Customer Reviews

Apple Radio Remote for iPod (White)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I wavered back and forth whether to buy this or not because of not only the price, but the reaction to it. As someone still waiting for a 5G mic attachment, I wanted to add some kind of extra accessory to my new iPod, and after doing some comparison (and a $5 discount from Amazon), I bought the Radio Remote.

First of all, the remote works very well and is perfect to clip on your jacket so as you walk around you don't keep having to reach into the pocket for the player to change tracks or pause. It's perfectly sized, although with my wrap-around headphones it adds length to the cord I have to rein in, but clipping in cord length into the lapel keeps it in control.

As for the performance of the FM radio, it compares evenly with my radio-only Sony Walkman, the reception is great, and it can pick up distant stations well, something I was looking at closely since I'm between two radio markets (Milwaukee and Green Bay) 100 miles apart from each other. Setting up stations was painless and quick, though an option to order the stations according to popularity instead of frequency could make for a better listening experience. The sound on FM is better on the same headphones than that of the Walkman, and tuning into stations not on preset is a breeze with the "analog dial", so much better than the digital tuning on most portable stereos today.

The Radio Data System feature worked pretty well, though I expected some stations not to pick up RDS data because of distance. Showing the title and artist of a song while it plays is wonderful and I would hope other radios or MP3 with FM players pick up this feature quickly. It's on and off at this time (one station has it set for some songs but not for others), but I would hope most stations pick it up quickly.

Overall, this met my expectations perfectly, and it makes my iPod within a leather case look more elegant with the dock connection instead of the headphone jack. I would hope Apple might come out with an AM version if they make a newer version of this, though it could be hard because of the need for a larger antenna inside the remote unit. NOAA weather radio alert capability would also add another facet to the product as a warning device. But that's just my opinion, I like the Radio Remote alot as it is now.

When I first got this I was pretty pleased with it. It looks very cool, brings up a cool new display on the screen, has RDS, is dead easy to use, gives you the remote control so you can keep your iPod deep in your pocket, and you get a brand new pair of earbuds, with four new foam pads to add to the millions that have mysteriously vanished into the ether.
I was quite impressed with the reception in my house too.
But today I detached it from my iPod, and I think it may stay that way unless I really want to listen to the radio.
So why? Well, for a start, all the extra wires are a pain in the neck and destroy the simple elegance of the iPod concept. The way the wires dangle from the remote gets annoying, and they seem to tangle up when you wrap the whole thing up and put it away.
The radio reception is great in my house, but not so great on buses and trains. Which I guess is no surprise. It wouldn't be so bad if you could select mono to kill the reception problems, but you can't.
Worse still, there's some kind of interface problem: I found my iPod (nano) resetting itself all the time.
And not only that... but you can't just switch off your iPod and flick the lock. That doesn't lock out the remote. So you've got to power your iPod down from the remote too, and lock that. And make sure you do it in the right order.
And it sucks your battery dry faster than usual.
But most of all, it makes you think, why on earth didn't they put a radio in the iPod to start with!

I am not giving this five stars only because the price is a bit steep. I had to get this because I thought I lost my Apple earbuds and this was the only way that Apple will sell you a replacement pair.

I thought the radio option was nice but I didn't buy an iPod to listen to the radio--although it's there if you need it (the sound quality for FM radio is much lower than my 224Kpbs Mp3 songs.) Second, I thought the extra wire/cable length got me a bit irritated and made me wish I had not lost the original earbuds.

A week later I am happy I bought this product. It is an A+ remote control. I keep the iPod secure in a pocket or pouch or armband (for the gym). I start a playlist and then use the stop/play, forward and volume up/down button without having to take the iPod out of a secure location and expose to a sandy beach (deadly) or a gym environment.

Advice to mobile iPod people: get a pair of Sony earbuds and an armband. Then fold up the extra length of cord from this radio remote inside of the armband case.

Now, if Apple wants to bring this price down to the $25 range I could see everyone buying this. But I'm OK with it now.

LP in his review suggests that the FM function is already built into the new generation of iPods, and I am going to say that that is a certainty - there is no electronic circuitry built into the radio/remote; its only function is to activate the tuner in the iPod. Apple adds a remote because the radio must have an antenna - the remote and earphone cords. And they throw in a pair earbuds. All together I would think that the total OEM cost of the radio/remote is less than $5; your $50 just activates the radio already built in.

Something important not mentioned in any of the reviews is that there is only one connector to the iPod, and if you use it for the radio you can't use it to charge the iPod; and if you are charging the iPod, you can't listen to the radio. I find the the battery life is much less using the radio.

