I love having music with me everywhere, so I always have my iPhone full of music. Of course the problem is that I don’t always have something to plug it into. I’ve seen little portable speakers designed specifically for this purpose, but the small ones sound absolutely terrible and the ones that do sound halfway decent are usually way to bulky to carry around.
Well, one of my friends (thanks Eric) put me on to the IceKube. This innovative little box basically turns any solid surface into a big, great-sounding speaker!
The box (called the “iceKUBE IT-20 digital vibration acoustic speaker”) produces mechanical vibrations when plugged into an MP3 player or laptop, and when coupled with a (preferably flat) surface, it will turn the surface into a vibrating surface, just like a huge speaker. I’ve seen ultra-high-end speakers that work on this principle, but this little guy puts it all into one of the best, nicest little portable packages I’ve seen.
It works best on glass and wood, but they claim that it also works really well on counter tops too. Best of all, they are pretty reasonably priced at $89.
This this is WAY to cool for me to not go and buy one for myself right now. You can buy one for yourself on Amazon.
OK, I couldn’t contain myself, I just ordered one.
Hey,
I am looking to get an agency of something ‘cool’ with regards to portable speakers, here in the U.A.E
The x-mini has just ‘exploded’ onto the scene here but they are already represented. I am looking to be competition … so if you know of anything … especially a company that’s going to constantly innovate, would really appreciate a pointer in the right direction!
Samal.
This is a very cool looking device and I like the design a lot better then the sound bug, which is the more well known device which works on the same principal.
The one thing I’ve never gotten a clear answer on is, how does it do with bass heavy songs? It seems to me the lesser vibrations of the small high pitched waves would be easy to produce with this method. However I wonder how well it will produce the wide waves of deep bass sounds. As someone who listens to a lot of electronic music which is traditionally very bass heavy I would really like to see a follow up video with some deep house, tribal, or even some drum and bass to see how it holds up to those demanding tasks.
>> MOD: I actually ordered one, so I’ll be able to tell you the answer to that very question very soon!
A friend acquired a couple of SoundBugs about five years ago, which work on the same principle. They were crappy. If this actually work, it’s pretty exciting! But I will be cynical until I see it in person.