iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Friday, October 31, 2008
News Category: iPod Accessories

The Sneak Peeks sections of iLounge’s iPod + iPhone Buyers’ Guides often see the first public debuts of new and exciting accessories for iPods and iPhones. This year, two of the most notable new products debuting in the 2009 iPod + iPhone Buyers’ Guide come from V-moda and Griffin, in the form of the Vibe II headphones and the Navigate remote and FM receiver for iPod and iPhone. As the sequel to the popular Vibe ($128), V-Moda’s Vibe II with Microphone carry over some of the original’s best features—such as fabric cables, an integrated microphone with a music/call control button (found on the Vibe Duo), and separate black and clear eartips in multiple sizes—while adding a new smaller size of eartips, new casings, and detachable earhooks.

Griffin’s Navigate is the first in-line display remote control for iPhones and iPods, and a spiritual successor to the company’s earlier iFM. Navigate features a two-line OLED screen, play/pause, track forward/backward, stop, scan, EQ, playlist, and shuffle buttons. In addition to showing song information on the screen, Navigate also allows users to tune in FM radio stations, complete with RDS information. Both products are slated for release in November.