A few notes on testing and results: As with the earphone Battlemodo, my testing methods were not scientific but practical: The audio test was a sonically diverse playlist of reasonable bitrate MP3s, the isolation test was a ride on a San Francisco city bus followed by white noise on a home stereo, and the mic testing was done by, well, making a few calls.

Each headset gets its own conclusion, including a summary of the circumstances for which the set is best suited. One with fantastic sound might cut off the noises of traffic, making it useless for biking. Another might be great for running, but not pick up nuanced tones of your obsessively ripped lossless audio collection. Apple's own headset serves as a baseline—it doesn't have its own section, but it is referred to where appropriate. At the $70 mark and above, it tends to be outclassed. Because of the varying needs of headset users, there's no one Battlemodo champion, but some are definitely better than others. Here are the results:

Altec Lansing Earclip-S - $40
One of two earclip-style headsets we tested, these earphones don't offer much over the standard headset besides a secure fit. Music playback is as clear as on Apple's buds, but without any of the bass. They're not very attractive and feel cheap and flimsy. The sticky rubber sheathing can sort of grab your hair, if you're bushy around the ears, though it does help the clips stay put. There are two controllers, one on the mic and one down the wire for with volume and mic shutoff. The volume controller is sensitive and gets inadvertently adjusted pretty often, and the call/play button can be hard to find in a hurry. The mic added an annoying static sound to voices.
Conclusion: Recommend for exercise duty, where they would at least stay in place and sound OK. They're water resistant too, but at this price you may not be too paranoid about sweat murdering your headset anyway. They look, feel and sound as cheap as they are.

Shure Music Phone Adapter - $50
Shure's solution to the headset problem is to sell you the earphones and microphone separately. Pairing with the fantastic SE110s will make for a fantastic combo, but the combo will set you back almost $150 total. Good thing you can use this adapter with any earphones. Voice quality is high, even in situations with ambient noise, but extras are not; there is just one button and gator clip.
Conclusion: If you like your current earphones, keep them and buy the Shure. Ideally, your earphones will have a short cable, otherwise you'll have to clip the mic to your shirt and let the excess cable dangle.

Maximo iMetal iP-HS1 - $70
Music is richer and clearer than with Apple's headset, but not by much. These fit like traditional earbuds, and are on the large side in both look and diameter. They're solid, but could be perceived as a little garish on account of the chrome finish. The single, large low-hanging button works well and is the easiest of the lot to quickly press. The very capable mic is positioned and designed intelligently, and is the best we tested.
Conclusion: A solid replacement for lost or broken Apple headsets for people who have big, weird ear holes and don't care about isolation.

Maximo iMetal iP-HS2 Isolators - $70
These are the in-ear version of the iMetal. Sound is slighly bottom-heavy but the rest of the range is well-represented. The tips are comfortable, and provide surprisingly good isolation. Walking doesn't cause any annoying thumping from the cables, which is often a problem for similar in-ears. The single call/play button is identical to that on the other Maximo, as is the superb mic.
Conclusion: The best value and a recommended purchase, provided you want something that shuts you off from the outside world.

V-Moda Vibe Duo - $100
These in-ears are about as bassy as they are stylish. This results in a slightly muddy sound but they're good for casual listening. Isolation is fair, but you hear significant cable rustling when you walk with them. The tip choices are smart and comfortable for a wide range of ear holes. The single control button is on the mic, easy to find. The mic delivers clear, intelligible sound at a moderate volume.
Conclusion: Too expensive for what you get, but look great and are as tough as nails.

Sennheiser MM50-ip - $100
Sound is comparable to iMetal isolators in terms of balance and quality, but they handle high volumes and bassier songs a bit better. Senn gives us plenty of tip choices, most of which are cushy and easy on the ear holes, but with a low to fair amount of isolation. There is some degree of cable noise when walking, but it's not too intrusive. The mic has a flush call button that can be hard to feel, but luckily sits directly opposite an easy-to-fumble-for indention at the mic's grille. Mic quality is above average, but not very loud. Unequal cable length after the split drives some people nuts, but works fine.
Conclusion: If they were a few dollars cheaper they would be much, much more appealing. Without a significant performance advantage, they lose out to the cheaper Maximo iMetals.

