Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

iPod Earbuds: We Will Shock You

by Peter Mychalcewycz on May 21, 2009 at 11:10 AM



Turns out those lovable little earbuds may deliver more than pleasant sound waves.

According to a support bulletin issued by Apple, the cans are a possible conduit for static electricity. The company has issued some tips to keep the voltage down--which essentially tell you to stop using the player.

Among the dangerous conditions are dry or windy environments (sorry U.S. Southwest, Midwest, and coastal zones). Motion is also a troublemaker, so Apple advises against exercising with the iPod or frequently taking it in and out of your pocket, especially if you are wearing synthetic fabrics such as nylon. Sure, who does that with their iPod anyway?


So as long as you sit at home with the humidifier on, your "portable," "pocketable" music player should be harmless. One useful piece of advice is to apply an anti-static hand lotion. After all, it's never wrong to moisturize.

In all fairness, this danger doesn't seem to be a unique risk with the Apple earbuds but a is danger with all corded headphones. Until Apple installs stereo Bluetooth in its iPods (and iPhone) looks like we'll just have to live dangerously. [From: Wired]

Tags: apple, earbuds, earphones, headphones, ipod

Comments

9

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular