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Provides: Buttons and third-party headphone support for iPod shuffle
Developer: Scosche
Minimum Requirements: 3rd Generation iPod shuffle
Price: $29.99
Availability: Now

Scosche’s tapSTICK for the iPod shuffle attempts to fix the biggest problem with Apple’s super miniature MP3 player: the controls/headphones. Does it succeed?

You might remember my opinion of Apple’s newest incarnation of the iPod shuffle.  If you don’t, I didn’t exactly like it. In fact, I disliked it so much that I promptly returned it to my nearest Apple Store. Well, my beloved 2nd generation iPod shuffle was recently stolen, so I decided to give the new iPod shuffle another chance. Some time has passed since my first go at the device, and now there are new accessories to fix the problems I had with the headphone-based controls. So let’s get to this review already.

The tapSTICK takes the controls that started out on the headphone cable and moves them back onto the device. Or rather, on a case that slides over one side of the device.  And I’m so glad that it does.  The original controls would fail due to moisture (AKA working out) very easily.  The tapSTICK is moisture resistant.  It won’t really protect your shuffle from moisture very much, since it only covers one side, but it will continue to work in your sweaty paws.  It has the standard three buttons that allow you to tap out the Morse Code-like gestures for track playback control.  And the feature that might excite you the most; it allows you to use any set of headphones that you want to.

Right now, there’s a song that I just can’t get out of my mind. “Why do you build me up buttercup, baby, just to let me down?” I’m sorry, I have to…it’s my job.

I have a lot of problems with this device.  The buttons are very difficult to push anywhere other than in the hand.  So, if you have it attached to your waistband, you’ll have a hard time double tapping to get to the next song.  I’m not sure if this is really a problem with the buttons or just a result of the difficulty I had while trying to press buttons on a tiny device against my skin.  Either way, it’s something to be aware of.  I ended up deciding to now hold my iPod shuffle while working out.  It’s not optimal, but it’s better than Apple’s headphone based controls in that you don’t have to use their headphones.

Also, you can’t control your iPod shuffle with the original headphone controls while in the tapSTICK.  This isn’t a problem since you likely would buy this device to forever rid yourself from Apple’s controls, but again, something to note.  This is apparently a technical limitation that isn’t Scosche’s fault.  As a result, you also can’t sync your shuffle while in the case.  Now that’s an inconvenient truth.  I still struggle to believe there is no way to enable this feature, but I’ll take Scosche’s word that it’s just not possible.

I also found myself wishing that the tapSTICK had a few extra features.  Basically, the tapSTICK is just a case with the headphone’s buttons on it.  Nothing more.  I really wish they had put a little extra effort into it and added two extra buttons: fast forward and rewind.  Sure, you or I could do this by pressing the play/pause button 2 or 3 times, but couldn’t the case do it itself with a button-based shortcut?  I think it could, and that would have given this case an extra point on my rating.  Alas, it does not.

Now, I have to admit that I’ve been hard on this case.  In truth, it’s a great solution to a stupendously silly problem created by Apple’s so called improvements made to the iPod shuffle.  Controls don’t belong solely on the headphone cable, just waiting to fail at the mere thought of moisture.  If they stop working, you’re SOL.  But not with the tapSTICK.  It gives you the freedom to use any headphones you choose.  And since that’s the main reason you’d by this device, it doesn’t really need to have any extra features.  Still, with the added cost of the tapSTICK and another set of headphones, unless this device is the last piece of your puzzle, you might just buy an iPod nano for a bit more money.