, along with plasticky resistive touch screens in general.
one word…
.
.
.
.
WHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok.. so don’t buy the damn phone if it dosen’t have what you want… if the phones are selling.. and i’m pretty sure they are.. then someone’s doing their job on the vandor’s end…
if the porche doesn’t have room for the baby seat.. i get a damn family car.. i don’t bitch to porsche!!
but in all honesty.. if i was the prod director for one of the handset vendors that you’re bitching about.. i’d be laughinjg right now!!!
you aren’t the target customer.. you wouldn’t shell out your cash to buy one anyway..
THANK YOU!! I have a T-Mobile Dash which I love utterly except for this one flaw (note: it’s also an HTC – is this specifically an issue with this mfg?). My Plantronic Bluetooth stereo headset works great (never had any interference issues you mention), so the problem is mostly solved… except when I want to plug into the car stereo which has a standard headphone jack. Wah!
excellent article!
kindly send a copy of this to all the phone manufacturers..i hope engadget, gizmodo & BGR also take the same stance.. Consumers have been taken for ride for long enough.
meanwhile… hTC releases its 3rd android phone – hTC Hero… you guessed it right.. with the dongle & to rub salt on the wound, has a HUGE CHIN!
Simply perfect! Thank you!
Nothing to add here, really.
Srsly? It’s a PHONE first, and have you never heard of bluetooth? App Nazis are a far greater concern – if you use your phone as an iPod, just don’t buy one that’s not a PMP with a phone jammed in as an afterthought.
I prefer the absence of a single jack – one less port and less internal hardware that is only good at one thing – a sub-par audio connection. HD phones REQUIRE the USB interface and adapter.
“Waaaaa … I want the phone smaller. I want more ports. I want to use all my old stuff with it (headphones and chargers). I want bigger screens, more memory, more features, and I want it for less than a decent pair of shoes.” Sounds like a 3 year old ranting to me.
Buy a PMP phone and get over it. Some of us actually need a phone for WORK – not rocking out. For my $, if your phone HAS a headphone jack, YOUR phone sucks.
Just saying
“For my $, if your phone HAS a headphone jack, YOUR phone sucks”.
Wow. You must be really…old.
You remember that one time when that guy commented negatively on my post, only to say something in the very first sentence that showed he didn’t actually read it? Remember how after that, he went on to quote me on a bunch of stuff that I never said anything even remotely similar to?
Yeah, that was awesome.
Amen!
Nokia E71 has the 2.5mm jack and it sucks
I won’t buy another phone with a 2.5mm jack
I have a Nokia E71 and have never used its music feature. Instead, I have a faux-pod. I’m not yet at the point where I want to put my music on my phone.
2.5 mm is the only thing that i didnt buy E71, otherwise a very good handset.
Thankfully the upcoming E52 has 3.5 mm Audio jack and meets my requirement. BIG battery capacity with GPS, Business Centric phone and Audio capabilities. no fuss, clean layouts and best of all SLEEEEEEEEEEK.
I went to the Nokia store in NYC, and they told me that the cheapest way to get a headphone adapter suitable for the E71 stright from the mothership is to buy the $30 set of headphones that come with an adapter. What a ripoff.
They did tell me that RadioShack has an adapter for about $5. Yes, they do have one, but it sticks about an inch out from the side of the E71 (not pocket-friendly in the least).
I’m trying my second order from eBay for an adapter that works properly. Many reviews have praised the E71’s music player (and podcasting/catching app), and I really want to use it with my normal headphones.
@hakunana matata: The somewhat new E63 has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
I second this. I used to have a palm treo which needs a palm adaptor which really sucks..
Right on Grumparak! And I just opened a new Plantronics headset, for a landline phone with a 2.5mm plug. Sigh…
I hate ‘em but here’s the G1 adapter for $1.29 Shipped: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.23542~r.53733725
And yes they are legit.
Hahahahaha. That’s awesome.
I don’t understand why phone makers just don’t used a standard input
Simple, a standard 3.5mm adapter gives you the ability to have one button on the controller. That is it. One.
No fancy volume controller which is mapped back to the actual volume on your device. No play/pause/rwd/ffwd buttons. No ability to mute the call or differentiate between accept and reject. Nothing.
All of this is completely ignored by the people who clamour for a 3.5mm headphone jack.
In the future, you’ll be getting what you want but then you’ll realise that you do actually want to have more than one option on your headset and suddenly the 3.5mm jack won’t be so useful. So you’ll clamour for more functionality.
… and before you know it, you’ll be back to your non-standard connector which does actually let you have that LCD display or other such features.
What does the jack size have to do with the capability of the wire??
Do you remember when portable CD players had headphones with the controls (play/pause/rwd/ffwd/volume buttons) on the cable? I do. I owned one! It had a 3.5mm jack.
Personally, I could care less about these smartphones. I don’t listen to my music in an inferior lossy format(Mp3), I don’t watch videos on a small screen, nor do I care for all those crappy flash games & a 3G connection for the internet pales in comparison to my FIOS connection.
I totally agreed. All peripherals and accessories, such as headset jack and power supplies should be standardized. This is not a question of Free Market. In most cases, users do not have choice but forced to buy those headsets along with the phones. Every time, I upgrade my cell phones, I got to buy new headset. This is also a major environmental concern as well.
So true. I cannot believe all three of the new phones from Sony Ericsson lack 3.5mm jacks! The new Android powered Samsung i7500 phone has a 3.5mm jack, so is my next phone if the next iPhone is not that much of a departure from the current model. (Once you try an OMLED display, you never go back.) Anyway, I have gone through multiple 3.5mm to X adapters, they always break, frey or stop working. And while stereo bluetooth is excellent, it means you cannot listen to the (FM) radio.
