HTC Handsets Will Have Regular, Non-Stupid Headphone Jacks

@Cory Bond: HTC's products are getting much better, but they've also had a pretty impressive history. The old iPaq PDAs were made by HTC (starting with the 1900 series)-- those were beautiful gadgets.

@tsdexter: It was more like a rumor. Here or on Engadget. Sorry if I turn out to be wrong. Guess I should have stated it was a rumor.

All_Thumbs - R.O.A.C.H.

Woot now all we need is a flash on the camera and/or better pictuer taking in the dark

Jarek James

My Touch HD must be a mistake then, it can't possibly have a 3.5mm jack cause Giz says so...

laylaholic

@CharmPeddler: same here. I'm dying for the Hero. Can't wait till the price drops a bit, I'm buying it.

buzzwizard

@Dumad: AD2P Suucks if you actually like listening to your music. Crackles and signal drop are not supposed to be part of the deal.

buzzwizard

A2DP anyone?

Dumad

@Nick: Every time I go shopping for anything more than a candy bar. I hate crying babies and screaming kids. Keep your kids where they belong...in front of a TV!

@Nick: I have 8GB in of memory in my phone so I do have some music & audio books. It's convenient when I'm out for a walk since I don't have to carry two devices. I stream internet radio or Pandora while I'm at work, too. I use a bluetooth stereo headset mostly, though.

FigNinja

@Rixon: Another edit system fail, it has not been 15 minutes since that comment.

@Nick: Sony Ericsson W480i checking in.

@Nick: I use my iPhone to listen to tunes at work

David B. Bitton

@AznSlackerType~Is AbsurdlyNarcissistic: Show me where I can buy one in the USA and I'll be there tomorrow.

Lupus_Yonderboy

@Nick: I totally use my phone for the "Rocking Out"-I even held out on buying a new MP3 player when the iPhone was still a rumor because of that. I didn't want another thing to carry around (I've been saying for about 5 years now that I'll never buy another phone that can't handle my email as well, now we can add music playback to the list too). That all being said, I know one of the people who owns an iPhone and doesn't use it for listening to music/watching videos (or at least he used to not...now, I dunno). He even rides the bus in from Jersey to NYC every day...strange but true.

Lupus_Yonderboy

@Nick: I do. I have no regrets.

i upgraded from an AT&T tilt to an iphone. now i get to use the media player functionality of my cellphone without some silly proprietary dongle. welcome to the 21st century HTC.

i have the HTC Touch Pro, and i even have a Sirius App for it. but keeping the Adapter handy and for it to actually stay in the port is just too much. i'll to upgrade first WM HTC that Does get the 3.5mm

@nick I used the stock USB headphones with my G1 until I washed them. I've never used it for media again...

Jack Hamm

@Nick: I use my iPhone as my media player both in the gym and car. I load up tv eps for the gym and listen to albums on the road.

I do. A lot!

daPrinz

@Killjoy: Comm, tricorder, tribe? Are you from the future? You are aren't you!

RobotVampire

I couldn't have been any happier to get rid of my G1. I loaded all of my music on it and didn't listen to music on it the whole time I owned it because I didn't want to lug those stupid headphones around. The gal of some companies who think that they can force their sub par products on an informed public. Shame on you for that HTC, but kudos to ceding to defeat.

Fermo

@br4nd0n: I use my BlackBerry for Pandora. Before Pandora came out for it, I never once used the headphone jack.

computerwiz3491

@Nick: I would never use my phone as my default music player. I want as much battery life as possible. (even if it sips)

I don't understand why it's 2009 and the company is just now jumping onto this bandwagon. Using a phone to play music is, especially outside of America, something that is done MOST of the time, with texting second and taking a distant, distant third. And yes, I know first hand that the USB dongle is actually terrible when it comes to staying put, and the included earphones are awful. edit: woo you can edit now!

@Nick: Ever since I've had my iPhone it's been my primary iPod. Except in the car, because that stupid recessed jack doesn't work with my aux cable.

@Nick: If I had a decent MP3 capable phone, I would use it for that. But, I have an LG Chocolate, and while the MP3 capability is alright, the battery life sucks.

Why in the world would anyone with an iPhone use something else for music? The iPhone is just an iPod Touch with a phone added on.

BessCursor

I actually dont have a problem with My HTC headphone adapter simply because it has a microphone on it, so now I can use my sennheiser heasdphones that dont have a microphone. Basically if your using a phone with a 3.5mm headset jack, then u cant always use the headphones you want but rather only ones with inline mics. When users that have no mic on 3.5mm equpped phones with headsets with no mics get phone calls while listening to music, they have to unplug there headphones to take the call, with the adapter i can use any headphones and still take the call when im listening to music and not unplugging the head phones bc my Adapter has a mic..

justinhub2003

@aquajaws: I appreciate all your votes of confidence for smartphone battery life, but I really approach it like insurance: 99% of the time it'll never be a problem and I can use my phone as an mp3 player all day, every day, no worries - but when that 1% comes around with no notice, if I don't have the juice for a two hour call or a research session then I'm dead in the water.

