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Sony Ericsson Develops Contact Headphones
TechnologyResource writes "Sony Ericsson has just introduced the MH907 headphones. The headphones will pause or play your music based on contact; eliminating the use of a pause or stop button. Removing one ear bud will pause the music. Removing both ear buds will stop the music. Both ear buds have to be in your ear to play the music. According to Sony Ericsson, this will allow you to 'play your music and answer phone calls just by inserting the buds into your ear or taking them out.'"
What if you're missing one ear?
Great idea, but what if you listen to music with only one ear? I work in an office environment where people regularly interrupt my coding work. As a result, I have taken the habit of listening to my music with only one ear bud. That way I can hear whenever someone is trying to get my attention, but can still listen to my alternative rock to my heart's content.
"this will allow you to 'play your music and answer phone calls just by inserting the buds into your ear or taking them out"
Sounds more awkward than pressing a button on the phone in my opinion, but if you're driving or you can't otherwise get at the device it could be useful. Or if you have ears that aren't just right for in-ear 'phones, which keep falling out as a result.
However what's wrong with a clicker on the cable?
I often listen to music with only 1 headphone... (To hear what's going on near me while listening music)
Now Sony decided that I can't do it anymore!
I, for one, welcome our new headphones overload!
I usualy walk with only one earbud inside my head. Not getting hit by car, is always better then stereo sound. For me this means the headphones will not work. This feature belongs in rubbish bin, as far as I am concerned.
But what is more likely to happen is the contact mechanism will wear out in six months and it will be difficult to get them to play at all...
The MH907 is only compatible with Sony Ericsson's own Fast Port-equipped phones -- Fast Port is SE's proprietary connector on the bottom of its phones.
Fail.
Ehh... When my phone rings, the music just pauses itself. But then again my phone is also my MP3 player. Useless... to me at least.
Get it? Waiting to hear... Sony headphones... Rootkit.
Ugh, nevermind.
According to Sony Ericsson, this will allow you to 'play your music and answer phone calls just by inserting the buds into your ear or taking them out'
So you can listen to music with both earphones, but only listen to a telephone conversation piped through one earphone as you had to remove the other to pause the music ? And what happens if the person calling you puts you on one of those annoying musical hold things ?
It's bad enough they sneak in rootkits, now they're sneaking in paradoxes.
I hope they built them in a way, that will avoid them switching on, while touching anything while not being in your ear. Like dangling on your chest, touching your arm or something hanging in front of you, etc.
Oh, and please let them also not use energy to detect touches, because else even non-triggering touches could use up your batteries.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
My first iPod showed me that there is no reason to distinguish between the concept of pause or the concept of stop. For some type of media devices it makes sense to have an off button but for many devices even that can be combined in with the pause button.
I'm lucky enough to have a policy at work that allows me to both bring my iPod in to work with me, as well as listen to it while working so long as I keep it reasonably quiet. I frequently (always?) use the "one bud in, one bud out" method so that I don't miss important things like actual conversations with co-workers. For people like me who use this listening style, this would be pointless. Surely they've considered this and have an option to alter the pause mechanics?
[quote]
The MH907 is only compatible with Sony Ericsson's own Fast Port-equipped phones
[/quote]
they could probably sell quite a few of these headphones if they had just used a 3.5mm jack...
So what happens when you want to hear the phone call, but haven't got the headphones in your ear? I'm guessing you have to use it against your head, like a phone? Whats the point then?
What if you put them in the nose?
Since when did Slashdot be a resting place for crap, gimmicky rubbish?
Isn't this just an ad? Seriously, this isn't even slightly innovative. How may MP3 players come with a set of controls on the cord? How is this any better?
I have now noticed no less than 4 different sources running with this story... So they have earphones that stop playing music when you take them out of your ears. BFD! Is this the only development in the entire world today?
You mean well, but you must not know of a couple techniques.
The AC below you had the clue to your puzzle - it's listening to the other people that sinks everything.
If someone authorizes you to work in a bloc because Something Must Get Done, you can then tap the music to boost your productivity.
My productivity goes up some 20-25% doing that.
The thing is - for me at least it works precisely and only on songs you like and know extremely well.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
never forget, never forgive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_rootkit
Worker 1: Dude, I got this new phone, but the MP3 player doesn't work.
Worker 2: Stick it in your ear.
Worker 1: WTF? You stick it in your ear! Jerk.
They could get ear buds that actually fit my ears.
They only work with special SONY-only proprietary connectors and mp3 players. I'm sure this will trigger a sea change of people dumping their iPods and iPhones and switching to SONY.
Or maybe not.
No sig today...
Great idea, but what if you listen to music with only one ear?
I'm guessing that a piece of Scotch tape wrapped around the bud that's not in your ear will do the trick.
We need a "+1 -- nice sig" moderation.
It might if they don't use power the whole time. Oh, wait...
No sig today...
A solution! I hate hate hate it when I'm listening to something and the earbuds get yanked out of my ears by a wayward finger or pen. Too bad its proprietary. And I'd like to echo sandymac's comment. Who needs to differentiate between stop and pause on MP3 players anymore? Oh and while we're at it, lets stop calling them MP3 players and come up with a better name than portable music player, please.
"If you're listening to music when a call comes in, you have to remove both earphones to stop the music, and then put one back in to answer"
Sounds like a classic case of horrible user functionality!
In the section "How it works", the article explains how to use it, but not how it works. At some point it talks about "motion controlled" earbuds and then it says it is "activated by body contact".
Frankly, if this article wanted me to consider a chance to buy this product, it should have been more precise. So far it is so vague that I just don't believe that this product will work as advertised.
This is lame journalism. In fact this is not even journalism, it looks like an ad.
TFA doesn't call it that and neither should Slashdot. A "contact headphone" implies a speaker system which uses direct contact with a surface to reproduce sound, just like a contact microphone records sound through direct contact with a surface, instead of using the air as a carrier.
Obviously what SE has done here has nothing to do with the actual speaker system, but just adds a motion detector to a regular headphone, which of course only works through a closed and proprietary interface which of course can only be found in devices by SE.
So please, don't attract my attention with an interesting sounding headline, while in fact it's just a commercial. Thank you.
Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
Does Sony think they have some groundbreaking new way of listening to music here? Very anticlimactic if so. What I think headphones need most of all is to be WIRELESS, also have more controls built in. On my iphone I have pause, skip track, skip back, play etc...how about the ability for voice commands? "play metallica", "shuffle alternative", "create quicklist, metallica, nirvana, alternative, shuffle all". The ability for voice commands might not work with an earbud as its pretty small to carry the weight of a mic while being wireless. However, what if your voice was picked up by some other means? Perhaps from the vibrations created in your head while you speak? Or possibly both headphones work together to gather the sound of your voice by measuring vibrations in between the two of them?
C'mon, this is Slashdot - I thought we were all boycotting Sony after that root kit fiasco?
It gripped her hand gently. 'Regret is for humans,' it said.
How about a toilet that when it detects shit it tells you it's time to wipe?
I only use both earphones if I'm in a noisey environment, or running power equipment. Other then that, I only insert 1 ear bud so I can hear the surrounding environment while at work. I hope there's a way to bypass the "one ear pause" of these earbuds.
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I'd hate to be the person testing this device...
"Not working for you?...maybe you didn't shove it far enough inside." is not something I'd want to hear. Ever.
just testing:
ecode
pre
1
2
3
thx
Kid-proof tablet..