Ears are ace. You can hang stuff off them, listen out for carnivores with them, even stick candles in them. What we really love about ears though, is their ability to scoop up the noises of phone calls, music and polyphonic ring tones. It’s almost as if evolution itself was crying out for the invention of brilliant telephone technology to use its ears for. And what we’ve got here is evolution itself – a brilliant new dock for the awesome iPhone that works like an ear to amplify noises for you to relish.

The AirCurve is a dock, but not as you know it. Sure, it’s got a standard Apple USB/30 pin cable port. And yes, you stick your iPhone neatly into the scoop on top. What’s ultimate about this little beauty is that it amplifies all the output of your iPhone using clever air tubes that increase the volume to a satisfying 10 decibels without using any extra batteries or juice.

Just as the swirls and curves of the human ear guide noise to the brain with a smart configuration of patterns, the AirCurve contains tubular channels that spit out noise with extra oomph, like you’d get with an ancient gramophone horn. This means you won’t be forking out for batteries or sucking ‘leccy out of the sockets when you want to amplify your iPhone. Neat!


Whether you use it as a hands-free speaker, a bedside alarm clock, even a tidy little desktop music station, AirCurve rocks a look that’s never out of place thanks to its gorgeously see-through, weighty acrylic design. Compatible with iPhone and iPhone 3G, it’s more than a match for Apple’s masterpiece of mobile design.

It’s a beautiful meeting of mathematically precise engineering and drop-dead good looks – like the ear itself. But unlike the human ear, we don’t recommend sticking a candle in it or getting your AirCurve pierced in five places. We tried it, and it plays merry havoc with the acoustics. Keep it simple – and get your phone louder, for free!