I used to carry a camera/mp3 player around in a fanny pack during my high school days. The player had  play, power, and prev/next track buttons that I could feel through the lining of the pouch, so it was like my awesome grade 10 utility belt of entertainment, and I thought it was the coolest (read: ridiculously dorky) solution I’d ever thought up. Ever since then I’ve been pretty obsessed with the idea of having my device’s hardware buttons accessible at about belt level.

This brings me to the USBFever iPod Remote — one of the most exciting things I’ve seen in USBFever’s catalogue as of late. The device promises to make up for one of the major drawbacks of the iPod Touch: the lack of any hardware playback buttons. It can be easy to forget about this small detail amongst all the cool new features (wooooah web surfing!), but it’s something that’ll eventually creep up on you after years of CD Player/Sansa/Creative Zen/iPod use. You reach down to pause on your iPod Touch and realize…hey, what gives?!

With this remote in place you have full playback control of your Touch without having to take it out of your pocket, bag, or case (as long as the port is accessible). Double-tapping the home button to bring up playback controls is one thing, but in-line controls are so much more convenient.

Walkthrough

The layout of the remote is pretty simple. It’s broken into two main sections:

1) The connectors

These go right into the dock port and the 3.5 mm jack. Installing the remote is as easy as plugging these two things in. This is the reason that the remote doesn’t really jive with the iPhone or older iPod designs. The 3.5mm portion of the wire is long enough to reach the top of the device, but it’s too convoluted a solution if the jack input isn’t right beside the dock connector. I’d actually rather the 3.5mm wire was shorter so it didn’t get twisted or tangled around the rest of the kit, but as long as it’s plugged in it doesn’t pose any problems.

2) The remote

Build quality here is good for the price you’re paying ($12). The remote is also nice and light, so it doesn’t weigh you down or pull on your earphone cords if you just let it hang. The four sets of hardware keys are play/pause, fwd and prev track, and volume. The controls are all very responsive, and the iPod Touch responds as if you’d pressed the buttons on the screen itself.

There’s also a hold switch on the right side to lock the remote buttons and a small clip on the back. The clip is strong enough to hold onto the edge of your jacket or lapel, but it’s no vice grip. Your earphones are plugged in at the top, and you can use any pair you want.

But keep this in mind

There are two downsides to this remote: the cable length and the screen turn-on. The remote cable basically doubles the length of the standard iPod headphones. That’s a lot of wire. It certainly helps when you have a detachable pair of earphones like some Sony and Shure models, but for folks still using iPod earbuds, you’re going to have to wind the wires around something to shorten them or you’ll end up tripping all over yourself.

The other minor drawback here is that using the remote will wake the screen with every button press (well, except for the volume controls). This isn’t exactly a power drain, but it would be better if the screen would just stay off.

Wrapping Up

I’ve gotten used to keeping the iPod in my pants or jacket pocket and let the remote control hang freely as I wear earphones. I have the length of cable tied enough so that the remote is about waist level, so it’s just like the good old high school days! There’s no more taking the device out of my pocket or case just to pause or change songs is over, and for the price of $11.99, this accessory is a real steal. The USBFever iPod Wired Remote Control is easily recommendable to anyone looking for an affordable in-line remote solution. Fanny pack sold separately.

Product Info

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Price: $12

Availability: USBFever

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3. The iPod Touch 16GB Review. Part I: Unboxing, Hardware, and Controls
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5. Review: Sena iPod Touch 2G Milano Flip and Premium Stand cases