Videos of Belkins TuneStudio:
and their Podcast Studio:
MIDI Controller thoughts (from yuhki)
Thanks to yuhki for this comment.
I'm guessing the kind of thing you're looking for is something like this:
Which I'd love to see too, but sadly is unlikely to ever see the light of day. As for me being able to write something like that? Not at present, I've got a lot of learning to do to get to that level.
One think you might try is AxisPad from miniMusic, as far as I know you can access MIDI using that but not wirelessly. In fact I've just checked the miniMusic site and it says the following:
So worth checking out AxisPad. As far as I can remember the MIDI features will require a pre-OS5 Palm device, the Palm IIIc should be fine and you could connect a midi cable to the serial output from there.
In fact, I really should give that a go myself!
Hi!Im yuhki from JP. This blog looks so nice.I have been looking for the windows mobile software that can use as MIDI controller.I used to play music using ableton live. and I'm supposed to buy new MIDI controller. but any controller doesnt satisfy me.so I was thinking ,what if I can control its MIDI parameter from my PDA like a JazzMutant or KAOSSPAD using finger.
my english sucks , so I didnt read all of your blog yet.but I thought you might be the person who can program it or at least know something about that kind of software. so I wrote this comment.if you have any idea let me know . bye
I'm guessing the kind of thing you're looking for is something like this:
Which I'd love to see too, but sadly is unlikely to ever see the light of day. As for me being able to write something like that? Not at present, I've got a lot of learning to do to get to that level.
One think you might try is AxisPad from miniMusic, as far as I know you can access MIDI using that but not wirelessly. In fact I've just checked the miniMusic site and it says the following:
AxisPad can send MIDI data to attached electronic musical instruments or other MIDI hardware. While using MIDI, AxisPad can be set to send all manner of control change data to manipulate panning or modulation, simulate a breath controller, after-touch, or adjust many other performance and sound parameters.
So worth checking out AxisPad. As far as I can remember the MIDI features will require a pre-OS5 Palm device, the Palm IIIc should be fine and you could connect a midi cable to the serial output from there.
In fact, I really should give that a go myself!
iLounge reviews the TuneStudio
Here are not only some good quality pictures of the tunestudio but also some interesting first impressions.
MicroTrack II: More problems (from Jason)
Could be a fix on the M-Audio MicroTrack II?
We'll have to wait to hear how it goes.
Hi man,
Myself and a lot of other people have been having the same problem. I actually lost a valuable 4 hour live set that I recorded due to the unit freezing when I tried to save the file :(
I just spoke to M-Audio Tech-Support and they were very helpful. On the website there is a new driver released January 25th.
When you search for new drivers click the box that says "show beta versions" and download the new beta driver "Version: 1.0.4 BETA (BETA)".
I'm going to test it out, I'll give an update. I hope it works cause I love everything the Microtrack II has to offer.
Jason
We'll have to wait to hear how it goes.
MicroTrack II: More problems (from Jason)
Thanks to Jason for this on the MicroTrack II. It seems that there are very real problems with the device.
I just bought and used the MicroTrack II at 2 events this weekend.
The 1st night the recording was perfect.
The 2nd night I recorded a 4 hour set. Everything was running smooth until the end where the unit froze which of course made me lose everything!
I didn't know I was spending $400 for a product that is still in Beta-Testing.
Extremely upset and disappointed is an understatement in regards to the "Freeze" error with this product.
So now what happens? Every time I use this item I have to worry about it actually working? This is BS!
Why no mobile music sites?
There have been lots of music sites that allow you to mix and create music using flash and other clever technologies (like Splice). So I was wondering why there aren't any sites like that for mobile devices? That is to say I assume that you can't use any of these kind of services on a mobile device.
If you know of any, or a way of accessing them, let me know.
If you know of any, or a way of accessing them, let me know.
TrakAx on GearDiary
Here's a nice review from GearDiary on TrakAx the multimedia app for Windows Mobile.
Why do so many mobile music projects fail? Part II
Pete from Intermorphic on my post on "Why do so many mobile music projects fail? "
Thanks Pete for that. I understand the issues. I just hope that when the Apple iPhone / iPod Touch SDK becomes available it does create a real mobile platform for developers that gives them the stability they need for making real mobile applications without all the issues you've described.
Hi!
Pete here from intermorphic.
The comments you're looking for are here: http://intermorphic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=61
Reproduced below... the problem still stand, hence we're still focused on creating generative tools for desktop. :) If the market ever changes, then sure we'd look at it again. Hoping this helps! Pete
====
You might be interested to hear that I consider it very hard (if not impossible!) to make money out of creating applications for mobile devices. This makes it difficult to justify putting large amounts of effort into investing a lot of time and/or money into creating them. The reasons are many, and include:
- the huge range of mobile platforms and wide range of capabilities and operating systems
- the fact that many devices are closed (and are therefore completely unreachable) or require specially signed applications (and can therefore be prohibitively expensive to support)
- the very fast churn of mobile operating systems that is even faster than in the desktop world
- the low price that consumers are willing to pay for mobile applications; this is despite the very high cost of most of the devices!