AirDrives Interactive Headset - $100
Taking a totally different approach than just about anyone else, the AirDrives are earclips with drivers that sort of float above your ears. The logic is that they won't interfere with ambient noises and permit all-day listening without fear of ear damage. Achieving a proper fit (or hover, I guess) was difficult on my freakish baby ears, but once you bend them correctly they don't budge. The listening sensation is akin to being in a room with the stereo on, so it's easy to hear what is going on around you. Voices sound fine, but music is robbed of any low to lower-mid frequencies, which I expect would be a dealbreaker for many.
Conclusion: Good for work or exercise where awareness of your surroundings is key, but that's it. Sound is just too poor to recommend for music lovers.

Etymotics hf2 - $180
Excellent, balanced sound, featuring the same audio hardware as the hf5's that won their category in our earphone Battlemodo. These won't win over beat junkies, but are truly in a different class than anything else reviewed here in terms of sound quality—and price. Putting these guys in usually means getting a deep, full seal against your ear canals, which can be offputting to some people, but rewarding to others. Isolation is very strong, and cable rustling is minimal. The mic setup is a one-button affair, but that button is easy to find.
Conclusion: Only buy these if you're an audiophile who, for some reason, doesn't already have a pair of decent earphones. Otherwise, just grab the Shures.

We tried to cover the bases here, but this list of headsets is by no means comprehensive—if you want to add anything from your personal experience, please share it in the comments. Special thanks goes to Clay Hane for testing assistance.

Right now, almost all products ship with a proprietary power adapter. Green Plug's technology allows every electronic device to communicate its own energy requirements to one adapter, allowing for several goods to use the same power box. But in order for the universal adapter to work, companies have to embed Green Plug's firmware into their electronics.

Westinghouse, the first company to sign on with Green Plug, said the adapter would not only help it cut costs (it wouldn't have to sell power adapters with each product if the consumer already has a universal one at home), the environmental savings are huge as well.

434 million consumer electronics devices are “retired” in the U.S. each year. Those products, and their power cords usually end up in landfills. Meanwhile, over 3 billion power adapters will be shipped worldwide this year. Imagine how much less that figure would be if everything plugged into a single hub. [ PC World]

A quick look at the bottom of Apple's iPhone 3G page shows a rundown of what's actually in the box.
Of course, the first major difference, one that Jesus already outed, was the addition of this SIM ejector tool. Beyond that, we were surprised to see that there's no dock listed. This was an included in the box with the original (way more expensive) iPhone. But now, it's a sold-separately accessory, and probably one that could cost $50—the current price of an a la carte iPhone dock. What's even more interesting, is the un-clickable link that describes it: "iPhone 3G Universal Dock Adapter 3-Pack." What the hell does "3-Pack" mean?

The disappearance of the dock from the box, isn't the last thing to change. There is now a whole new power adapter, one that doesn't look as cool. Yea, it might be more compact, but compared to the old included power adapter, one that could be fitted with different heads when traveling the world, this thing looks like it's US-only, and cost a few cents to make. Globetrotters, beware of possible added cost.

So why has Apple cut out the fancy included accessories? It could maybe sorta have something to do with that drastic slash in price. And really, it's not the first time Apple has removed in-the-box accessories when a product got cheaper.

Remember when the 4th Generation iPod came out. Before the cheaper 4G iPod, the 3G was packed with in-the-box accessories. A dock, a wired remote, a 4-pin firewire adapter and a hard-case, were all removed when the 4G took over.

Just as the 4G iPod lacked all those fancy in-the-box accessories, so does the new iPhone 3G. Sure it's not a deal breaker, but it's interesting to see how Apple subtly works its own product costs down, without many of us even noticing.

It's also a Class 1 Bluetooth device, so you've got a theoretical range of 100 meters. Couple that with the Callpod Dragon and you've got a 100 meter headset setup that connects itself. Give it to your parents so you won't have to teach them over the phone how to connect a Bluetooth headset.

Check out Callpod's first ad spot for their Chargepod below. It's actually pretty neat and shows non-techies why it's useful for them.

