Shellphone: Mother Nature crafts an iPhone loudspeaker
If the Little Mermaid had an iPhone, she would use a Shellphone to amplify the volume.
The next time you hold a shell up to your ear, you may hear your boss talking rather than the sounds of the ocean. The Shellphone is exactly what it sounds like, a shell that's been fashioned into a loudspeaker for the iPhone.
There are no power adapters and no batteries, just the natural shape of the Whelk shell to amplify the iPhone's speaker. WAAM Industries is raising funds on Kickstarter to put Shellphones into production.
You're probably wondering what makes the Shellphone worth $60 when you can just wander down to the beach and gather some shells of your own. There is actually some craftsmanship going into the docks. Each one has to be cut by hand, shaped, and fitted to hold an iPhone and provide optimum sound.
The Shellphone isn't going to appeal to everyone. For the same price, you could pick up a decent-powered external speaker. This is more about the novelty and the enjoyment of the shell's natural form. It does amplify the sound, but it's not going to blow you away with the volume.
Whether or not the Shellphone reaches its $10,000 funding goal, it definitely provides inspiration in the quest for unusual ways to amplify your iPhone. Also, sometimes it's nice not to have to deal with batteries.
