Radius Atomic Strap Earbuds (blue)

Colorful earbuds have become increasingly popular with headphone manufacturers, possibly because of consumer demand for something a bit more stylish than plain white or black. It’s no wonder: Earphones are basically accessories that serve to pipe music to your ears, so they might as well be fashionable. Radius is one company that has popped up with an impressive array of color-coordinated headphones. One model, the Atomic Strap, even attaches to the bottom of your 3G iPod Nano and lets you sport it around your neck. At $40, these ‘phones are quite a value for bass-loving Nano owners.

The Radius Atomic Strap earbuds are available in a variety of colors to match the third-generation Nano, but owners of the pink and red version are out of luck for the time being. As of press time, available colors include black, silver, blue, and green. The earbuds descend from two thin, white cables that are attached to a thick white neck strap (except in the black version, where all cords are black). At the end of the lanyard is a small rectangular attachment that connects to the iPod via the dock connector and headphone jack. The player feels very secure when docked onto the Atomic Strap; in fact, it’s a bit of a challenge to detach it. While worn, the iPod hangs about a foot or so from the neck. The earbuds cannot be used with any other device, meaning they’re not terribly versatile, but we’re willing to forgive this given the affordable price tag.

In testing, we found the Atomic Strap earbuds to be quite comfortable. Radius includes three sizes of silicone ear sleeves, which do a reasonable job at passively blocking outside noise. The fact that the aperture is angled off of the earpiece also helps in this regard, and likely contributes to the comfort as well. Still, any potential users should be OK with sticking something into the ear canal, as that is necessary with these ‘phones.

Sound quality was pretty impressive for earphones in this price range. The Atomic Strap is definitely heavy on the low-end, though, so listeners who don’t like a lot of bass and prefer more even audio should take heed. High-end detail is not lost in the thumping lows, but high-hats, triangle, and acoustics don’t really sparkle. However, mids sound warm and encompassing. Music that really shines is that in the hip-hop, downtempo, and electronic categories. Hard rock songs can tend to sound muffled and overblown. All in all, the Atomic Strap Earbuds are a great option for bass-addicts who want to wear their 3G iPods necklace-style

Advice on the iPod Touch and iTunes 7.7–Ask the Editor

fter Friday’s iPhone delirium, I’m going to take the helm of the iMania and steer it in a slightly different direction: toward the iPod Touch and the latest release of iTunes, Version 7.7. Namely, let’s address whether there’s a noticeable difference in screen and sound quality when it comes to the Touch, other iPod models, and the iPhone. Also, should someone who has been using the same version of iTunes for five years upgrade to the latest software?

Q: I am thinking of buying an iPod Touch but have a couple questions. First, I heard about the screen quality being lesser than the iPhone. Is this true and is it real noticeable? I mean if it still looks good compared to other MP3 screens then I guess I don’t care. Also, I was using a Zune until now and I really liked having the subscription music. I heard something about Apple trying to get a subscription going–is there any new news about this? Finally I also have seen from reviews that the quality of the music is not as good as previous iPods were. Is this true and would it be noticeable to someone who will more then likely just use the earphones that come with the iPod Touch or maybe slightly more expensive ones?–viper134, via CNET forums

A: I have used both the iPod Touch and the iPhone on numerous occasions and cannot personally see any difference in screen quality. In fact, they have the same display specs (480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 pixels per inch), so any noted difference is likely the result of a buggy unit or just the user’s imagination. It’s a pretty nice screen for video-watching, in my opinion.

On the subscription front, we haven’t heard anything around here that suggests that Apple will be offering an all-you-can-eat music plan anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean much. Steve Jobs is notoriously adept at keeping such things under wraps, and people love to speculate about what’s next on Apple’s agenda.

As for sound quality, I always recommend replacing the stock earbuds for any MP3 player, though I don’t think the ones that come with the Touch are any worse than those that have come with previous iPods (in fact, they are likely better). People certainly notice nuances in sound quality between the Touch and other versions of the iPod, but I wouldn’t say that the Touch sounds any worse than the others. I find the audio quality to be more than passable on that model.

Q: So we have iTunes 4. I never updated it. Should I? I’m worried it will screw something up. We had issues getting iTunes to work with everyone’s account here on Windows XP, so that everyone’s music is on their profile/account and no one else’s. If I update iTunes, will anything change besides the look? Will everything be OK?–Scott, via e-mail

Upgrades are worth it for some, but not for others.

A: If you haven’t updated iTunes since 2003 (v.4.1), my guess is that you probably haven’t updated your machines since 2003 either. If that is the case, your computer may not meet the necessary system requirements (see below) to run the latest version of the software. If it’s an older machine that does meet the minimum, there’s still a chance that the newer, more intensive software will cause it to grind to a halt. In any event, I can’t guarantee that everything will be OK and largely the same after an update, especially when it comes to the user profile information. I’ve had various issues when updating iTunes in the past, and plenty of users have experienced problems with many music software apps when it comes to updating. If you want to use an iPhone, rent movies, or even use a new iPod, you’ll need to use iTunes 7.6 or later. If you’re happy the way things are, then I would suggest not upgrading to the latest version.

Apple’s posted requirements for running iTunes 7.7:

Windows Requirements

• 32-bit editions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista
• 64-bit editions of Windows Vista
• 500 MHz Pentium class processor or better
• 256MB RAM
• Supported CD-R or DVD-R drive to burn CDs
• Broadband Internet connection (DSL/Cable/LAN) for buying and streaming music

Additional Video Requirements

• 2GHz Pentium class processor or better
• 512MB RAM
• 32MB video RAM