[Gefen]

Both IGN and Wii Fanboy have taken a look at the device and agree that it does its job well and the added bulk of the cord-free adapter doesn't really take away from the performance. So if you have a few controllers you would like to convert to wireless, the Cord Free is available now for $20. Nyko is also expected to release a standalone version this May. [IGN and Wii Fanboy]

Let's just make something clear: if you buy such ugly tech, don't expect your friends not to punch you in the face when they come over just to play Wii Sports. Even if it "only costs $20." [kotaku]

Connects most Bluetooth devices.
Supports A2DP up to 30 meters
Enables wireless connectivity between computers and devices
Enables connectivity to 7 Bluetooth devices at one time
Enables Wireless Personal Area Network (PAN) connectivity
Bluetooth 1.1 compliant
Bluetooth class 2, compatible with Bluetooth class 1
USB 1.1 compliant
More than 33 feet wireless networking range
Up to 723 Kbps data rate
Dimensions: 14 x 19 x 6mm
Weight: 2g

Brando's Bluetooth adapter costs $24. [Brando]

The thing is rather stiff but still flexible, has good build quality, and gets the job done except for the loss of the ability to pause music and answer calls while listening, as you can do with the stock iPhone buds. The most remarkable aspect? Monster Cable only mildly rips you off with this one, charging just $9.95 for this headphone adapter (almost exactly price-matching a similar one from Belkin) that shouldn't even be necessary. [Monster Cable]

The concept is the same: a strip that mounts on the wall and allows you to modularly plug in a bunch of gadgets. Each plug slides up and down the strip so you can position it the way you want. You can even remove plugs if you don't need so many. Eubiq has a safety feature on each of them that makes it so you can shove your finger inside as much as you want and not be electrocuted. The plug needs to go in and twist to make contact with the sides of the track to reach the live wire (your finger will only hit ground).

The consumer version sells all by itself and doesn't need to be installed in a wall, which means fewer options for moving the plugs around the track but still more options than a standard power strip. No word on when this version will hit the market. [Eubiq]

The Price: $9.99

The Catch: It's probably the shortest adapter out now (bottom), being neither twisty like the Griffin and Helium Digital, or really long like Belkin's (top). In fact, it's pretty much the only adapter that's not bendable.

The Verdict: if you're looking for an adapter that's as small as possible by sacrificing the bend-ability of Belkin's adapter (it makes the Smartphone Experts' adapter easier to break), this is for you. Sound quality on par as Belkin's when tested in our iPod docks and car adapters, and the short length makes it fit nicely into our pants pockets. It's fantastic if you want something to sit on your car's tape adapter all the time, if you're looking for something to go walking or jogging with, the rigidness of this adapter poses a risk for breakage. Be aware of that when purchasing.

[Smartphone Experts]

Sure, Griffin and Belkin were first up with headphone adapters for iPod, but they cost $10 and $11 respectively, and Shure has a $50 music phone adapter with a VoicePort mic that also lets you pause the iPhone's music and make/take phone calls. And oh yeah, of course Monster Cable weighs in with its overpriced entry, the $20 iSplitter 200 headphone jack splitter.

That leaves Helium Digital's HD-005 3.5mm headphone adapter, selling for $3.99 Canadian, which is just about the same as US dollars these days, and for a while the company's offering free shipping. Such a deal. [Helium Digital]

This solution to a problem-that-shouldn't-exist is available from Dreams for just over $7. Surely they don't have to be quite as big as this, though? Some small cell phones aren't that much bigger. [Dreams]

You can still use your wheel now on battery power (wirelessly), but they recommend that you quit using it while plugged in—which means there's no force feedback—until you get the replacement adapter. [Xbox via Microsoft]

While they are upfront about compatibility, it's disappointing that TiVo has gone this direction with third party support. And now I'm a little worried to add on an eSATA drive (a tacitly supported feature on Series 3 units) before more users tinker with the unit and confirm all the units that work. Hit the comments and let us know if you have any third party gear working with the new HD. And if you haven't our reviews, check here and here.

The verdict: Works exactly as advertised. Fits all headphones with no audible sound quality loss.

The catch:

It's mf-ing gigantic. It's longer than the iPhone is wide, and can't really be used in tight pocket situations. But it does have a flexible center, which means you won't be able to break it easily.

The performance: Worked great on my car's tape adapter. No audible sound degradation when plugging a set of headphones into the iPhone and plugging through the Belkin adapter.

The price: $10.95

The recommendation: As the first and only headphone adapter for the iPhone out now, you've got no choice. You have to buy this if you want to use non-skinny headphones on the iPhone. The huge size doesn't matter in the car or at home, but sucks when you put it in your pocket.

[Belkin]

The verdict: Pretty comfortable for racing games, because it allows you to use just the sides of your thumb to gently nudge the car left or right.

The catch:

It's not great for anything but racing games, because the plastic attachment on the bottom makes pressing down hard on the stick slightly more uncomfortable. Kontrolfreek is working on an adapter for other genres.

