headphones

Eagle-eyed reader Blake noticed that Apple's In-Ear headphones are 100% compatible with the iPhone 3G S. Previously the iPhone 3G did not support the volume controls included on the headphones' remote. Additionally, according to the iPhone 3G S specs page, Apple is now including a pair of standard Apple Earphones with Remote.

While it's still not clear why the iPhone 3G doesn't support the volume control, it does seem like one of those odd little hardware differences.

Sifting through our mountain of new iPhone applications, we found something really cool today. Yesterday the folks at smashart released AirPhones [App Store], a unique app that turns your iPhone into a wireless sound device for your computer. The app itself is fairly straight forward; open it up and sound starts streaming over. A companion app running on your Mac or PC shows up as a sound device which then sends your audio over WiFi to the AirPhones iPhone app.

Today Apple began shipping the recently announced In-Ear Headphones complete with volume control, microphone, and play/pause controls. When they were unveiled during the iPod nano event, they were announced as an accessory to current iPods. For reasons unknown to us (and many others), the headset's slick in-line volume control buttons don't function on the iPhone. Although it's possible a software update may introduce this functionality for iPhone owners, it may be a hardware limitation.

According to Apple, the headphones' mic and center button will still work with the iPhone.

Gizmodo has word from V-Moda that they've silently started shipping a slightly redesigned version of their Vibe and Vibe Duo headphones. The only noticeable difference is a modified headphone jack which V-Moda hopes will help to alleviate problems many customers have had due to the current design's jack being so fragile.

For those of you who are interested, Apple has posted a live stream of the keynote from today's event, titled "Let's Rock!" The event took place earlier today in San Francisco, and Steve announced several new products, including a new iPod Nano, iPod touch, revised headphones for both iPod and iPhone, and iTunes 8. You can check out the keynote here.