@shorty6049: This isn't a concept. Its a DYI.

The cool concepts push you see push actual design. If no one made concepts you "know" you wouldn't see in real life you'd never have any new products (or they'd all be dull and boring). The concepts give a starting point, a how do we get there point. You may not see the actual product buy you may see cues from it in many different projects.

tande04

Um... Steve Jobs uses PowerPoint?

rb4dv

@shorty6049: Thats the whole point of concepts.

-kXj-

why don't designers spend more time on real projects and less on concepts that everyone KNOWS will never be used in real life? I mean, they're cool to see and stuff, but it seems like you never see "(name a design firm) creates this (name working product) that looks really cool"
its always "look at this tuba shaped phone that nobody would actually buy"

shorty6049

just tried it, and it works pretty well if uve got nothin else to use.

Glavan27

@shorty6049: Uh uh. Why does everyone on the internet has a superiority complex? Part of it probably has to do with the anonymity of the whole thing part of it probably with the fact that written text can't convey all the subtleties of the spoken language. I never try and come off as superior but often when I re-read posts they come off that way.

I think that what you're talking about is just the difference between engineers and designers. The engineer will always look at something and say how can I make this work better (or work in the first place) like this with the cups. The designer looks at something and says how can I make this more appealing. In the end for a lot of things you can't have one without the other. The designer may not know how to make it work and the engineer may not care to make it appealing. Thats why the designers often work in concepts cause then it pushes the engineer to say "hmmm we can probably make that work by doing this and this".

tande04

@shorty6049: and by the way. I tried this with smaller plastic cups, (8 oz) and they work, but just barely. Not loud enough for most uses, but still louder than earbuds.

shorty6049

Now I'm tempted to try this myself.

Eruanno

@rb4dv: probably uses ClarisWorks

shorty6049

um... why is this news? isn't it freakin obvious that this would work? it's common sense.

shade-black

@tande04: i dont know. still seems a little pointless to me. I get your point, but i dont know if i really believe it. I'm in school for engineering right now. a customer comes to you with something they want, and they dont want you wasting time and money on anything that doesnt meet the specs that they gave you. so i wouldnt design something crazy that looks great but lacks practicality. What i'm trying to say, is that although these concepts always look awesome, we all know that most of them will never make it past the concept stage. Its not impossible to design (for instance) a phone that takes design cues from a tuba, and actually make it functional to start with. then the whole "look at that crazy thing" stage is skipped and we have a product thats on the market faster. and why does everyone on this site have such a superiority complex?

shorty6049

@rb4dv: Sure, why not..just the mac version of course...what else would he use?? iWork or something...pffffttt

dandaman247

@shorty6049:

Keynote.

-daddy-

Now we just need bigger speakers and i'm sure jobs will pick up the design.

magikal04

If there was a more seamless way to get them to stick together, you could turn the bottom cup the other way and put the earbud in that, then have it lead up into the other cup which is facing the same way. You'd need to cut pretty good holes in the cups (or lazy holes and use some tape) but I imagine it'd work better.

videoCWK

@shorty6049: no one will do it in real life?

the instructions are not that hard. You can do this "concept" in a couple minutes.

VakeroRokero

@Glavan27:

So how does it compare to the internal loudspeaker volume? I'm presuming it's much quieter...

DiscoDapper

Why the venom? I think this is clever and fun.

General Halfshaftery

Sound's okay with this set-up, but aural presence is way more impressive when 'D' cups are employed...

Stem_Sell

This is seriously low tech, that's a third gen iPod from 2003.

chefgon

@rb4dv:

Powerpoint is a generic term, like Kleenex or Coke. You can apply it to any presentation software.

chefgon

Now Jobs will take it and sue this guy into oblivion for copying his idea.

Con Seannery

@chefgon: Only the best frackin' Gen of iPod around. Put an 80G HD in my 3rdGen, crank up my battery life, give me a color screen, and I'd be one happy camper.

shenanigans61

@shenanigans61: Yeah, 3rd Gen was best.

Con Seannery

I shoved a paper cup to the back of my G1 right over the loudspeaker and it amplified the volume enough to make my roommate walk down the hall and slam my door.

rockanon

@chefgon: and iPod. < When people call my P2 an iPod i get so pissed. My school says no iPods and CD players allowed...loophole much?

Voohoo

AND?????........

you make it sound like he constructed the EARPHONES rather than just BUYING EARPHONES AND PUTTING THEM IN A CUP!

how friggin ingenius....when i cup my hands around my sucky cell phone speaker to 'increase the sound'...i should have been put on GIZMODO too!!

henhen

Here is a paper plate version I saw in MAKE magazine a while back:
[www.josepino.com]

Xterm11

@chefgon: I would still be using my 3G if I could plug it into my laptop, no powered firewire. :(

Dafrety

@Glavan27:

Have you tried putting the buds in your ears? I've heard this, from some famous headphone designer, that it'll actually sound really good, much better than this setup....

pretol

You can also put them in your ears, and both the loudness and the frequency response will be GREATLY improved.

Just another one of those DYI ideas for ya.

pretol

I used to do the same thing back in the 70s/80s with the earbud and a Dixie cup from the rental TVs in the hospital.

Full-Moto-Jacket

Oh noes! If I see a guy getting on the subway with an iPod in his ears, 2 cups of coffee, and a toothpick I am most certainly getting off in a blink! Music terror will arise from this!

DaSmith

@General Halfshaftery:

There's always some nitwit who will tear down anything because he thinks it makes HIM look clever.

aurispector

They're paper cups!

Knirfie

@tande04: I believe that is why even the best (looks + performance) products involve compromise between function and design. Sometimes, though, I think the engineer comes up with something that doesn't look quite so bad (think industrial-themed products).

USB_Humping_Dog

Damm, i wish i uploaded some images a few years ago when i used to do this so me and friends could listen to music in the canteen of our college.

EltonButeo

@henhen: If you take humorous, studio quality design photos and gin up a whole multi angle sell sheet for it, than yes, you may get on Giz.

m4ximusprim3

@Xterm11: You see any with those cone-shaped cups from water coolers?

Ben Zvan

I think this would be cooler if it were solid plastic, but appeared to be paper cups (just so it would be sturdy), and instead of headphones, there were actual speakers. I think it'd sell, and imo, its definitely cooler than the cardboard box ipod speakers that came out a while ago. Maybe we could ask B&O to put it into production ;)

ajallaf

This is a trick I do in the operating room: I get one of those large stainless steel basins and tilt it up -using the builtin speakers of the iphone or any cheap tinny speakers, putting them in the basin increases the base and lets you aim the sound. Works in a pinch.

docpark