That motivation is also why I've repurposed my trusty old Axim as my mp3 player rather than getting a dedicated device - if my phone dies but my Axim has juice, I still have a comm. Redundancy is definitely a watchword of this system.

finally! I need it for my aux audio out from my car stereo w/o fumbling for an adapter.

qrius

@Killjoy:

So why not carry 6 devices. Aren't you taking a huge risk using your phone as a map? That battery slaughtering GPS might make you unable to suddenly use the phone for 6 hours should the need arise. Surely the same logic you use against having your phone partake in a task that produces negligible impact on battery life would dictate you carry around a Tom-Tom.

geoken

@Killjoy: I use my iPhone as my main iPod and surfing the web and talking on the phone drains the battery about 10 times faster than listening to any music on it. Listening to it about 3-4 hours a day while at work doesn't even make a visible dent in the battery indicator in the top right of the phone. Unless they are using a VERY inefficient MP3 player on the phone, you will be fine with listening to music and not hurting your communication abilities.

aquajaws

@Baldyman1966 is Holding out for a Hero: I haven't seen Sony's, but the adapter to my HTC handset is so incredibly horrible, you can't use it in your pocket. It almost doubles the length of the phone when it's plugged into the phone, as it's this long rectangle with a cable that is as long as the adapter itself, but too stiff to bend

jamjen

@noone1569: Shutting off bluetooth on my palm pre is the only way I've found to save a little battery life, and it is hard enough for me to remember to charge it, let alone another accessory / thing to carry. Besides, I've yet to see a stereo bluetooth headset that I'd be OK with wearing.

thm73

@gloveofpower: Gets some hero on! =D

AznSlackerType~Is AbsurdlyNarcissistic

@noone1569: Because bluetooth drains batteries pretty quickly and is therefore less convenient than covnentional headphones that do not require their own power supply and provide better sound quality?

Raziel66

I have a G1. It rocks.

flyingbaloney

When I am in the car I plug my charger into the mini USB and stream my music via Bluetooth to my car stereo. When I am at home I plug my charger into the mini USB and stream music to my Bluetooth headphones. This gives enough charge to keep BT on away from those two places without draining my battery. I have no use for a 3.5mm jack. They will soon be useless. Use that real-estate for something else. Come on people.

flyingbaloney

@tsdexter: But not a first-generation one.

HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.

@tsdexter: And an emergency battery charger :(

This thing dies quickly.

Raziel66

I like using my phone as a player in many situations, like my car (I cling to my ancient iRiver HDD player even though it dies and freezes all the time, but it's not going to cut it forever) and I REALLY WISH MY G1 WOULD JUST HAVE HAD A REGULAR JACK!

At least VW hooked me up with free satellite radio with the new TDi.

Laura

I completely agree. My car stereo and my headphones use bluetooth a2dp technology. The f@#$%^& morons don't realize the 3.5mm jack will soon be useless. Look ma no wires.

flyingbaloney

@Vroomtrap: yes

tsdexter

@gloveofpower: get an iPhone. :)

tsdexter

@All_Thumbs - R.O.A.C.H.: I work at Rogers... where'd you hear that info? That would be nice... rather have Racheal though :)

tsdexter

can we get a poll going to see how many folks actually use their phone for mp3 jammin'-out-to? i see a lot of iPhone folks, even, that don't use their phone to listen to music

Nick

@Killjoy: I run a bluetooth stereo headset to my HTC touch pro, and listen to internet streaming radio on my phone for about 3 hours a day when i'm biking/rollerblading. Sometimes that might use about 20%-25% of the battery, which means there's plenty of battery for me to surf the web, play games, and make phone calls, when I get home, I always have more then 50% battery at the end of the day from constant use, or 75% of the battery if I don't use it too much beyond the internet streaming audio over my data plan and then being relayed to my bluetooth headset. In otherwords, if your battery can't handle the use, you probably cacked(yes that's my official term) your battery and need a new one.

HyperDrunk

HTC listening to its customers or something else forced their hand? With the industry trying to standardize on micro-usb for charging portable electronics ([news.bbc.co.uk]),
HTC's mini-usb-based extUsb plug's last days is already near. I would not be surprised if HTC drops the 3.5mm in the future and introduces micro-extUSB.

@Ayeco: Sure, it can be done. But my phone is not only an immediate link to my tribe and the useful infrastructures of society, these days it's also my map, my augmented memory, my instant classroom, and my tricorder. Ultimately I consider my phone too important to be at half charge if I suddenly need to use it for an hour or six.

