Hidden Radio & Bluetooth Speaker gives users ultimate simplicity

By Caleb Denison November 23, 2011

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out our full review of the Hidden Radio bluetooth speaker.

It’s not everyday that we see a new piece of technology that actually simplifies something instead of making it more complex. There’s something to be said for simplicity; not everything needs 10 different buttons and a bevy of options to choose from. Industrial designers John Van Den Nieuwenhuizen and Vitor Santa Maria kept that in mind when they designed the Hidden Radio & Bluetooth Speaker ($119), which appears to be perfectly simple in the best way.

The sleek and small canister is a Bluetooth speaker and radio that is turned on when the user simply twists the top. From there, the more the user twists the canister open, the louder the internal volume, which can get all the way up to a loud 80 decibels when opened all the way. The speaker was designed specifically for Bluetooth use with your smartphone or other devices, but there is also an old-school AM/FM radio and a line-in connection should you not want to go wireless just yet. The battery life of the device is rated at 30+ hours, which is plenty of time for a week of at-home use or a long-weekend vacation. The project is currently still gaining funds on Kickstarter, but we don’t see the designers having trouble meeting their goal.

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