Rosa Golijan/msnbc.com

When the K-array Ecodock first arrived at my door, I thought it was an innocent chunk of plastic — heck, I barely knew what it was supposed to do. But now I know better. Now I know that it is an evil device which will amplify the sounds my iPhone makes until my ears twitch in pain.

You see, the Ecodock is a strange loudspeaker for iPhones — or more specifically, for the iPhone and iPhone 4S. It doesn't require wires, batteries, or any sort of power source. Instead it "uses the natural laws of physics" to amplify whatever comes out of your device's speakers.

The way the whole thing works is that the Ecodock — which consists of several pieces of Plexiglas and four screws — distributes "acoustic energy" over a wide air surface. In essence, it functions like a horn.

If K-array's claims are to be trusted, the Ecodock can boost sound by up to 10 decibels.

Rosa Golijan/msnbc.com

But how well do these claims stand up in the real world? Uh ... a little too well, perhaps.

After using the Ecodock with my iPhone 4S for about half an hour, I was left with the nagging sensation that a headache is developing. The device amplifies sounds quite well — with it, my iPhone drowned out my MacBook Air and its quiet speakers — but it boosts everything a bit too much, including those twangy higher notes.

Of course, this annoyance is most obvious when the iPhone's volume is set to the maximum. Any lower and the Ecodock's effect is quite pleasant and even appears to provide clearer sound than a bare iPhone speaker.

So would I recommend that you dash off and buy an Ecodock? Probably not, because I prefer the sound quality from normal speaker docks. But I'd say that it might be wise to keep an eye out for similar devices. After all, someone's bound to improve on the Ecodock concept.

You can order your very own Ecodock through the K-array website. It will set you back $20.

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iDevices

One of the last emails I read before falling asleep on Thursday night — alright, it was technically already Friday morning — included a press release which informed me that iDevices, the creator of the iGrill, was introducing something called the iShower. iThink iCried aLittle.

Don't get me wrong, I can get past the cringe-worthy names, the awkward product image included with the press release — were those tiles added using Photoshop? — and even the note pointing out that there's an "optional anti-fog shower mirror" involved. 

The only thing that really bothers me is that the whole concept of bringing speakers into the shower didn't disappear at the same time as the late-night infomercials for brightly-colored radios which match your favorite shampoo bottles.

Ah well. In case you don't particularly agree with my sentiments — or just plain really need a backing track for your one-man (or one-woman) bathroom concerts — here's what you should know about the iShower: It's water-resistant, offers a 200-foot Bluetooth range, can remember up to five Bluetooth pairings, should work for up to 15 hours if you feed it three AA batteries, and can be easily installed in your shower or other "aqua-centric environment" (with "no tools needed").

Oh, and it's worth noting that — despite the lower-case "i" in its name — the iShower supports both iOS and Android devices.

The gadget will set you back a hundred bucks and can be ordered through the iShower website or select retailers.

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Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.