“Is Apple in the process of reinventing the way mainstream headphones are designed for the second time this decade?” Dan Frommer asks for Silicon Alley Insider.

“Ten years ago, I was the only guy on the train wearing earbuds. Thanks to Apple’s iPod, now everyone is,” Frommer writes. “Is the remote control clicky-thing the next thing every set of earphones has to have?”

“Apple has been shipping earbuds with built-in microphones and in-line remote controls since the iPhone went on sale in June, 2007. But they’ve increasingly become useful with other Apple products. The new iPod touch and iPod nano, released last fall, respond to the remote control to play and pause tracks, and can access the microphone. New Mac laptops do, too,” Frommer writes. “But you could still use all of those devices almost as effectively without Apple earbuds, and without the remote control. Until today.”

“Apple’s new iPod shuffle, announced this morning, ditches its built-in play/pause/volume controls, exclusively using the ones built in to Apple’s earbuds,” Frommer writes. “For now, that means you’re all but required to use Apple’s earphones: While many other headphone makers ship some models with built-in remote controls and microphones, many don’t include volume controls. (Others use different, sliding volume controls that might not be compatible with Apple products.)”

Frommer asks, “Will the industry shift (again) toward Apple’s design?”

More in the full article here.