Filed under: Audio, Peripherals
Replug: MagSafe for your headphones
Apple's MagSafe is a great feature that has saved many a Mac portable from crashing to the floor from a trip over the power cord. Now the Replug extends the same basic idea to protecting your headphone jack. Basically the device has two parts: the interface that plugs into the audio device jack, and then a separate connector jack into which you plug your headphones. Just like the MagSafe the two parts of the Replug are joined magnetically and thus easily separate if you yank on the 'phones (e.g. by standing up). The Replug should work with any standard 1/8" audio jack.The Replug "will be in stock and ready to ship this fall."
[via Freshpilot]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ryan said 10:32AM on 10-07-2007
This is they type of thing I would like to see made for the old Apple power connector. I have gone through 3 power adapters in the past 6 months due to a 2 year old running around the house.
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Steve said 10:34AM on 10-07-2007
Good & smart idea (even if it seems that they're following Apple)... In fact I wonder if Apple is going to introduce the same system for the connection with the iPod / iPhone ?
Steve
http://inewsonly.com
The first ZUI news aggregator for iPhone & iPod touch
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Jon said 10:49AM on 10-07-2007
A MagSafe power connector is a great idea but you need it for every cable you plug in otherwise it's pointless. This is a great idea, although headphones normally aren't strong enough to bring a laptop to the ground if they are pulled. USB printer and hard drive cables on the other hand...
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Ieu-ee said 10:57AM on 10-07-2007
Magsafe was a great invention but I don't see it being very useful at all here - a quick yank and my earbuds come out of the socket anyway so why do I need a little gismo to 'add' this functionality.
I really like Jon's idea of using it with USB however I'm sure it wouldn't do the HDD any good to suddenly lose connection...
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C said 12:04PM on 10-07-2007
When it's yanked from the port does my music keep playing or does it stop like on an ipod? Good feature though.
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arnchalooo said 11:58AM on 10-07-2007
This is a good idea. It isn't so much that I get my laptop plummeting to the floor because of my headphone's cord being too long, but it's that I have many bent 1/8" plugs. The bent 1/8" plugs lead to a crunchy connection as a result of either the laptop's socket becoming worn from constant tugging of the long loose swaying headphone cord. Actually this might be a completely separate problem.
Now I'm wondering if the Replug will come out too often. I'll definitely check it out though.
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Jon said 12:46PM on 10-07-2007
"I really like Jon's idea of using it with USB however I'm sure it wouldn't do the HDD any good to suddenly lose connection..."
True, but having it smash to the floor doesn't do it much good either. As long as the hard disk isn't being read from / written to at the time, unplugging it should have no effect.
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Eric said 12:54PM on 10-07-2007
If Apple could use MagSafe in place of a Dock Connector... but that would break accessory compatibility.
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Michael said 1:32PM on 10-07-2007
"And oh boy, have we patented it!" [Steve Jobs]
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krye said 1:41PM on 10-07-2007
I wonder how long it will be before Apple sues them for ripping them off.
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Maxwell said 2:51PM on 10-07-2007
My Panasonic hotpot has a magnetic power connector, so I doubt it is an Apple-proprietary idea.
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mark audacity said 3:09PM on 10-07-2007
krve: infinitely long, because Apple patented the MagSafe connector, not the idea of magnetic connectors. There's no basis for a suit, especially since Apple does not produce a competing product.
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Simon Arch said 3:26PM on 10-07-2007
"When it's yanked from the port does my music keep playing or does it stop like on an ipod?"
Well...no. You'd have to have that built into the system hardware.
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basscadet said 7:33PM on 10-07-2007
x-box (old one, not 360) controllers had this one. was it patented?
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weisheng said 8:22PM on 10-07-2007
This should be quite useful, I whacked my headphone connector accidentally on my old Dell laptop and something inside was dislodged. Needless to say, audio output through the headphone jack went downhill and it affected the resale price on eBay.
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mediaphile said 1:24AM on 10-08-2007
"x-box (old one, not 360) controllers had this one."
Actually, that was a breakaway cable that worked a little different. Instead of being magnetic, it just had a weaker physical connection than the point where the cable plugged into the system. Similar concept, though.
The concept wouldn't work with USB not only because it would be too easy to knock a cable free during data transfer, possibly rendering the drive useless. Sure it might be safer than the drive and/or computer crashing to the ground, but the frequency of my knocking my MagSafe connector loose is far less than that of knocking my computer onto the ground by tripping over a USB cable. Besides, either all USB cables would need to adopt this new standard, or you would need a special cable/adapter for each usb cable you plan to use. I just don't see this being practical.
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Dustin said 11:28AM on 10-08-2007
"Well...no. You'd have to have that built into the system hardware."
I think he may have meant if you were connecting it to an iPod...in which case, it's feasible but unlikely.
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Simon Arch said 12:05PM on 10-08-2007
Dustin, I think you may be right there. But no, I don't think it'd work. As I understand it, the iPod can detect when the headphones are unplugged and pauses automatically. This breakaway system leaves the plug in the jack, so from the iPod's point of view everything's copacetic and it keeps on playing.
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