Sony's boom beverage speaker now available as American cup holder surrogate

Were you jealous of Japanese commuters getting to ignore their car's multichannel audio system in favor of a bright, 16-watt thermos of beats in their cup holder? Then today's your lucky day, because Audiocubes.com has brought Sony Japan's SRS-V500IP -- which is the iPod friendly version of the RDP-NWV500 sound mug -- state-side. Like the NWV500, it's also available in colors of black, orange, and happiness-inspiring pink, and packs the same Circle Sound Stage speaker system for a full 360 degrees of tuneage. If you don't own an iPod, a 3.5mm audio jack is thrown in to connect other devices like Sony's S740 Walkmen -- double the imported Japanese audio gear, double the Cool Person Points, right? Currently priced at $240, its U.S. availability still doesn't really clarify its practicality. Especially when you consider that your new shiny iPod Nano's color scheme won't even match!