I live in California, and starting tomorrow (July 1), drivers must use a hands-free device for all cell phone calls. Now I know the iPhone comes with a set of headphones with a built-in microphone, so technically there's a free solution. But that doesn't make for a very good story. It turns out the iPhone ear buds simply do not stay in my ear. So for better or worse, I needed to find a different way to go hands-free.About a month ago I ordered the new Jawbone when it first came out, thinking that would be my solution. It was $140. Yow. But it had great reviews about the performance, especially in noisy situations. And I really didn't like it. I just feel weird wearing a headset on my ear like that. Besides, it turns out I use my iPhone a lot to listen to podcasts and music. So I already have earphones. I just need a microphone to go with my existing headphones (Nike Earhooks).
Turns out these exist; they are short extension cords with an inline microphone. Both Monster Cable and Griffin make one, and they cost about $10-15. As I was looking around a bit more, I found no-name versions for $5-10. Then I found Cross Mark.
They are a wholesaler in China, who will sell you electronic gadgets and accessories at pretty amazing wholesale prices. You can get a cheap knock-off iPod for $23.16, or an LED light bulb for $3.17. Or, an inline iPhone microphone for $2.79. With shipping and handling (from China!), it cost $3.62. And if I wanted to buy 50 of them, it'd cost only $1.80 each. Gotta love the disintermediation power of the web.
So who wants to go in for an order of 50+ LED light bulbs?
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