There's something happening to all those speaker designers out there, cause just after finishing to write about a outside waterproof speaker that looks like a rock, I get this thing, an iPad dock speaker that looks like a coffee mug, made by Sony of all companies.

Let me start this by telling you that this thing was actually built for the Japanese market and was never meant to arrive elsewhere in the world, so this may as well explain the styling.

However a State Side store got a glimpse of this and decided that it was just too cool to be restricted to the Japanese market, so they made an effort and delivered us this thing, the Sony SRS-V500IP mug shaped iPod dock speaker.

Although this actually looks pretty playful, please don't take it lightly, since Sony packed some really impressive technology into this thing like the “Circle Sound Stage” system that promises to equally spreads your music a full 360 degrees.

There is also a pair of 16W stereo speakers in there and the SRS-V500IP is compatible with the iPod/iPhone via a cradle, while also coming with a 3.5mm stereo audio input for other PMPs.

Strange as this dock may seem to you, things are about to get a lot more weird since the mug part of the device can be removed and carried around with you, either in your car's cup holder or in your backpack's bottle holder.

Unfortunately we don't get an integrated battery so you can't surprise people with a singing coffee mug, but there's a 12V car adapter so whoever gets in your car is in for a treat.

Available in three different colors, this singing mug is not cheap by any means, retailing for $239.99. (AudioCubes via Slashgear)

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