I've been having fun demoing the Tunebug Vibe "SurfaceSound" speaker -- which boosts the sound from your iPod or other portable player by reverberating the sound though flat surfaces (see previous post).
But any such external speaker needs charged up batteries for power to boost the sound -- Or maybe not...
The Griffin Air Curve is a passive acoustic amplifier for the iPhone. It's a clear translucent polycarbonate stand, with a curving waveguide that coils though the base to collect and amplify the sound from the iPhone's speaker -- no power required.
The result is a boost of about 10 decibels, so you can set up your iPhone to work better as a mini sound system or as an alarm clock.
The Air Curve does include a pass-though slot and spacer adapters for the iPhone and iPhone 3G so you can use your Apple dock connector cable to charge and sync in the stand.
Unfortunately, however, it does not work with the iPod touch -- the magic happens with the iPhone because its speaker is on the bottom, along with the microphone and dock connection, while the touch's speaker is higher up in the body.
The Griffin Air Curve is available for around $19.
See my Portable Audio Accessories Gallery for more on portable speakers.
Find the Griffin Air Curve on Amazon.com