Music
MusicReader sheet music software
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February 25, 2008 Dutch company MusicReader has released sheet music software that simplifies the task of reading music while performing for individuals, ensembles and orchestras. The new software offers features such as easy page turning, a convenient music library and flexible annotations. Read More
Blaupunkt New Orleans MP58 offers uninterrupted MP3 playback
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February 13, 2008 Blaupunkt's latest car radio release caters to digital music formats by including a fixed 1 meter USB cable for connecting external digital storage devices along with "no-interrupt browsing capability", meaning you can continue to listen to the current track while searching through playlists. Read More
Latest Walkman phone provides 8GB music storage
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February 11, 2008 In more news from Sony Ericsson, the latest addition to Walkman line has been unveiled. Available in Q3 of this year, the W980 Walkman phone boasts distortion free stereo sound and 8GB of internal memory (or up to 8000 songs) in a clamshell "Walkman on Top" design that replicates the Walkman controls on the outside of the phone for quick navigation through your music library. Read More
Why PAL PS3 owners should import Rock Band
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The geeks at The Gamer Gene really love Rock Band, and their latest feature is designed to convince PAL PlayStation 3 owners that they should stop waiting for EA to release the game in their territory, and simply import the game. They've done so, twice, and can't fault the process - especially when the other option is sitting around waiting for a vague Q2-Q3 release date. Read on for what to and what not to worry about when importing Rock Band. Read More
Ultra-soft earphone tips promise comfort and clarity
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February 5, 2008 Made from a "memory foam" 30 times softer than the silicone rubber used to make most earphone tips, Comply™ pitch their Foam Tips as an affordable and simple solution to customizing earphones and enhancing noise reduction in a market where the "one-size-fits-all" mantra definitely does not apply. Read More
Eric Buell designs for a different kind of shredding
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February 1, 2008 In an unusual move for a sporting motorcycle design engineer, Eric Buell has turned his eclectic eye to faster frets and pumping pickups for a brand new custom Peavey electric guitar, the MS-1. Read More
Retro digital radio: Roberts MP-SOUND 41
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January 24, 2008 The UK-based Roberts Radio Company has been producing portable radios since the 1930’s and one of their latest offerings is the MP-SOUND 41 digital radio. With its retro looks you could be forgiven for thinking it’s an old-fashioned analogue radio but with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) capability, Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) technology and the ability to record up to 8 hours of radio onto a SD card, it has nearly everything required for the 21st Century. Read More
Blaupunkt Velocity 2Go: portable speaker system AND car subwoofer
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January 17, 2008 Blaupunkt has revealed a headphone-jack portable stereo speaker system that can be converted into car audio subwoofers. The Velocity 2Go speakers can connect to any device with headphone output jacks, and when used in a car, deliver deep, clean bass to complement the basic four-speaker audio system. Read More
SanDisk double the capacity of Sansa portable media players
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January 15, 2008 They haven't even reached their first birthday but SanDisk Corporation has announced capacity increases for two of its Flash-based digital media players at CES 2008. The diminutive Sansa Clip moves from a top capacity of 2GB to 4GB, while the Sansa View jumps to 32GB from a previous top capacity of 16 GB. Both units include a built-in microphone for voice recording, built-in FM tuner and support for MP3, WMA, WAV and Audible audio book formats. Read More
Logitech's Squeezebox Duet wireless home audio system
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January 15, 2008 Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet network music system integrates home audio by allowing users to access Internet radio, online subscription services and their personal music library, wirelessly, through any speaker system in their house without switching on a computer. Read More
Fashion with bite – Taser’s new C2 stunner with MP3 player holster
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January 11, 2008 It seems we mistakenly thought that convergence meant we were supposed to be carrying less gadgets rather than more gadgets, but Taser launched a new range of stun guns in a range of female-focussed colors at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, adding yet another must-have for those who wish to ensure their personal safety – the Taser MPH (Music Player Holster), which is a combination 1GB MP3 player and Taser C2 holster. In addition to the leopard print, other new Taser C2 colors include red-hot red and fashion pink. Read More
