TECH NIGHTMARES: iPod monstrosities

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Here's a typical scenario: You're strutting down the street listening to a fresh track while browsing for your next track, and suddenly you run into a friend. Your first impulse is to stroke the Click Wheel to turn down the volume or hit pause. Alas, you're in the menu, and by the time you fumble to the Now Playing screen, you just pull your earbuds out. Unlike many of the iPod's competitors that feature dedicated volume buttons and player controls, the iPod's controls serve multiple purposes, and sometimes, you just want total control over volume.

Some remote control options:

1. If you're in a pinch where you need to hear, remember that you can always pull the headphone plug out of its jack; conveniently, the iPod pauses automatically when you do so.

2. The typical way out of this quandary is to purchase the remote and earphones from Apple. They cost $39, and unfortunately, you can't buy the remote separately. The wired remote lets you fast-forward, rewind, play/pause, and control the volume with four simple buttons, and you can stash your device in your pocket or backpack. The 5G video iPod does not have a "smart" headphone jack, so there is no wired remote available from Apple.

3. CNET editors recommend an RF remote such as Griffin's AirClick. Mount the receiver on a dock-connector iPod or iPod Mini and control it (play/pause, forward, backward, and volume up and down) from as far away as 100 feet. Wireless is the way to go, especially since the remote can work through walls. Stash your iPod in your backpack, put your iPod on Shuffle Songs, and go. The 2.5-by-1.3-inch remote includes a clip and its own hold switch.

4. Look out for other innovative products such as Nyko's iTop Button Relocator, which mounts atop an iPod and features tactile and unique buttons such as volume up and down that you can operate without looking at the iPod's screen.

5. For the video-enabled iPod, you'll have to check out a whole new world of remote accessories, including the new wireless remote ($29) that works with the new $39 dock. The reason? The new iPod has no "smart" jack such as the one that allowed previous versions to work with a set of top-mounted accessories. All new iPod accessories will be bottom mounted to the dock connector.