SoundJaw
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Crowdfunding collective TinyLightbulbs shows off its iOS products
Last year, e-commerce site TinyLightbulbs formed in Denver, focusing on products that are funded via crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. TinyLightbulbs brought five of the products available on its site Macworld/iWorld 2013, including: SlingShot: This smartphone stand received more than US$70,000 in funding on Kickstarter and acts as a combination tripod and cradle for your iPhone. An attached handle helps create smooth panning shots. Erica Sadun took a look at it in October. Ultima: A smartphone stand for the car that is made with an aluminum body with a suction cup that is use to secure it to your car's interior. It raised more than $64,000 on Kickstarter. CableKeeps: This was my favorite of the products offered at this booth. These fish-shaped rubber cable holders were funded in 2011. Insert an Apple iPhone or iPad charger in one end, then thread the 30-pin or Lightning cable through the tail and wrap it around the fins to keep the cable in one place. When it's in use, you can use the fins as a stand for your iOS device. The CableKeeps are offered in three styles: two for iPad adaptors and one for the smaller USB adaptor used with iPhones, iPods and the iPad mini. SoundJaw: Steve Sande reviewed the SoundJaw in 2011. Originally developed for the iPad 2, this clip attaches to an iPad near the speaker and boosts the sound by directing the sound waves forward. It raised $17,000 on Kickstarter and is compatible with the iPad models that came out in 2012. Soft Touch Flex: This iPad mounting system is available with a clamp or a mic thread to fit it to a microphone stand. It comes in white and black.
SoundJaw pumps iPad 2 volume up to eleven
I have to admit that I was a skeptic about the SoundJaw (US$20), a small plastic device that was one of our Kickstarter entries a while back and the brainchild of Coloradan Matt McLachlan. The idea is that it clips onto the bottom of an iPad 2 where the speaker holes are located and forces the sound forward (towards the user) to increase the volume that you hear. I'm happy to say that I was wrong, and the SoundJaw does actually pump up the volume of sound emitted from an iPad 2. To test the SoundJaw scientifically and not depend on my hearing, I purchased the Decibel Meter Pro app ($0.99) from Performance Audio LLC and installed it on my iPhone 4. What I was interested in was watching the peak loudness of a song being played on my iPad 2 and measuring the decibel level with and without the SoundJaw. To make sure that the microphone was in the same exact location both times, I used a Glif ($20) and a tripod to hold my iPhone above the iPad 2. Playing the same song at medium volume on the iPad 2 with the SoundJaw attached, the peak level was 68 dB, compared to 65 dB without the SoundJaw. Frankly, it didn't sound any louder to me. When I cranked the volume all the way up on the iPad 2, the result was more dramatic -- 79 dB with the SoundJaw, 75 dB without, and I could perceive that the SoundJaw made my iPad sound louder. OK, you may be saying "Well, that's only a difference of 3 or 4 dB. Big deal." What you need to remember is that dB is a logarithmic quantity. Without going into a lot of craziness about psychoacoustics, perceived loudness, and Sound Pressure Level, let's just say that while 3 dB is a "barely perceptible change" in loudness, the human ear definitely perceives a 4 dB increase. A 10 dB SPL difference is about "twice as loud," while a 4 dB increase is perceived as about 30 percent louder. The SoundJaw is a nice way to improve loudness from your iPad 2 without resorting to a powered dock or mobile speakers. The SoundJaw currently comes in black and white to match the two iPad 2 colors, doesn't interfere with use of the Smart Cover, and like Nigel Tufnel's amps, it'll make your iPad 2 "go to eleven."
