MP3 speakers take a cue from phones

(Credit: MoMA)

There have been some decidedly ugly speakers created for portable devices, particularly by phone makers as they continue to evolve their handsets into music devices. But the winning form for speakers in all portable categories may eventually come from within their ranks: the clamshell.

Not unlike the hinged design seen in a pair of LG speakers made for Verizon recently, a version for MP3 players offered by the MoMA Store folds up neatly into what looks remarkably like--big surprise--a clamshell phone. The $28 speakers connect to the media player with a standard 3.5mm stereo plug, according to GeekAlerts, but we imagine that a wireless model of similar ilk can't be too far off, for phones as well as MP3 devices.

For purposes of full disclosure, we should note that our opinion is in no way influenced by the fact that these speakers come in black and orange--the colors of our hometown San Francisco Giants.