The performance: Good. I don't know if it made me any better at PGR, but it did make turns more comfortable since the grooved sides fit my thumb quite nicely.

The price: Pack of 2 for $9.95, or pack of 4 for $17.50.

The recommendation: If you're a racing fan who doesn't want to pony up for a racing wheel, this is a very cheap alternative.

[kontrolfreek]

The Good:The headphone jack fit perfectly with the iPhone's recessed headphone jack. (The old one broke after I lopped off the adapter's plug trying to shave it down.)
The Bad: A simple test revealed that the Monster was no more resistant to the GSM buzz than the 10-dollar version from RadioShack. This one is $25.

Verdict: If you're trying to kill the iPhone's self-inflicted GSM buzz, forget it. You're better off shaving the extra plastic off your old one. Careful, now, careful! And Monster, we'd like to think that if anyone can shield a tape adapter from GSM EMI, you could, so get working on it. And maybe change that Compatible with iPhone sticker to Kinda CompatibleZZZZZ withZZZZ iPhoneBZZZ!.

(I would switch to airplane mode, but you know what? I don't want to miss calls because I'm listening to music.)

Press Release

On the whole, standard PS2 controllers worked fine for us in games like Final Fantasy and Shadow of the Colossus, but for some reason one of our really old Dualshock controllers was super-sensitive when in the adapter. Using a new controller fixed the problems. The big "but" in this setup? No rumble.

Even with rumble-enabled games and a rumble-enabled controller, there's no rumble to be found. Darn.

Pelican also claims that this works with both Guitar Hero 1 and Guitar Hero 2, but we only own Guitar Hero 1 (the second we have for Xbox 360), so we could only test there. The result? Fantastic. It was just like on the PS2. Hammer-ons and pull-offs worked (yeah, we can actually do these—hold your applause) and so did the whammy. When playing Guitar Hero 2, you have to use convoluted strumming and button presses in order to advance in the menus, plus, hammer-ons and pulloffs don't work. Whammy does work, however.

The adapter itself has two modes, a regular mode for standard controllers and the Guitar Hero 1 guitar, and a Guitar Hero 2 mode for Guitar Hero 2. When playing GH1 on GH2 mode, everything went to hell, but fixed itself when we set it on the correct "normal" mode.

There's even a "PS Home" button on the adapter that you need to press whenever you load up a PS2 game in order to sync the controller. It's already a pain in the ass when you have to do this with the SIXAXIS, but having to walk up to the console and press the button every time you go in and out of a PS2 game is horrible. We blame Sony for this one, since Pelican did the best they could. Luckily, hitting the analog button will bring you the PS Home menu when you're inside a game.

All in all, $14 is a cheap price to pay to get GH1 and Dance Dance Revolution to play on your PS2. But if you're looking for better Guitar Hero 2 support or rumble support, you probably want to wait for the next revision. – Jason Chen

Update: Turns out it's actually Sony's restrictions that doesn't allow this to use rumble. Ouch, Sony. Ouch. As for Guitar Hero 2, the adapter does work for the game, but you have to go through a small setup process. We'll try and get a copy to test for ourselves.

Update 2: Hammerons and pulloffs don't work with Guitar Hero 2, but whammy does.

Product Page [Gamestop]

They're $17, which is a small price to pay to satisfy my OCD. God knows, I've paid more. – Matt Buchanan

Color coordinate your DS Lite and its AC adapter [Siliconera via Kotaku]

I had it charging a Sony Ericsson by USB cable, and also powering up the monster 85 watt MacBook Pro powerbrick while both devices were active. But not at the same time. The USB cable didn't want to charge the phone while the MacBook was gulping down juice. The inverter also hummed away, like an overhanging power line ready to zap a pigeon. The solution? I charged the USB device from my laptop. I'm sure the USB wouldn't flake out if I'd used a less demanding AC device. (Not a space heater.) Bonus—it's a three-pronged adapter.

The manual does a good job of outlining the dangers of using your car battery for this sort of thing. They recommend for every three hours of use, starting your car and running the engine 20 minutes.

I give this thing a thumbs-up at $40 from Think Geek. – Brian Lam

[ThinkGeek]

All you have to do is plop your pretty Wiimote into this ugly-ass plastic Batarang and it's sure to come flying straight back at you when you chuck it. Good news for gaming, but bad news when you try to throw this back at whoever designed this atrocious mess. And Heath Ledger. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Gametech via Wiiinside via Kotaku]