Thanks for your feedback. As I gave the product a perfect five-star rating, I think it's clear that my own personal desire for the Westone 3 to gain iPhone-specific features wasn't a factor in the rating that I assigned the product. Although for what it's worth, I'm sure that I'm far from the only iPhone user to have expressed that particular sentiment about the 3. And from my conversations with Westone, they know it too. In fact, now that newer iPod (and iPhone) models are capable of volume, voice, and playback control via three buttons, it's more vital then ever that earbuds gain these controls if they want to compete in the iPhone/iPod space. Granted, not everyone in the market for earbuds is an iPhone/iPod user, but that's the userbase that this publication is aimed at. We figure any non-Apple user who comes across our review can do their own math as far as determining if the product is suitable for them (which, after all, is the primary purpose of a review).

As far as third party mic adapters, I've tried them, and they're not a real solution. They put the mic way too far away from your mouth, and generally make the earbuds too heavy overall. The only satisfactory way of adding a mic is to have it located where the cable splits into the Y-shape or (preferably) higher, and that just can't be done with add-ons; the mic needs to be embedded into the product in order to have such a location.

Thanks for suggesting the UM3x, I'll see if a review can be arranged.

Much thanks,
Bill Palmer
Editor in Chief
iProng Magazine
http://www.iProng.com

Why don't you just BUY an iPhone adapter that has the Mic?!
Yes, it'll add a foot of extra cable but at least you can use the Mic to answer your calls!!

Otherwise, the Westone 3 is pretty good until you have a heart attack when you see the price! BTW the Westone UM3x is just as good, just without much of the bass in the 3 model as the UM3x was originally designed for musicians and their music monitors.

People like myself do use the UM3x for their iPods/PMPs since we're not all Bassheads. Not all music should be heard with a lot of bass like jazz, classical or pop!

Try reviewing the UM3x in the near future!