It's a carry case for your MP3 player - with a built-in speaker. We are impressed with the simple cleverness of the concept, as we are with its implementation.

i-Rocks' MP3 player carrying case is well padded on the inside and very solid on the outside.

Our test sample came in shocking pink but other garish colours are available. Inside, the player tucks behind netting on one side and a wire emanating from the speaker, embedded in the other side, plugs into the headphone socket.

There’s a switch to turn the mono speaker on and off – so you’ll probably get through many AAA batteries (two are required) when you accidentally leave it on.

There’s no dedicated volume dial – you’ll have to turn your MP3 player up fully to make a noise – at which point the case vibrates uncomfortably. Sound is surprisingly loud, if a little muffled and distinctly mono, but if you want to share music with people around you it does a reasonably-priced job.