Soon after I Twittered about my frustration with earbud headphones, I started thinking about how they might be improved. My main frustration with earbuds is that it seems like every time I pick them up from a table or my pockets, the earbud that I put in my left hand is never the left earbud, and I have to switch them around (which exacerbates the second problem of the cord being twisted.) I wondered if there was a way to make symmetrical earbuds that need no left/right designation, and came up with this idea:
The idea is that there is a weight on an axle in the earbud, which, when snapped backwards with a small rotational flick of the wrist as you put them towards your ears, bumps the speakers into proper forward position for each ear. Now both earbuds work in either ear, and are set by the act of simply moving them towards your ears.
What do you think? I’d love to hear any other ideas you have that addresses the problem. Also, if you have any ideas as to how to solve the cord tangle problem send those along as well. If I come with something, I will post it later.
De-classified comments
One note is that there is a difference in stereo sound between the left and right channels; this is part of the reason that you have to put the correct one in the correct ear…
Perhaps the bump stop or the position of the weighted arm turns a circuit on/off that routes the signal to the proper earbud? I’m no engineer (obviously).
Here’s an idea:
Set 1: Get out some nail polish and put a dot on the right ear bud.
Set 2: Remember, red means right.
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