Gibson's stunning Robot Les Paul tunes itself in seconds
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January 10, 2008 Some of the best guitarists have an amazing ability to pick out which of their strings are out of tune and adjust them mid-song – for the rest of us, the tuning process can be an annoying time-waster – particularly on stage. We've written before about Transperformance's bolt-on self-tuning systems, but Gibson has recently become the first company to release a ready-made axe with the ability to adjust itself perfectly to a number of common tunings at the touch of a button. The Gibson Robot Guitar, which just received the NEWSTIPS "Best of Show" award at CES, also makes replacing strings and setting your intonation an absolute breeze. At US$2499, this intelligent Les Paul deserves to be a huge hit. Read More
Pimp my axe: the carbon fibre guitar
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December 11, 2007 Carbon fiber is somewhat of a wonder-material in the auto industry, where its light weight and excellent strength makes it an ideal choice for body panels and the like. The same properties theoretically make it a great material to build acoustic guitars from as well – and that's exactly what Blackbird have done. The Blackbird Rider uses the strength and resonance of carbon fiber to result in an acoustic guitar 30% smaller, tougher and much lighter than a wooden one, but with a comparably large sound and resonance. And while carbon fiber may not offer the tone and 'soul' of a beautiful piece of wood, the Rider will surely find a market among traveling musos who'll appreciate how hardy and portable it is. Read More
Belkin TuneStudio for iPod
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November 16, 2007 An attractive option for bands chasing a simple, portable solution for capturing jam-sessions or podcasters aiming to enhance audio quality, Belkin’s 4-channel audio mixer enables the recording of high-quality digital sound directly to iPod. Read More
V-MODA’s Vibe Duo headset
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November 15, 2007 Mobile phones and personal media players are all about entertainment, communications and increasingly, fashion – and any good fashion statement needs fashionable accessories. Designed with assistance from Apple, V-MODA’s noise isolating Vibe Duo headset takes this approach seriously with high-definition sound and a discrete microphone rolled into a slick all-metal design. Read More
BLINGPlayer portable MP3 player
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September 14, 2007 For those not content with the dreary white, black, chrome and pastel color choices of most MP3 players, this new potable music unit come hip-hop jewelery from MediaREADY could be the answer. Created in response to the popular (but apparently dull) iPod, the 2 GB BLINGPlayer is further evidence of the very blurry line that now separates personal electronic devices and fashion accessories. Read More
Diminutive Microkey MP3 player from Zicplay
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September 13, 2007 The phrase "portable music player" has been seriously redefined over the last decade and the tiny Microkey is further proof of just how far we've come. One of the smallest MP3 players we've encountered, the device was displayed at the recent IFA in Berlin by Swiss electronics company Zicplay. The Microkey MP3/WMA player provides up to 1GB of storage space and measures just 43mm long and 15mm wide. Read More
Plantronics convertible mono to stereo Bluetooth headset
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September 12, 2007 Plantronics have introduced a Bluetooth convertible mono to stereo headset for MP3 Bluetooth enabled mobile phones. The Voyager 855 headset offers a convertible design for listening to calls in mono as well as listening to music in stereo as headphones via a detachable stereo cable. Drop the second earbud or detach the cable and the headset serves as a high-quality mono Bluetooth device. Read More
NOXON iRadio offers 10,000 stations
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September 11, 2007 The proliferation of internet radio stations has led to the creation of numerous devices to free internet radio from your computer and make it mobile. This offering from TerraTec, the iRadio, grants you access to 10,000 stations as well as your own music library. Read More
Individual Sound Projector from Loewe
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September 11, 2007 Consumer electronics manufacturer Loewe showcased its recently released Individual Sound Projector at this year’s IFA in Berlin. The sound projector is a genuine 5.1 surround sound system that operates from a single device, allowing TV, DVD and other digital sources to be operated from one remote control. The multi-channel surround sound system features integrated cinema settings and over-head effects without the need for any additional speakers or cables and after encountering the system at the IFA, Gizmag can attest that it sounds amazing.
