Griffin unveils AirCurve acoustic amplifier, Clarifi case for iPhone

We're not saying a transparent box designed to "acoustically amplify" your iPhone speakers is an unmistakable ripoff or anything, but we do believe your $19.99 would be better spent on materials and beverages of choice as you exercise that DIY muscle. At any rate, Griffin Technology has today introduced the AirCurve (that's the thing we just described) alongside the Clarifi ($34.99; pictured after the jump), a polycarbonate protective case for your iPhone 3G. Unlike alternatives, though, this one has a "close-up lens," which supposedly gives your iPhone 3G the ability to take remarkably detailed macro shots with even "more accurate colors." Call us jaded, but both of these things have marketing hoopla written all over 'em.

[Via iLounge]
Read - AirCurve
Read - Clarifi

[John H. @ Sep 17th 2008 8:33PM]

The fish was delish and it made quite a dish.

[Evangelion @ Sep 17th 2008 8:40PM]

LOL

[pozzitron @ Sep 17th 2008 8:42PM]

I dont get it. what kinda of fish was it?

[who? @ Sep 17th 2008 8:50PM]

Catfish or Kelpfish? Surgeonfish?

[deyanimay @ Sep 17th 2008 8:53PM]

iFish

[Evangelion @ Sep 17th 2008 8:41PM]

But seriously, I'm really looking forward to those cases.

[who? @ Sep 17th 2008 8:41PM]

I intelligently invest in iPods instead of iPhones. Cell contracts can create crazy credit card crap.

[iEye @ Sep 17th 2008 9:06PM]

Invest money in iPods? you sir are an idiot!

How about investing your money it in the BANK? or at least Apple shares? since you are sooo in love with S.J.

And you can always buy an iPhone, then pay the ETF then go prepaid... F- the contract!

[jared @ Sep 17th 2008 9:26PM]

my dad would say, "no, an investment is something that MAKES you money."

so yea, you've disappointed my dad.

[Kevin @ Sep 17th 2008 9:33PM]

I am the only one who took high school english?

Nice use of alliteration!

[who? @ Sep 17th 2008 10:29PM]

Thanks Kevin. At least someone on Engadget has a brain.

[Martin @ Sep 18th 2008 2:43AM]

Since when was it only possible to invest to get money?
How about investing in a healthy body? Ask the wellness-industry, lots of people do it.
- and in this case - invest in whatever makes you feel happier or better about something, here the iPhone..

It's like buying new rims for your car, most likely it won't make it worth more money, but it might make you like it better - and thus it's been a good investment.
Sometimes I even buy pants that cost over $150, even if there are fine $20 alternatives to choose from. Why your dad might ask? Because I liked those specific pants, and they make me feel good when wearing them.
That's calling investing in yourself.

Investing in yourself is always profitable, it just can't always be measured in cold money.

[T-Bone @ Sep 18th 2008 6:59AM]

Investing is all about spending money in hopes of getting it all back, and if you are lucky, getting more. What you are talking about is spending, not investing.

[who? @ Sep 18th 2008 8:43AM]

Oh, for God's sake! Ok, I was just playing with words that related to the product in question.

If the word 'buy' or 'have' (or anything else that could have fit in there and made sense) began with an 'i', I would have used that.

Just to reiterate: I have no interest in investing in iPods, iPhones, or indeed anything at all. I was using relative alliteration for fun (playing around with words that start with the same letter).

[striggity @ Sep 17th 2008 8:43PM]

Do Not Want...DNW

[pozzitron @ Sep 17th 2008 8:45PM]

I do not want either... IDNWE

[deyanimay @ Sep 17th 2008 8:54PM]

do not care... DNC... Democratic National Convention, coincidence i think not.

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 17th 2008 8:57PM]

Clear plastic + electronics = UGH. Hideous.

[lorddshadow @ Sep 17th 2008 9:18PM]

actually there aren't any electronics so...yeah.

[Serial 8-Ball Mouse @ Sep 17th 2008 10:09PM]

@lorddshadow

I said clear plastic + electronics. Not clear plastic electronics.

SO, YEAH.

[Neil Bradley @ Sep 17th 2008 9:07PM]

The correct term is "concentrate", not "amplify". There is no additional power being introduced, therefore cannot be amplification. It's just taking sound that would be spread out over a larger area and concentrating it into a smaller area.

