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"Any iPhone 5 user out there can likely admit that listening to the smartphone's bottom speaker isn't that great when you're in a crowded place. Instead of straining your ears or popping on some headphones, a portable add-on might provide a simple solution.\nAriel Shtul has designed the \"iPlifier\" for iPhone 5, which slips into the phone's Lightning port and directs the built-in speaker's sound toward you. It's a similar effect to cupping a hand around your ear to direct sound toward you, as explained in the video above.\nShtul is trying to raise $7,500 on Kickstarter to begin mass production for the gadget. With 19 days left to go, so far the Kickstarter campaign has more than $2,800 in pledges, as of Monday afternoon. At a pledge of $8 or more, backers get their own iPlifier.\n\nSEE ALSO: Gramophone Amplifies Your iPhone, Edison-Style\nShtul claims the iPlifier will work with several iPhone cases with which he's tested it. The device will come with a nifty clasp so you can attach the iPlifier to your keychain when you're not using it. A drawback of this iPhone speaker amplifier is that you can't charge the phone with the iPlifier in \u2014 a potentially fatal flaw if you're binge-watching Game of Thrones or spending all day streaming Spotify.\nIn noisy situations, do headphones suffice or is a solution like this appealing to you? Let us know in the comments.\nImage and thumbnail courtesy of Ariel Shtul\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/04/01/iplifier-iphone-speaker-amplifier/>