Totally tubular speakers, dude!

, creators of the Stowaway portable keyboard, will be launching a set of portable speakers on December 15. The $200 BoomTube is a spiffy-looking set of speakers made of aluminum and shaped like a tube. Two satellite speakers unscrew from either side of the tube, which contains the subwoofer and the inputs and outputs. Designed to be used with MP3 players, laptops, and gaming devices, the BoomTube backs up style with substance: an impressive 40 watts of clean and bright sound, though the bass is lacking true thump. Though we are disappointed with the rechargeable battery's life of just four hours, the BoomTube is a nice choice for daytrippers who want to combine nice sound from a pretty package. If the BoomTube sounds or looks familiar, it's based on a design from the now-defunct Virgin Electronics. Supposedly, the current BoomTube has been improved in a redesign.