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Horn Bike: the bike-mounted passive amplifier for iPhone 4
My favorite way to get around in London is cycling. And everyone knows that an iPhone with its GPS is a cyclist's best friend while navigating a city. But the drawback to cycling with an iPhone is obvious: if it's held in your hand you're going to A.) drop it eventually, or B.) fall off your bike trying to catch your iPhone when you drop it eventually. That's where Horn Bike comes in. The all-silicon device lets you ride in style like it's 1899. Horn Bike is multi-purpose. Its primary feature is that it allows you to mount your iPhone on your bike and amplify your iPhone's speakers by about 13 dB, which allows for earbud-free riding (riding a bike with headphones in your ears in London -- and most other places -- will get you pulled over by mounted police). Yeah, the horn part looks really retro, but the design works. Unlike other bicycle speaker and mounting systems, the Horn Bike has no moving parts, has no electronics, and requires no power. If it gets dirty, run it under water to clean it off. Best of all, because the Horn Bike uses a phonograph-like passive amplifier system, the amplified sound is directed towards you and not blasted into the ears of other pedestrians. But playing music isn't why I'm excited about the Horn Bike. I'm excited about it because it's going to make riding with my iPhone and using it for navigation that much easier because I'll be able to hear Siri speak while I'm cruising down Regent Street. The Horn Bike is available in a number of retail stores in the US, Asia, and Europe and is also available at Fruitshop.com. It comes in white, black, or blue and costs US$29.99. [via Wired]
