Thanko's Speaker in a Box: It's a speaker...in a box!

This has to be one of the strangest products we've ever seen: Thanko has released a box-shaped speaker that pumps out a hearty 1.2-watts of mono goodness- and is designed to dress up in the cardboard box that your iPod video or nano came in. As you can plainly see, the picture here is definitely worth a thousand words, not only providing an excellent representation of the product's functionality, but also portraying the whistling, hand-clapping satisfaction you'll receive in repurposing some old packaging. The Speaker in a Box (more great marketing) is available for around $38, although the few of you who could possibly be interested in such a product will have to import from Japan, it seems.

[Via AkibaLive]

[Matt @ Mar 20th 2006 7:14PM]

It seems like a soundbug would be more useful.

[alex webb @ Mar 20th 2006 7:16PM]

i need one!~

[andrew k from AZ @ Mar 20th 2006 7:26PM]

I think this is a good idea. $38 dollars is a bit steep but some cheap, portable speakers that are sustainable is nothing to make fun of. *wags finger* Just think of the plastic that could be conserved by these things. We Americans are far too concerned with hefty-ness and things like "well-built construction." This all ends up in landfills. What a waste....

[Cliff @ Mar 20th 2006 7:51PM]

LOL!! Thanko... I always laugh when I see this name.

[eskimo @ Mar 20th 2006 8:36PM]

I see the potential use of this as a birthday prank...

[bill @ Mar 20th 2006 8:46PM]

That's hilarious!

[billflu @ Mar 20th 2006 8:47PM]

Some of you might ask why, but I have one word for you.... Japan.

[streetstealth @ Mar 20th 2006 8:48PM]

サゴイですね！ありがとう、シャンコ！

[lfoow @ Mar 20th 2006 9:15PM]

My girlfriends sister carrys her ipod around in the original box and bag from the mac store. Shes been doing this for over a year... really odd.

[jnasato @ Mar 20th 2006 9:18PM]

In a Tokyo muji store, I saw a speaker set made of cardboard, where one unfolds them and plugs them in. It was nice, but probably sound as dinky as, well, cardboard speakers.

"It's not just a box. IT"S A SPEAKER!!"

[yakfell @ Mar 20th 2006 9:42PM]

Japan is soooo cooool! So is Google Translator

[David @ Mar 20th 2006 10:16PM]

lol #4 funny yet true...

[dan @ Mar 20th 2006 10:18PM]

Speaker in a Box is the 2nd greatest name in history. The greatest name in history is "Snakes on a Plane", which will incidentally be the greatest movie of all time when released this summer.

[js @ Mar 20th 2006 11:22PM]

I'll take 3 please...

[guyinjapan @ Mar 21st 2006 5:44AM]

Oh yeah, I saw some of these things in a store a while back. Seemed kinda flimsy but still a cool idea. I almost bought some since you can throw them in your bookbag... but why you'd want to actually whip them out in public I don't know. It'd look kinda silly, wouldn't it?

[plunk @ Mar 21st 2006 8:05AM]

spontaneous break dance sessions are quite a common sight at train stations in osaka. I can see how they can come in handy, whether listening to, or spinnin your greasy head on em.

[lo_fye @ Mar 21st 2006 8:12AM]

Awesome Google Translated Excerpt: "When music has not sounded, mute function works"

[c. subramanian @ Mar 21st 2006 8:31AM]

well nice piece of info
liked it a lot
tks for having linked to gmail..
fsilogistics is my business address and i value it
best/ subramanian

[sinisterdesign @ Mar 21st 2006 9:33AM]

i heard that this speaker has "audiophile" quality sound.

[Ron Posner @ Mar 21st 2006 9:49AM]

CHINDOGU ALL THE WAY!!!!! This can make it #102 after the "101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindogu".

[yuppicide @ Mar 21st 2006 9:55AM]

I think this is a wonderful idea.. for me to sell on eBay and try to pawn it off as an iPod, yet still remaining well in the boundries of a legal advertisement because as you know people don't always read.

[Mark @ Mar 21st 2006 3:03PM]

Where but Engadget can one read about "Snakes on a Plane" and the ancient Japanese "Art of Chindogu" in the same article.

And you are right #13 - SOAP will be the best movie this year.

[guyinjapan @ Mar 21st 2006 4:45PM]

For those of you who don't speak Japanese, #8 said:
"It's great, isn't it! Thank you, Thanko!"

A profound comment, isn't it...

[coolamba @ Mar 22nd 2006 4:40AM]

Cooool!!! I need one!

[PSPMagic @ Mar 22nd 2006 6:42AM]

hahaha look at where the plug is in the psp....wow...so off its not even funny

http://www.thanko.jp/box_speaker/image/photo04.jpg