Is there a reason the phone industry, mp3 makers (OK, Apple), and earphone makers could not standardise on 2.5mm earphones? Why does it need to be 3.5mm?
My phone is 3.5mm, but i stupidly only have 2.5mm headphones! LOL
So I need an adapter most of the time.
BlackBerrys have had 3.5mm headphone jacks for years. And they are not stupidly recessed like the first iPhone was.
Why not standardize on 2.5 mm?
That would work better with phones getting slimmer and slimmer.
Because industry already standardized on 3.5. On e standard is better than two is better than five.
Your voicemail and handshake rants made no logical sense and I disagreed with. To this one I wholeheatredly agree….standard headphone jacks please.
My car told me exactly what it thought of my headset adapter yesterday when it flew out the window while I was trying to plug it in as I was on the freeway. (Thankful that no one was anywhere near my car when that happened!)
I hope HTC reads this!
Couldn´t agree more. Just got the HTC Magic G2 and stuck with my excellent Shure earphones. My 30 EUR connector cable with mic to the 1st gen iPhone doesn´t help me now…
Thank you! Great Post! It’s about the time!
Same should apply to chargers.
charge your phone via bluetooth: http://12tb.com/browse/WirelessAccessories/520350/Bluetooth-Chargers
Spot on! I have the exact same opinion (see “No More Adapters Please…” on http://oomble.com/blog.htm) Its entirely ridiculous that phones sold as media players require an additional piece of hardware. The current iteration of Bluetooth headsets don’t work well enough yet to be used as a mainstream replacement.
Agreed. This is why I will ditch HTC and move to Motorola when they release their Android phones.
Yeahh great! I’ve a HTC Monet, or a Virgin Lobster 700TV. It’s got a 2.5mm jack which sucks. After the phones that came with it broke I bought an adaptor so I could use some standard headphones. Trouble is that the adaptor had issues with stereo headphones so that they only worked in one ear :( then I think due to short circuiting that ear broke and my nice sony headphones became dead sony headphones (though I could still use one bud on other 3.5mm devices!)
I then bought a different adaptor, new headphones (ok they cost about 14p on ebay…) but exactly the same thing happened. Next I bought a pair of headphones with a 2.5mm jack which broke just today! (the buds went one at a time…)
So now I’m thinking Xpress Music and the wonders of a 3.5mm jack with no adaptor required! If anyone knows of a smartphone under £70 with expandable memory and 3.5mm jack please tell me! At the moment I’m just waiting for the nokia 5320 to come out on the uk…if it ever does!
#1 if you are paying $40 bucks for an adapter then you need to get a clue and search ebay for a $1.50 adapter. If you’re not doing this then you’re likely also buying Monster cables because you believe they are higher quality and provide better video and sound.
#2 who cares. really. you guys sound like whiny bitches on this blog about this. seriously. don’t buy them if you have such a problem. don’t flame the crap outta some company because of a design flaw that you think is an integral part of the phones functionality. it’s not. and the G1 is evidence to that.
#2- “it’s not. and the G1 is evidence to that.”
What?
The G1 reached 1 Million sales after roughly six months of being on the market whereas Apple sold its millionth iPhone after only 74 days from their release.
Maybe I’m taking the wrong angle, but your statement seems quite flawed.
How is the G1 evidence to the fact that 3.5mm Jacks are “not’ an integral part of modern cell phone functionality?
Worst offender: Nokia 6300
Has a 2,5 jack, that CAN NOT EVEN function with standard 2,5 plugs. Why? Because some retarded jackass thought it would be funny to switch the order in which the connections are…WTF seriously…
So if I want to use anything else than the crappy headset that’s inbox I’d have to use an adapter.
Needless to say a) I switched to Bluetooth
b) NO more Nokia for me…
Great post !!! hope its applicable.
Great post Greg! Totally agree with you on – It’s time for these things to die.
amen
Also, if your headset has a cable it sucks. Honestly, BT stereo is already good enough and the wired headsets with any and all connectors can be thrown away.
This could only be true If you think Mp3 is better than 96Khz @ 24Bit Digital Audio.
Good for you! Hopefully they’ll listen, and remove these unnecessary annoyances.
I have a feeling that these people that want an “all in one” unit are going to figure out the drawbacks once that product breaks. Similar to the tv/dvd/vhs combo…
I don’t know what BT stereo headsets you’ve been using that have been crap, but for around $69, I’ve been using the full size Plantronics 590 series for a couple of years and they sound FANTASTIC- not as great as a pair of Sennheisers but great for BART , airplanes etc… at work since I don’t want to look like nerd with a full sized headset, I’ve found the Jabra BT 3030 ($ 35) dog tag style is excellent- I wear around neck tucked in to my shirt and no one can see it. Since it accepts 2.5 mm, I can use ANY headset with it. I have a pair of Phillip earbuds I like or sometimes I use a stereo-in-one ear ear bud that sounds surprisingly good. I listen to my music files, Pandora, Internet music and sports talk. Phone quality is excellent on both on both ends. THe BT 3030 tucked into my shirt with the single earbud garners looks as it REALLY looks like I’m talking to myself but hey, I got my music and phone talk and mobility.
Sadly, I still view a cellPHONE as a communication device rather than as an entertainment device.
That means I want to be able to use my mono single-ear communication headset with noise canceling boom mic with my cellPHONE.
That means all those fancy MP3 players that also make calls and have four conductor 3.5mm jacks require some sort of adapter (that I am unable to find) to use with the industry standard three-conductor mono headset with boom mic.
Tom