Wish-Listed: the EcoXPro case offers a built-in speaker and waterproof protection for your gadgets

Need a waterproof speaker to spice up your next trip to the great outdoors? Musical accompaniment for your next showertime concert? Well, we do. And we found something awesome that: 1) won’t cost much; and 2) comes with the flexibility to support a range of different devices. Grace Digital Audio has just introduced the EcoXPro, a rugged speaker case that features an integrated loudspeaker and enough space to house most smartphones and MP3 players.

Features are pretty straightforward; the case cracks open to reveal a battery compartment (it’s powered by 3 AA batteries, and is listed to give 30 hours of playback), a cushioned pocket for stowing your device in, and a generic 3.5mm audio jack that can hook up with just about every digital media player you can buy. Outside, the EcoXPro features a three-inch speaker, a volume control knob, and a waterproof audio jack that’ll let you plug in a pair of headphones (to keep with the rugged theme, Grace Digital also sells waterproof earphones for $40).

For rugged protection, the case is listed to survive six-foot drops onto concrete and dips into 10 feet of water. As a nice bonus, the EcoXPro is also built to float, which should be handy in case you lose it in the surf. For hiking up to extreme altitudes, the airtight case also features a pressure release valve to balance out internal pressure, while a carabiner will let you hook it to a bag or strap for convenience.

Why we want it: Because we can think of dozens of situations where something like this would come in handy. While we rarely hit the beach or the great outdoors, we do like singing in the shower, and our vanilla iPhone case just won’t do in there.

Also, it’s relatively affordable. The EcoXPro is currently available for $80 – a fair price to pay for what it does.