Use your own cans with your iPhone, thanks to Griffin’s adapter.

For all the advances the iPod—and now the iPhone—has made, Apple still hasn’t solved a fundamental problem. The pack-in earbuds suck. Unless you’re in a soundproof room—and have perfectly shaped ears—the included buds leave a lot to be desired, in both the listening experience and fit, leading many users to invest in third-party ’phones. But what about iPhone owners, who need a mic to take full advantage of their device?

Griffin’s SmartTalk adds a mic and iPod controls to your favorite earphones, turning your existing gear into a complete replacement for the iPhone’s lackluster pair. Like the stock iPhone earphones, a single button allows you to accept or decline incoming calls, and also provides play/pause and forward-skip controls when using the iPod features. Sound quality was excellent, and most of our callers didn’t notice that we were using an external mic. The biggest—and only, really—flaw we found is the SmartTalk’s form factor. Since the mic needs to be somewhat near your mouth, you’re left with a bunch of extra cable from your earbuds dangling awkwardly from 
your chest.