Design matters with Sonastand, a tiny acoustic amplifier

Apple is well-known for its precision crafting and impeccable industrial design, but there are many smaller companies that also wrestle with materials, form and function. One such example is the upstart company, Kinetic Custom Machine, which was recently profiled by Core77. Started by Colin Chu and Bob Wimbrow, the company has funded its first product, the Sonastand.

The Sonastand is a tiny, aluminum stand that doubles as an acoustic amplifier. It attaches to your iPhone 4 and 4S and is shaped perfectly to capture the sound from the speaker and project it towards you. There's no battery; all amplification is done using the curvature of the device. It's not the first acoustic amplifier for the iPhone, but it's one of the best designs we've seen.

A single Sonastand costs $39 and is still available from the company's Kickstarter page. It can be order in sizes to fit your naked, skinned, and cased iPhone. If you want to read the back story that lead up to the development of the Sonastand, check out the Core77 article. It's chock full of details.