by , 12:30 PM EST, January 15th, 2007

The TuneTether, a device to protect earbuds while in use, was announced at Macworld last week. The flexible plastic, necklace-like device has a notch that allows the earbuds, when removed from the ear, to safely drop to the chest and remain held in place.

Sonny Baird, co-founder of TuneTether, spoke with TMO on the Macworld show floor. "What started it all was when a friend of mine got the earbuds tangled in her legs while exercising and fell. Later, I dropped my earbuds onto the the muffler of my motorcycle, and they were scorched. That was when I decided there had to be a better way to wear earbuds. The TuneTether was born," Mr. Baird told TMO.

This reporter tried one, and it works very well. It is also very soft, flexible, and easily removed. The TuneTether comes in pink, white and black and is available immediately. The introductory price is US$9.99 each or three for US$19.97

TuneTether