It had a slight smell when I took it out of the packaging. This is one of the examples. 5? cord. Volume, pause, and skip, rewind, answer/decline calls, etc. I would stay away from this "HD1 Free" unit as they must be having some serious quality problems or manufacturing problems. That seems to work for me -- Im awake so I can plonk with precision, and when I get up, I just grab the phone and go, instead of having to unplug the thing. I like the sleekness, the top finger parts have already started to wear away from use and it has been two weeks. The Mr. I could hear the speakers but they were not loud to beat the waves of the ocean. Finally got my shoes organized thanks to this shoe rack!