04-17-2002, 05:23 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,060
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Turning Your Window Or Tabletop Into A Speaker
http://www.insomedia.com/soundbug/
Here's a review of a little device Jason saw at CeBIT and that Phillip Torrone seems to really like. It's a type of speaker amplifier for use with mobile devices like Pocket PCs. You plug it into the headphone jack of your device, then attach it to any large, flat surface like a large window or table top. The sound is then vibrated through the surface, turning it into a huge speaker.
Phillip writes:
"The sound quality of the Soundbug is pretty impressive, the best results have been with a large pane of thick glass at a restaurant and also my wooden dining room table, in fact it was so loud that I was asked to turn it down. Smaller than a computer mouse, Soundbug plugs into the standard 3.5mm headphone socket of any device, so that means pretty much anything that has headphones...
The Soundbug transmits the sound to the flat surface by way of a small piece of Terfenol, which is a mixture of rare earth metals and iron. This substance is placed within an aluminum case, around which is wrapped a coil. Passing electricity through the coil causes the piece of Terfonal to slightly expand, resulting in a force of 400 pounds. Once attached to a flat surface, Soundbug will transmit electronic signals into mechanical energy, causing the flat surface to vibrate and broadcast the sound."
Thinkgeek.com publishes these additional specs:
� Turns any hard, glossy surface into a sound source
� Generates sound levels of up to 75 dBm peak
� Two Soundbugs can be linked in parallel to generate full stereo sound
� Uses (3) AAA batteries (included)
� Dimensions: 3.8" x 2.1" x 1.5"
I wouldn't mind giving this a try, as long as my teenage son couldn't end up creating an "Is It Live Or Is It Memorex" effect with it.
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