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 17th 2008 10:14PM]

I disagree with your interpretation. To amplify means to make larger or more powerful; sound can be amplified in ways that don't use electricity. Try cupping your hands around your mouth the next time you shout at somebody (or watch the cheerleaders use those big cone devices).

The soundwaves may be focused (what I think you mean by concentrated), but the waves are still going to radiate in all directions once they leave the mechanical amplifier chamber. The sound is still being spread out over the same volume of space.

[Nipponese @ Sep 17th 2008 10:37PM]

It's a form of acoustic amplification like the horn, it is a perfectly viable form of amplification.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_transmission_lines

[Ferny @ Sep 17th 2008 10:10PM]

how is putting a filter going to make the iphone have the ability to take in more color?

[Justin @ Sep 17th 2008 10:27PM]

Not take in more color, just change the color balance slightly. Like when you use an A-1 warming filter on still cameras. It's practically clear, just a little pink, enough to warm up the color of the shots. I imagine it's something like that.

[michael hamaker @ Sep 17th 2008 10:10PM]

I'm with Neil. I suspect it's a folded horn loudspeaker, what they are calling "wave guide".

[Nipponese @ Sep 17th 2008 10:37PM]

Wave guide is a term Bose coined for their products. It really is just a folded horn which is technically called transmission line.

[mcdj @ Sep 17th 2008 10:19PM]

I already have a plastic coin bank. I'll stick my iPhone in there and see what happens.

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 17th 2008 10:20PM]

Much closer to the truth here. The folded horn, or wave guide as Bose also calls it, is a mechanical means of tuning a loudspeaker's response. It can mechanically amplify some frequencies while cancelling out others. The whole black art of building a speaker enclosure revolves around what frequency range and dynamic attributes you want your drivers to produce. Identical drivers can sound remarkably different based on the air chambers (or lack of) within the speaker cabinet.

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 17th 2008 10:22PM]

;p Meant to be a reply to Michael Hamaker's mention of a folded horn design.

[Nipponese @ Sep 17th 2008 10:35PM]

Transmission line enclosure for the iPhone speaker? That's just ridiculous.

[Neil Bradley @ Sep 17th 2008 10:47PM]

"The soundwaves may be focused (what I think you mean by concentrated), but the waves are still going to radiate in all directions once they leave the mechanical amplifier chamber. The sound is still being spread out over the same volume of space."

The point is, it's the same amount of overall energy. There is no amplification of any signals anywhere. Yes, it'll spread out over the same volume of space, but it will be far more uneven. The "cupping my hands around my mouth" example is the same thing. More of the equal energy radiates in one axis than the others.

It's still not amplification.

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 17th 2008 11:24PM]

It's not the same amount of energy. The amplitude of the soundwaves is (supposedly - I've not done any first hand testing) increased by the design of the wave guide. If the sound produced is louder, most people would agree that the sound has been amplified. If you didn't like my original examples, here's another: the hollow body of an acoustic guitar amplifies the sound produced by the vibration of the strings.

http://www.guitarwiki.com/index.php/Anatomy_of_the_guitar

[jon @ Sep 18th 2008 12:01AM]

not exactly. horns are essentially "impedance matching" between the driver and the air. they increase the efficiency of energy transfer from the speaker to the air. you're not getting extra power for free, but you are recovering some lost power for free.

[letstakeawalk @ Sep 18th 2008 7:18PM]

Thanks Jon.

Since the horn acts as a resonating chamber, the efficiency of the speaker is increased. A more efficient speaker produces a greater sound pressure level than a less efficient speaker. The greater sound pressure level is interpreted by the listener as being louder, and the sound can be said to have been amplified. I think our impasse results from differing ideas of whats being amplified. I agree that no electrical watts are being added, but acoustic watts (determined by the efficiency of the driver) certainly are being increased.

Just like the resonating hollow body of a guitar sounds louder than a solid-body guitar.

I did look up audio concentrators, and it seems like the government has some interesting conceptual applications, like identifying materials inside closed containers.

[Evan @ Sep 17th 2008 11:00PM]

If it lets me hear my iPhone ring while I'm in another room, I'm all for it!

[Eric Patton @ Sep 18th 2008 4:16PM]

If you want to have this get one of the new bluetooth "house phones" they pick up the cell when you're in the house and pipe it through a normal cordless phone anywhere in your home. They also work with and without normal landlines.

[Neil Bradley @ Sep 18th 2008 12:07AM]

"It's not the same amount of energy."

It is the exact same amount of energy. The iPhone doesn't suddenly get more power just because the speakers are concentrated into a chamber. If it actually did create more energy passively, then you'd better patent that idea quick.

