Can the cell phone become a boombox?

Back view of the 'Super Audio Phone'

(Credit: Slashphone)

As mobile phones grapple with their identity crisis as MP3 players, handset makers have worked themselves into contortions trying to provide decent sound quality--creating some ugly accessories in the process.

The Chinese-made "Super Audio Phone" aims to change all that by building in a speaker that's much larger than today's standard sizes in the back of the handset, where a second, smaller LCD screen that provides song titles and other audio information, according to Slashphone. The front looks like a regular phone, with a larger display and buttons.

We have no idea how its music actually sounds, but the idea seems to make a lot of sense, especially considering some of the alternatives.