Sansa View video enabled MP3 player from SanDisk
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September 11, 2007 It's been a week for small format, video enabled MP3 players with the release of the new iPod nano and now the announcement of a new device from SanDisk that offers a range of features including full-motion video support, long battery life and slim line design. Read More
ZAGG RockStic portable speaker for iPod
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August 21, 2007 We’re now used to carrying our music library in our pocket but usually it’s a library that can only be listened to by one person at a time. The Zagg RockStic is a new take on portable speaker design. Specifically aimed at iPods but compatible with most MP3 players, the compact cylindrical unit aims to maximize portability, giving users the ability to share (or inflict, as the case may be), their taste in music on a wider audience. Read More
The i-Sing MP3 player encourages singing along wherever you are
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July 18, 2007 Ancient Zimbabwean wisdom suggests "if you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing" though we're sure it is also true that if you can hold a note, carry a tune and belt out something relatively pleasant to the ear, everyone has more fun. There is currently a renaissance of music sweeping the world. More people are listening to more music thanks to the low cost high convenience MP3 player, and advances in user-friendly software and devices mean more people are beginning to explore not just listening to music but making it. One such device is the i-Sing, an MP3 player with the ability to digitally cancel out the original artist's vocals on any track, display song lyrics and record the user's own vocals over the instrumental tracks at the touch of a button. Bound to be popular with fans of the (insert country here) Idol TV phenomenon, the i-Sing harnesses some very cool technology and combines it with childproof ease of use. Read More
Two New USB Turntables
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July 17, 2007 A recent Gizmag survey found that everyone in the world has at least two large boxes of old records in the garage that they can’t play but also can’t bear to throw away (it was a small sampling). Two new USB turntables from Ion Audio will go some way to unleashing all that music, as they represent the latest generation of vinyl-to-MP3 devices. The US$150 iTTUSB05 and US$250 iTTUSB10 turntables are the next generation of the iTTUSB first released in 2006, and come with EZ Vinyl Converter software, a new program by MixMeister that quickly converts vinyl tracks directly to iTunes. Other new features include a dust cover to protect the record; built-in pre-amps eliminating the need for an audio receiver with phono-in jack; integrated RCA cables; and 33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPM playback speeds. Read More
The great newspaper giveaway ... and why the music industry is still brain-dead
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July 1, 2007 We admire people who have the consistent ability to think outside the square and the artist formerly known as Prince has a history of innovation, in not just his music. His latest stroke of business model remodelling genius is priceless because despite being guaranteed massive sales of his next album, he has decided to give the entire album away FREE inside a British Sunday newspaper, severely upsetting the music industry. The industry has only just begun to acknowledge how counter-productive its greed and lack of vision (e.g. suing its customers) has been, so it’s remarkable they cannot see the benefits of this incredibly savvy move. Read More
Pacemaker puts a DJ rig in your pocket
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June 5, 2007 We've seen iPod DJ solutions like the Numark iDJ before, but now the next logical step has arrived. The Pacemaker is a 120 GB portable music player that doubles as a fully functional DJ setup, giving it the somewhat bizarre title of the world's first pocket-sized DJ rig. Read More
AVLabs releases new high-end wireless Bluetooth speakers
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May 30, 2007 Wires are rubbish - and yet most of us still have great tangles of cords and cables sticking out of the backs of our PCs. This beautiful set of high-end Bluetooth speakers gets rid of one more wire from your rig - and you don't have to have a bluetooth-enabled PC to enjoy their silky wireless tones. Read More
digiwax = DRM-free MP3 + Vinyl
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May 16, 2007 Vinyl records, for all their wonderous qualities, are such impractical things. You have to store them correctly, take care to ensure your turntable isn't destroying them, and even if you have the equipment to rip them to digital formats at high-quality (USB turntables don't count), you're left with a recording of a recording that was mastered specifically for the qualities (and limitations) of the vinyl format. Well aware of the dilemmas facing record collectors with iPods or digital DJ rigs, U.K. based First Word Records have released their first "digiwax" vinyl record, which includes a code allowing purchasers to download DRM-free 320kbit MP3's of the album. Read More
