How do you make a big noise from a tiny thing? Beat it with a stick? Too wanton. Tickle it till it bursts open? A tad tiresome, that. Nope, there’s only one thing for it. Make it a big thing instead. Like the 360 Spring Speaker that we have here.

It’s a novel solution: you want to own a speaker that plugs into your Mp3 player or mobile phone and fits in your pocket, but you need it to be powerful enough so it doesn’t embarrass you in front of your buddies. This is designed to expand out like a giant spring, creating a bigger chamber inside the speaker that means better volume and sound quality.

The 360 Spring Speaker is self-powered, using a built-in rechargeable battery that gives you seven hours of playback. Recharging comes courtesy of the included USB cable – just hook up to your computer to pump up the power. It connects to your music device with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack but also includes cables to work with Sony, Nokia and even mini-USB mobile phone connections.

It’s the ultimate in portable speakers, separated from its stable mates by a clever twist of engineering that really works – you can spot it a mile off. You can hear it from that far too!

Yep – all this in a package that’s just 2" by 1½". Or 2" by 2", if you open it up. It’s a telescopic tornado of tunes that’s ready to spring out whenever and wherever you might be. Although actually playing it in a tornado might not be the smartest idea...