Detailed Review and Photos Apple iPod Touch headset with remote and microphone MB770G/A UPC 8590926216

This is a product review and detailed information on Apple computers new headset for the iPod which includes a remote and microphone.  According to the box is this product MB770G/A with a UPC code 8590926216. I ordered it from Apple Computer’s website for $29 plus four dollars shipping and handling charge.

In appearance this headset looks exactly like the one that come with the latest generation of iPod.  The big difference is a little tiny switch which is attached to the left cord leading to the earpiece.

I’ve never been a fan of the Apple Computer headsets that come with iPods. Most of the time I don’t even bother listening to them when I buy an iPod as I have become spoiled by my Sony headset.

So while the world what I buy a headset with audio quality I am not even expecting to be very good?

It is because this headset opens you up to a whole new world of possibilities on the iPod touch.  Not because of the remote.  But because of the addition of a microphone.

This allows the iPod touch to do many tricks that otherwise are reserved to the expensive Iphone.

I was astonished at the speed of delivery from Apple.  They get the highest rating possible as far as shipping speed.  I ordered a headset late on a Saturday night after trying to find it everywhere else in the world.  Even Amazon.com does not carry them at this point.  So I had to go straight to the source.

Early Monday morning I got an e-mail from Apple saying that my headset had been shipped with a FedEx tracking number.  Imagine my amazement when I went over to FedEx site and found out the tracking number lead to Shenzen China. Apparently these days Apple doesn’t even bother importing their hardware.  No they do the ultimate in outsourcing, they package and drop ship straight from China.

Here is the kicker.  FedEx shipping from China was way faster than FedEx shipping seems to run in the United States. My headset was on the dock in China Sunday and in my hands from the FedEx driver on Tuesday!

I opened a tiny little box and inside was a tinier little envelope.  Pulled out a headset and compared it with a headset that came with my iPod touch.  As stated above it pretty much looked exactly the same.

There does seem to be a slight difference in audio quality between the two. Listening one set and then switching to the other revealed that the set with a microphone has a slight edge in audio quality. But they still sound like Apple headsets with a muted bass in audio preference towards the mid range.

Apple does make an in your ear headset with remote and microphone.  It sells on their site for $79.  The reason I didn’t opt for that option is that I can’t stand in the ear headsets. The audio quality may well be superior to these.  And these are just like all Apple headsets in that direction you point them in the ear has a huge amount of difference in what part of the audio spectrum is emphasized.

Now to the good stuff.  This headset ended up having a lot more functionality than I was expecting.  I knew the remote would turn the volume up and down and mute. I was not aware for reading the description on Apple’s website but it also allowed you to switch audio from the application that was running on your iPod touch to whenever album you had queued up

in your music. This is really incredibly handy.

It also allows you to advance the song.  So this tiny microscopic switch and adds a ton of function for its size.  Turnover and you’ll see the tiniest microphone you’ll probably ever seen.

It is actually positioned quite well on that switch because it hangs near your mouth.

Now for the moment of truth.  Is this microphone actually work with the iPod touch?  And IF it works with the iPod touch will work with the applications that require audio.  Most of the applications that require audio were written for the Iphone, not the iPod touch.  Going through the forums and descriptions on different sites that information was usually vague.

So I jumped over to the iTunes store and downloaded a great little free application called Italk. It installed in an instant like virtually all the applications at the store.

I open the application and it offered me three choices for sound quality. I anxiously made my first recording and tested it by playing it back through the headset.

It was on the medium quality and it sounded fantastic.  The Apple headset your pieces may not be state-of-the-art in my opinion but the microphone blew me away. I can honestly say it holds up to the microphone that I use for most of my work.  That microphone is the Blue Snowflake. The blue snowflake cost three times as much as this headset microphone combination.

The microphone passes with flying colors.  Great sound near perfect positioning. The remote is quite frankly awesome.  Incredible convenience to add to the iPod touch.

The sound quality of the headset?  Well it’s good enough.  It’s going to become my primary headset even though I’m very picky about audio.

The convenience of the remote combined with his awesome microphone outweighs the small compromise that I will be making in the sound of my music.

Add this microphone to your iPod I touch and you are opening up a whole new world of applications. I will be writing about some of the amazing possibilities and posting articles on this site. I’ve been using a program called Jott for several months now on my other computers.  This microphone allows me to dictate notes onto my iPod I touch and Jott sends them to the server, transcribes and sends them back to me as text!

I will have a detailed article soon on how you can do that yourself.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg folks.  You are getting your iPod touch much of the capability that heretofore was reserved for the IPhone, and you are doing it for only $29.

Ed’s money-saving tip

Download Italk as soon as you get your microphone.  It will allow you to save notes and audios of almost any length.  Better yet it has a companion program that will allow you to wirelessly transfer them to your Mac or Windows computer. The program costs exactly Zero.