(The manual may be the worst I've ever read - apparently written by somebody who has never used the radio/remote. The tuner is capable of seek operation (not mentioned in the manual)- when you first use the tuner, just hold down the FF (or later the rev) button for several seconds and the radio will find the next station. The tuner can also be tuned manually (again not mentioned in the manual) - when in the radio mode there are two analog displays - one dim and the other bright; while in the bright mode just rub your click wheel as if you were scrolling, and the tuner will go through all frequencies sequentially.}

I have returned the FM adapter because I was unable to get any station in stereo.

I bought the FM radio remote to use with my Nano. I like to take music along when I go long distance running, and sometimes listening to radio is a refreshing break from listening to my own collection of recorded tunes. I've had this product for over a year now and really love it. When I'm running it has to be easy to switch between stations to find the next good song. I seldom leave the radio on one station and I like to avoid listening to commercials so I'm often channel surfing. This product is awesome and does everything it needs to do to be a valuable asset to my iPod collection.

Recently I added the new Shuffle to my iPod collection and pretty much reserve the use of my Nano now to when I want to listen to radio (and it's nice to have recorded music along just in case radio reception is poor). When listening to recorded music while running I seldom want to look at a video screen, so the smaller size of the Shuffle becomes the preferred iPod for recorded music while running. Without the FM radio remote my Nano would be trumped by the new Shuffle (for use while running or exercising). With the FM radio remote I still take the Nano trail running with the flexibility of radio or recorded tunes. Even if I'm not going to listen to the radio, the FM radio remote stays connected to my Nano because it works great for adjusting volume and skipping or repeating recorded songs.

I agree with the UK reviewer the extra wires can get tangled when getting my Nano ready for a run. But for me, until we get wireless earpods this is a fair trade-off for the added convenience the FM radio/remote provides. On the other hand, tangled wires are one of the reasons my new Shuffle more often than not is used when I know I'll be running and don't want to listen to radio. I've also discovered having two iPods is great because I can loan one to a buddy joining me for a run. I have not experienced any problems with my Nano resetting itself as described by the UK reviewer.

Just got mine tonight at the Apple Store @ Valley Fair (has to ask for them - guess they hide them in the back).
Right from the begining they worked perfectly, even in my house. The RDS technology is awesome too, being able to see artist and song information is great. Try changing the region to UK and see how you get different RDS information.
It is a great buy!

I had two dissapointments with this product.

1) No AM radio. I am looking closer now at the product description and it says it clearly enough, but anyway, this was a dissapointment.

2) I bought the apple Stereo to go with the IPOD. I can't listen to the radio on the stereo because the docking port on the IPOD is the same spot the radio plugs into.

3) The reception is just ok. The thing goes in an out of reception depending on which way its pointed unless you are in a great reception area.

This thing is OK at best, and way overpriced at $44 to what amounts to a pocket radio. One can buy a pocket radio for $8 that plays FM AND AM and works just as good.

Since I've yet to transfer most of my CDs onto my ipod, having a radio option has been fantastic (helps undercut some of the monotony). While, yes, the extra cord can be a hassle, the remote -- which I clip onto my shirt or jacket while walking in the city -- has more than made up for that inconvenience. My main issue is the battery life. I hesitate to use the radio as often as I'd like because it drains the battery pretty darn fast. If I listen to the radio for the entire commute to work (about 40 minutes), I know I won't be able to listen to it for the entire ride back.

Nice features but poor construction--mine broke after about three months of normal use. The connection (in the remote) went bad, so I now only get sound in one earphone. There's no warranty to speak of.

I've owned two of these headphones, although neither has lasted long enough to allow me to be satisfied with the purchase. The sound is excellent, the radio quality is good, and the ability to capture radio on the air is very good. I'd rate the software inside the iPod (I have a 5th gen video model) as excellent, really well thought out.

The problems with the headphones are both of a design and a build quality. The design is such that when you exercise with the radio it is very hard to fast forward or fast backwards. I'm often hitting the button too quickly and ending the selection's playing. I then have to reset the selection to where it was. So the little buttons surrounding the Play/Pause button are way too small.

The length of the cord is also a problem for me. It's too long to leave dangling (I'm always pulling the cord out when I go past a door).

But my main gripe is the quality of the connection from the headphone to the iPod just before the iPod connection. That location is subject to be shorted way too easily. I had one of these that lasted 6 weeks, and it stopped working. The store accepted a return for a replacement.

Now in less than two months I've had the same shorting issue. I'm not overly hard on my headphones, but the reality is that these things are just not made very well. At a cost of $50 I expect a much better quality product out of Apple than this.

So I can't really recommend this headphone to anyone who uses their iPod for exercise. For anyone just carrying the iPod around and being really careful with their headphones they might be able to get enough use to have the investment be worth it to them.