If this sees the light of day, you might see it a Love Fest in San Francisco. I guess instead of a traditional float, you could transmit the music to a bunch of people wearing these.

Time to put that old Mr. Microphone to work.

Yes it will happen for real, just as they made the portable PS1 out of the same hard back pack years ago.

Oh boy... Critical Mass rides are gonna get a lot more noisy.

Apparently this is targeted as assholes who want to force you to listen to their shitty music but who can't afford to install so many speakers in their Civic that it ends up sounding like a hippo farting in a jacuzzi.

Warning: If I'm on the train and you're wearing this thing I will find some way to spill my coffee on you or even fake a seizure and vomit on you.

Hopefully its not insulated for when I toss any a-hole using this thing into the East River.

@vagrant: brilliant! "Hey look at me! I'm a douchebag with a loud backpack! Pay attention to me!"

Is that like a pedestrian Airstream where your monkey with it's miniature
cymbal and red fez awaits it's audience?

The hard white plastic reminds me of the star wars troopers. Anyone who wears this needs to wear the whole suit, as they will end up getting beaten by music lovers/haters everywhere.

Not a great looking product. I wanted to make something like this so I could listen to music on my motorcycle without wearing headphones (bad). However, making a playlist that I could blast while riding down the street proved challenging. Also I'm not great with electronics. Anyone got tips on how to make an amp that hooks up to an iPod and runs off a 12v system?

@logruszed: heh heh heh... Hippo Farting in a Jacuzzi.

I for one actually think this is a cool and useful product for the techno viking.

@The Lab: I think its more sensible and maybe even cheaper to mod two small speakers into a bike helmet.

@ the lab - -
Dude are you serious???
i suggest that you try taking a psp with you on your bike, and just for the heck of it, try playing a full game of ff: tactics without looking up. ...just to see if it can be done.
- you might see if you can get some 20"s too!

Osiris Skateboard shoes did something like this a few years ago. The thing needed like 6 D batteries and weighed a ton. It didn't do very well, mostly because it was a dumb idea. Now an LCD screen on your pack so everyone behind you can watch movies... that would be marketing genius!

Another application for this would be a portable guitar amplifier. It sure beats the 10 pound box that hangs off of your belt. Just add a 1/4" jack and some basic amp controls.

I definately think that there would be more of a market for that than for MP3 players.

Skate companies have been doing this for years with bags that actually function as bags too.
[www.nextag.com]

@the lab
Unless you were puttering around at 20 mph, you'd never hear the music :/

Someone makes a helmet with built in speakers (IIRC), otherwise ear buds worn under the helmet would be better. My JVC foam buds block out a lot of noise, but at 70+ mph, everything gets drowned out :(

@g76monte: I didn't mean that I made playlists _while_ riding. Rather I found it hard to choose a selection of music that didn't make me look appear to be a douche while moto-ing along. Maybe it is just not possible to play any music loudly without appearing douchelike.

Maybe I'll just keep humming the Mario Bros. theme song in my helmet.