"The amplitude of the soundwaves is (supposedly - I've not done any first hand testing) increased by the design of the wave guide."

On that axis, yes, it's louder (that's the point of concentrating the energy), but it's quieter on all other axes. The overall amount of energy expended is exactly the same. Actually, it's slightly less due to small absorbtion of sound energy. ;-)

"If the sound produced is louder, most people would agree that the sound has been amplified."

It's still not amplification, no matter who agrees with the example. If most people say that the moon is made of green cheese, that wouldn't make it true. ;-) The problem is most people don't understand the difference between amplification and concentration, this example being the latter. The prior example posted by someone else WRT transmission lines also made no mention of amplification. The guitar example is also well intentioned but wrong. There is no amplification occurring. Taken from Wikipedia on "Acoustic guitar":

"An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings. "

Complete lack of mention of the word "amplification" or "amplify". In fact:

"No amplification actually occurs in this process, in the sense that no energy is externally added to increase the loudness of the sound " And "The function of the entire acoustic system is to maximize intensity of sound, but since total energy remains constant,".

And no, I didn't write that. ;-) I just have a very good understanding of sound, and I hope this has been educational.

[Monte Zuma @ Sep 18th 2008 5:18AM]

What fine institution did you receive your B.S in Acoustical Engineering from? Any respectable teaching professional will inform you that using Wikipedia as a reference, even for a simple explanation, damages the credibility of your work. Acoustics have much to do about materials and volume (not in reference to "loudness"). You can change the sound and efficiency of a speaker by changing its operating environment, it's all physics. I won't claim to have "...a very good understanding of sound...", I just know some shit, about a lot of different shit. I did not intend to exacerbate the situation, but I find it irritating when people think they know what they're talking about. I hope this has been educational.

[cliff @ Sep 18th 2008 2:05AM]

doesn't really matter, I'm trading in my super flakey, always call dropping wonder for a Storm. Did I mention I haven't been able to access any of my mail accounts since I updated to the latest but not greatest firmware. It seems that every update breaks more than it fixes. Way to Go Jobski!

[R Charles @ Sep 18th 2008 5:26PM]

I actually saw the AirCurve at the Expo in Paris....it works as advertised. Very cool idea from Griffin. They put an iPhone 3G in the dock on top of it and there was a huge difference. Also saw it tested with the original iPhone. Definitely going to pick one up when it is available.

[DGTLLVR @ Sep 18th 2008 6:58PM]

It is a waveguide, the poster is ignorant of the facts. Good job reviewing a product that not only do you not understand, but you can't even review as you don't have one.

Brilliant so now engadget has become nothing more than a typical forum, with random know-it-alls posting about things.

It amplifies the sound, thats how waveguides work. You can use a waveguide as a filter or as a physical sound amplifier.

am·pli·fy (mpl-f)
v. am·pli·fied, am·pli·fy·ing, am·pli·fies
v.tr.
1. To make larger or more powerful; increase.
2. To add to, as by illustrations; make complete.
3. To exaggerate.
4. To produce amplification of: amplify an electrical signal.
v.intr.
To write or discourse at length; expatiate: Let me amplify so that you will understand the overall problem.

[A Griffin Employee @ Sep 19th 2008 2:54PM]

I work for Griffin, and I would like to direct your attention to the Clarifi product page, which has been updated with unretouched example shots. I shot them myself, outside, about 20 minutes ago.

The Clarifi, believe it or not, is not just hoopla.

Clarifi example shots

[A Griffin Employee @ Sep 19th 2008 2:56PM]

I work for Griffin, and I would like to direct your attention to the
Clarifi product page, which has been updated with unretouched example
shots. I shot them myself, outside, about 20 minutes ago.

The Clarifi, believe it or not, is not just hoopla.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/clarifi

[tom m @ Sep 21st 2008 4:27PM]

oh my, do none of you remember Gramaphones? Of course you can amplify without power.. This is just reinventing something from decades ago, good stuff..

Neil B... since when did we start talking about energy.. we are talking about how the ears perceive the source sound, if it sounds louder then it's amplified. Nothing to do with the laws of energy conservation.

[ssoltero @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:40PM]

I'd have to agree with Tom M here. No one was talking about "electrical amplification". It's all about how the ear, or a microphone, perceives the audio in question.

If what Griffin claims is true, and this thing boosts the perception of the audio up to 10db, then the audio is indeed amplified.