Well it's a gawddamn miracle.

@Ayeco: Seriously? Thats like saying it holds 4,000 songs.

Who cares if apple says I get 30 hrs of audio I kinda want to do phone stuff on it too.

tande04

@CaptainHoratioMcCallister: Haha, is a "chin" the official word for what that thing is?

i've never really gotten into the whole use you phone for music thing... I use it to keep me connected to the world and can't really find too many situations appropriate for headphones since people are always expecting me to listen to the stupid things they have to say.

@thm73: Uhm, why don't you upgrade your life to Stereo Bluetooth

noone1569

@Killjoy: Seriously? iPhone touts 30 hours audio playback. Even if it's half that you're OK. I've used my different phones as mp3 players for years and never has listening to mp3s put a dent in my phones' battery performance.

I really don't understand why 3.5mm jacks are so rare in phones. It's about bloody time that HTC did it.

Ayeco

@CaptainHoratioMcCallister: it could not have said it any better than that hahah

Uhm wireless BT headphones?

noone1569

@f0rge: Are you in Canuckistan? Rogers is getting Hero.

All_Thumbs - R.O.A.C.H.

Wow, why do companies hold on to silliness for so long?

dcdttu

The headphone jack was the killer for me in deciding between the Pre and the MyTouch. If I am going to have a single device that does it all, not having a proper jack means that it cannot do it all. Too late for me HTC - better luck in 2 years! (not sent from my palm pre)

thm73

@HibikiRush:There's actually much cheaper versions of these (I have one) but these work great in the car.

[www.amazon.com]

@beyondthetech: Yeah wires are annoying but it's also annoying to have another part that you have to remember to charge.. which is the main reason I never use my bluetooth with my cell.. I forgot to charge it one day and have been forgetting ever since.

Skeetz

That shot has the most pronounced chins in one place since the Leno family reunion.

CaptainHoratioMcCallister

death to adapters. Seriously. Any design engineer who thinks that an adapter is a smart idea is a FOOL! Every phone I've ever owned uses adapters for headphones and they make me SO MAD.

gloveofpower

Hey, while any kind of adaptor is a Pain at least the HTC ones are nowhere near as bad as the Sony Ericson ones on their Walkman phones.

@beyondthetech: Indeed. Let the audio snobs bitch about bluetooth sound quality and go off into a corner and fap themselves while listening to their 16 lossless songs that fit on their mp3 player. Viva la bluetooth!

@beyondthetech:

So that you can plug it into an aux in while you're in the car? Bluetooth is way more of a battery life killer anyway so that doesn't make much sense

HibikiRush

"Wave after Wave"
I see what you did there.

Ya know I never really cared for HTC that much, especially because alot of the phones had used windows, but Im become more and more impressed by them everyday

Cory Bond

Does anyone know if Hero is compatible with iPhone style 3.5mm 4 pole stereo headsets?

dingus

and...

...from now on i'll be using htc handsets.

Maybe it's just a silly notion, but why not remove the headphone jack altogether and use the space for additional battery life, then require people to use Bluetooth headphones? The days of wiredness are over!

that's the main reason i took the "mytouch" (or magic in canada) off my list for a phone upgrade this year. i was getting fed up of my iphone after 2 version and was willing to try android, but not with one of those stupid adapters.

f0rge

Hooray for phone manufacturers actually realising that only THEY think a different jack for every phone is a good idea!

Any chance of a universal charger as well?

Kirioth

Except I don't want to drain my comm battery to hear my music, so I'll keep plugging my headphones into my mp3 player - which itself can function as a backup comm in emergencies.

The thing I don't like about 3.5mm jacks is car use.

Right now, with my Touch Diamond, I sit the phone in the car holster and plug one cable into it. That one cable provides both charging power *and* audio.

Same as my iPod. I have one Belkin cable that provides both power and audio.

I hope that HTC will still provide audio on the mini-USB ports, but I don't think I see that happening. So if I go with an HTC handset in the future, I will need to plug *two* cables into my handset every time I get into the car, which will suck.

jonnythan

@RobotVampire: My body isn't but my mind is.

@geoken: You think you're being clever, but I've been there and done that. Now that the all-in-one has come far enough, I'm seeing if it's feasible to lighten the weight of my tech bag. And to address your specific point, if I use the GPS for a few minutes at a time (usually all you need) and keep it off otherwise then the drain is negligible, and if I use it for hours then that's the emergency battery situation I've prepared for, isn't it? I also keep a fully charged barebones dumbphone in the tech bag, so I can swap SIMs for another few hours of cellular voice before I have to resort to VoiP over wifi.

bout darn time.

Jonathan Butler