iLounge

Company: SendStation

Website: www.sendstation.com

Model: earBuddy

Price: $15

Compatible: All iPods

SendStation earBuddy

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Friday, November 25, 2005
Category: Clips and Cord Managers - General

Pros: A highly attractive, resilient earbud protector for Apple’s packed-in earbuds, conveniently doubling as a keychain, and available in two nice color options. Great build quality with nice zipper. The best-looking earbud protector we’ve seen to date.

Cons: Price is almost the same as buying a pair of replacement earbuds.

It’s the nicest iPod earbud holder we’ve seen. It’s also the most expensive. Available in two different color patterns - orange and silver or all black - SendStation’s earBuddy ($15) lets you wrap your Apple buds up in a convenient, highly attractive ballistic nylon enclosure that’s safe for travel or daily carrying.

A nice zipper closes the unit, and a custom-made ABS plastic insert inside makes winding your earbuds very easy. We were highly impressed by the build quality and feel of the design, which has the right combination of strength, looks, and texture to make your earbuds feel safe no matter what you’re doing. And thanks to a metal keyring, earBuddy can also serve as a keychain on its own, or attach to your existing keychain. This is a smart design touch that distinguishes this earbud holder from others we’ve seen, such as Audio Outfitters’ larger earPod. 

Not surprisingly, our only reservation on earBuddy is pricing. The $15 asking price is higher than it should be - set at a retailer- but not consumer-friendly premium - and we wouldn’t be surprised if some people scoffed at paying almost as much for this protector as they would for a replacement pair of earbuds. That it comes with one free iTunes Music Store download will not likely be a major incentive to buy it, either, but it’s a welcome offset. Price aside, we were swayed to make a general B-level recommendation - it would have been higher at a lower price - since we legitimately like the look, feel, and utility of earBuddy enough to use it ourselves. We’ve identified other earbud protecting options in our Reviews section, but price aside, this is definitely the best-designed one we’ve yet seen.