Posted on by Terry White

AirCurve, it sounds better than you’d think

aircurve_3

 

I have to admit that when I saw the AirCurve, I was a little skeptical. I received it as a gift for a class I gave and it took me days to even get motivated to give it a try. I just didn’t believe that simply amplifying the iPhone’s built-in speaker would be good enough. I finally decided to give it a try and I couldn’t believe it. It not only worked as advertised by amplifying the iPhone’s built-in speaker by 10 decibels, but it actually sounded decent. No, it didn’t sound as good as a good pair of speakers, but it definitely sounded good enough for use on the road in a hotel room. 

aircurve

The AirCurve doesn’t have any electrical or moving parts and therefore requires no power. The AirCurve is designed to amplify your iPhone’s built-in speaker acoustically. It works with both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3g (comes with custom inserts for both models). They even designed it so that you can use your existing sync cable for power or docking with your computer while the iPhone sits in the AirCurve. I also like it because it’s well built, stylish and not flimsy. So it should travel well in a suitcase.

I also gave it a try using the iPhone’s speaker phone while it sat in the AirCurve. It worked fine. When I received a call, the music faded. I answered the call and pressed the speaker button. The person on the other end had no problem hearing me and of course I had no problem hearing them either because of the amplification.

 

The Bottom Line

The AirCurve works as advertised, no question about that. If you’re an audiophile or someone who likes bass, you’ll probably be a little underwhelmed. For everyone else, this is a great low cost solution for amplifying your iPhone’s speaker. Although the second generation iPod touch does come with an external speaker, it’s not as good as the one on the iPhone so it looks like Griffin didn’t bother making an insert for iPod touch users. The AirCurve retails for $19.99. Amazon has it for $13.33. At that price it’s a no-brainer.

4 Replies to “AirCurve, it sounds better than you’d think”

  1. I’m glad to read this review. I have one on the way as I write this. I plan on using it in the office to listen to podcasts and music. Since I’m in an office environment, I can’t really play loud music so I’m hoping this will be a good way to listen quietly.

    Thanks for the review.

    Tim

  2. The iPod touch doesn’t have an external speaker with a focused outlet, so there’s really no sound source to acoustically amplify (the iPhone has a speaker outlet at the bottom). It vibrates the entire back as a piezo-electric speaker, so the AirCurve wouldn’t work.

    It’s a neat idea, and I may give it a try for travel. At the very least it looks like a quality made product. Good review.

    Cheers,
    Yuta

  3. For $20, I like the idea of a ‘speaker’ for the iPhone I can leave at the office without staying up at night wondering if it will be there in the morning.

    Having the ability to stick a USB to dock connector cord though it to make a charging dock is a nice touch.

    Too bad it doesn’t also charge the Apple Bluetooth headset, or it would be perfect for the folks with 3G iPhones who are left without a dock that holds both thanks to Apple’s minimalist packaging on the current bluetooth headset.

  4. Just bought two. Price was even lower than what Terry said it was at Amazon. This will be great for the short trips or to throw in camera bag. Or both!

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