Trying to watch a movie on your iPhone is kind of like driving a golf cart to work: it gets the job done, but in the most inconvenient way possible. If you’re set on using your iPhone for movies, though, the Mini Cinema from Faces is a helpful way to make the experience a little more pleasant.

The Mini Cinema is basically a non-powered dock fitted with a magnifier and an amplifier. Your iPhone nestles in the middle so the plastic magnifying screen can turn the movie on your phone into a slightly larger-looking movie.

The amplifier makes the phone’s audio a bit more robust, making it easier to share your movie-viewing experience with someone else. The Mini Cinema is a neat tool, particularly if you want to watch movies on your phone with another person (which is virtually impossible under normal circumstances) but we aren’t convinced this non-electronic gadget is worth the hefty $68 price tag.

The post Movie Multiplier: Dock Makes iPhone Movie Watching Easier first appeared on Gajitz.

The usual iPhone dock is a little short on design – even the “designer” ones still only serve one purpose and look kind of empty when the phone is gone. The Bloombox is a ceramic iPhone amplifier that doubles as a planter, giving it a dual purpose as well as a layer of beautiful design.

The small box is an amplifier, not a speaker, so it uses no power. It’s a docking station that serves to not only make your music louder but to beautify your space also.

Unlike other iPhone docks or speakers, the Bloombox is just as lovely on its own as it is when it’s doing its job. The pair behind the concept have started a Kickstarter page to raise funds for their project. Pre-order units through Kickstarter are $50, which seems like a pretty good deal for such a modern, elegant object.

The post Blooming Lovely: iPhone Amplifier Doubles as a Planter first appeared on Gajitz.

It’s the classic first-world problem: you want to share music from your iPhone with friends, but the weak little built-in speaker just isn’t cutting it. You have a few options here, but the Eco-amp seems smarter than most.

The Eco-amp from Eco-made is an environmentally friendly cardboard gramophone-type amplifier for your iPhone. It’s made of 100% post-consumer and alternative fiber paper so there’s no nasty e-waste to deal with.

The amplifier is shipped to you flat, further cutting down on the environmental impact of the product. We haven’t tested it out so can’t attest to the sound quality, but the $7.99/2 price tag makes them a pretty safe financial bet.

The post Recycled Cardboard Amplifier is Eco-Friendly Sound Maker first appeared on Gajitz.

Passive iPhone amplifiers are a dime a dozen these days, but Will Rockwell’s Steampunk Victrola is something genuinely new and interesting. It consists of a trumpet bolted and soldered to an upside-down spittoon. The natural acoustics of the setup produce some impressively rich sounds with absolutely no electricity.

The most interesting part of this design is the Plexiglas “gate” on the bottom of the amplifier. It opens up via a small handle, allowing sound to come out of the top opening (the trumpet) as well as the bottom. The very cool iPhone accessory is meant for the iPhone 4S and will run you $400 through Rockwell’s Etsy shop.

The post Upcycled Sound: Cool Steampunk Victrola iPhone Amplifier first appeared on Gajitz.