The Voice

Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: Science & Technology

Griffin TuneBuds
Company: Griffin
Compatible models: Any music player
Price: $34.99
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Pro: Sound quality is great
Con: None significant

It seems that the TuneBuds are intended to be a nearly identical replacement for Apple's top-of-the-line, "in ear" earphones. The TuneBuds fit naturally in the ear; like Apple, Griffin provides three different sizes of rubber cushions to try to fit most people. Also like Apple, the standard TuneBuds come in white with bits of grey, although a black model is also available. Cord length is about the same in both Griffin's and Apple's product, as is the size of the mini jack. Lacking in Griffin's setup is the tiny slider that keeps the ends of the headphones together, so be careful when storing or winding Griffin's buds or you'll end up with a nasty knot.

Sound quality is excellent; the TuneBuds may even bump a little better, as bass seems a bit more powerful coming from Griffin's buds. In terms of comfort, both brands of headphones are easier on the ears than the standard, painfully bulky buds that come with the iPod, but the TuneBuds seem a little less probe-like compared to Apple's in-ears.

Included in the package is a small, zippered pouch to store the headphones and extra cushions that probably won't see much use for most people-- unnecessary, but thanks anyways.

Overall, the Griffin TuneBuds are a good alternative to Apple's top-quality earphones, and at $10 less, they may actually be a better choice.


Griffin SmartShare
Company: Griffin
Compatible models: Any music player
Price: $14.99
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Pro: Very durable
Con: Short cable length
Con: Doesn't fit the iClear case

Here's a little gizmo that's sure to come in handy on road trips, plane rides, or for you slackers, during class. It's a headphone splitter that allows two people to listen to the same audio device. The Griffin SmartShare is intended for use with the iPod, but will work with pretty much any mini-jack audio output (like the iPod) and with all headphones that work for Apple's favorite toy. This means you can use it on your laptop, portable DVD player, PSP, or whatever. You could even daisy chain a bunch of the little wishbone-shaped wires to have (theoretically) as many friends as you want listening to your music or enjoying your movies with you. The coolest part of the SmartShare is the individual, independent volume controls on each wire- well, at least they're supposed to be independent. Increasing the volume to max on one jack will slightly decrease the volume on the other, but it's a small difference and one that can be easily overlooked. Unfortunately, there are two issues of concern with this product: 1) It doesn't offer much of an extension to the length of the headphone wires (only about six inches), so your tunes-sharing buddy has to be in your immediate vicinity or he's out of luck. For the next version, Griffin should consider adding some cable length to this bad boy. 2) It doesn't work with the iClear. Somebody should have gotten those two engineering departments together during testing, because the oversized plug protector on the Smartshare will not go all the way into the iPod's female connector when the iPod is encased in the iClear. That's a big "oops", but overall, the product does what it's supposed to do, and the individual volume controls are a nice touch.

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