Guitar Hero 2 Review (Xbox 360)
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April 30, 2007 As you might imagine, we're surrounded with technology at the Gizmag office...and we thought we'd learned to do a pretty good job of soldiering on despite all the distractions the wired lifestyle brings. Alas, those times are over now, and we refer to the period as BG (Before Guitar Hero). For the uninitiated, Guitar Hero is rock and roll condensed into a video game, complete with plastic guitar controller and a drummer who always turns up to practice on time (and doesn't hit on your girlfriend). The original Playstation 2 game sold over one million units in its first year, and the sequel sold over 1.3 million units in 2006 - 800,000 in December alone - and it's hooked everyone from the neighbors seven-year-old to members of the prog-rock super-group Tool. Now it's here on the Xbox 360 in crisp 720p resolution with 10 additional tracks - if you've listened to guitar music at all in the last thirty years, read on for the full review, video and track list. Read More
Piano Wizard integrates the video game and piano lesson
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March 3, 2007 - Parents rejoice! Finally a video game that you can give to your kids with no immediate hesitation or eventual regrets. The results of long hours spent in front of the game aren't just honed reflexes and hand-to-eye coordination, but the gift of fluency in the most beautiful and timeless language of all...music. Read More
The UAD-Xpander - Universal Audio's UAD-1 finally goes mobile
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March 3, 2007 - Universal Audio launched the UAD-1 back in January 2004, and it quickly became the DSP system of choice for a staggering amount of music producers. It wasn't the fact the UAD-1 cards took the processing load off the CPU that made the system so essential - it was the Universal Audio plugins, meticulously modelled after vintage compressors and equalisers, that once heard, immediately justify the price tag, and once used in your own mixes, simply cannot be lived without. Obviously tired of seeing so many of their users spending big bucks on a Magma external PCI chassis in order to use their UAD-1 cards on the road, Universal Audio have finally released the UAD-Xpander - an external UAD-1 solution which connects via ExpressCard, the now ubiquitous laptop expansion bus that offers six times the bandwidth of FireWire 400. Read More
Turn your Nintendo DS into an acoustic guitar
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February 6, 2007 While music games have typically been geared towards vicarious rock-stars, and not garnering much interest from those who can already play an instrument as a result, Plato's Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06 for the Nintendo DS turns the genre on it's head. Essentially an acoustic guitar simulator, you're obviously not going to be able to belt out the riff for Ironman in its full glory - but if you're looking to further your knowledge of music theory (or show off your real skills on the weirdest acoustic guitar on the planet) this is a great deal more likely to tickle your fancy than games like Guitar Hero. Read More
Turn your Nintendo DS into a wireless MIDI controller
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November 28, 2006 Music on the DS has just taken a giant leap beyond musical games like Electroplankton, thanks to the efforts of German programmer and musician Tob. Previously, using MIDI with the DS required getting geeky with a soldering iron - now the DS's internal WiFi card can be used to wirelessly send/receive MIDI to and from a "server" running on a PC. Read More
Reactable - modular (audio) synthesis for everyone (at once!)
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October 30, 2006 Reactable is a collaborative, tabletop, modular synthesizer developed at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. The team set out to develop an instrument that was intuitive enough for beginners to jump in without a manual, yet deep enough for musicians to use on stage. Ambitiously, they included the ability for multiple users to play the device simultaneously (both in person and remotely). The result just oozes the "I want one" factor, and has to be seen to be believed. The pictures simply cannot do this justice - check out the amazing videos of the device in use. Read More
Ms Pinky gives digital DJ's the tactile feel of vinyl
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October 19, 2006 There's a steadily growing number of digital DJ's out there, and after scouring the resultant mass of dedicated MIDI controllers and digital turntables targeted at the market, we think we've found the sexiest solution yet - especially so for people who already own turntables. The oddly named Ms Pinky's even oddlier named "Interdimensional Wrecked System" claims to be the most realistic virtual vinyl system out there. Read More