- the large margins that need to be lost to the distribution channels
- the huge variety of different display form factors (width/height/colour depth and layout - portrait/landscape)
- the enormous inconsistencies between user interfaces, soft menus, keyboards and touch interaction
- in general, very poor support for real-time debugging of software for mobile devices
- for audio applications: the lack of low-latency device drivers, the lack of MIDI i/o, the fact that few devices offer full-duplex audio (e.g. Symbian!), the lack of any ease of integration with desktop audio software toolchain, lack of support for multithreaded apps in Brew etc. etc.
I speak with considerable personal experience of creating mobile audio applications. Smile
Thanks Pete for that. I understand the issues. I just hope that when the Apple iPhone / iPod Touch SDK becomes available it does create a real mobile platform for developers that gives them the stability they need for making real mobile applications without all the issues you've described.
MicroTrack II (from jeffs)
Thanks to jeffs for this information on issues with the MicroTrack II
Hi there, just posting a note to say that I have received the MiroTrack II and I love it, WHEN IT WORKS! That's right, it keeps freezing and I just got off the phone with M-Audio... apparently it's an issue affecting some units with the firmware and they are aware of it. Both the original firmware 1.0 and the December update 1.0.1 are affected. They are working to correct it but I cannot seem to find any mention online of other users experiencing this problem so I thought I would try to spread out some information.
Styletap on the iPhone / iPod Touch?
I was seeing if there was anything new at the StyleTap site, and found this in their faq.
Q: "Is there a version of StyleTap for the Apple iPhone?"
A: "Not at this time, but we are actively investigating the technical feasibility."
Now, that would be great wouldn't it, if you could run Bhajis Loops on your iPhone. Who knows, maybe one day.
Q: "Is there a version of StyleTap for the Apple iPhone?"
A: "Not at this time, but we are actively investigating the technical feasibility."
Now, that would be great wouldn't it, if you could run Bhajis Loops on your iPhone. Who knows, maybe one day.
Is the PDA dead or just about to resurface?
1src has a really interesting article on the PDA's supposed decline, and how manufacturers are starting a renewed interest in the format.
Add to that the recent comment by Apple that they see the iPod Touch as more than just an advanced media player and more like a new mobile platform, and the impending release of the SDK for this new platform, and you start to have some real momentum behind the old "PDA" format.
Add to that the fact that Microsoft wants to have Windows Mobile as a real consumer band, and the interest in mobile technology seems to be becoming a reality.
From a mobile music perspective I would have to say that the Apple platform is the most attractive, if they can get the SDK right and developers can make real applications for the platform.
It is an interesting start to 2008.
Add to that the recent comment by Apple that they see the iPod Touch as more than just an advanced media player and more like a new mobile platform, and the impending release of the SDK for this new platform, and you start to have some real momentum behind the old "PDA" format.
Add to that the fact that Microsoft wants to have Windows Mobile as a real consumer band, and the interest in mobile technology seems to be becoming a reality.
From a mobile music perspective I would have to say that the Apple platform is the most attractive, if they can get the SDK right and developers can make real applications for the platform.
It is an interesting start to 2008.
We want more plug ins!
I think there is a real gap in the market for more plug ins for Bhajis Loops and Griff. I don't think it is unreasonable to say that if a developer were to release a set (however small) or even a single plug in for one of these apps I would dive in and buy it almost immediately, and I would guess that there are lots of others who would do the same.
So, why no takers?
So, why no takers?
Why do so many mobile music projects fail?
Last week I wrote a post on these two music apps that never got anywhere. This one was originally a MIDI controller.
And this was to be a whole new music app.
Neither saw the light of day, which is a real shame. I'm guessing that these are not the only projects that never got off the ground.
So I was thinking, why is this the case? Why are there so many good software developers out there who start projects and then can't finish them.
It made me remember a comment by Pete Cole of Intermorphic (ex Tao Group) who said that mobile music apps where the most complex things to do. I can believe that, but it is still a real shame even so.
I wish we could set up somewhere where developers could store the projects they've decided to shelve so that someone else could take them on if they wanted to at a later date. At least that way there might be some hope for some of these excellent ideas.
And this was to be a whole new music app.
Neither saw the light of day, which is a real shame. I'm guessing that these are not the only projects that never got off the ground.
So I was thinking, why is this the case? Why are there so many good software developers out there who start projects and then can't finish them.
It made me remember a comment by Pete Cole of Intermorphic (ex Tao Group) who said that mobile music apps where the most complex things to do. I can believe that, but it is still a real shame even so.
I wish we could set up somewhere where developers could store the projects they've decided to shelve so that someone else could take them on if they wanted to at a later date. At least that way there might be some hope for some of these excellent ideas.
iPhone Guitar (via OneTonneMusic)
OnetonneMusic picks up this story of a new music app for the iPhone.
Now, it isn't a new idea. This has been around on the Pocket PC and DS for a while now, but it is good to see it come to the iPhone. I hope it is the first in a long line of music apps for the iPhone.
Screens Environment: Continuing progress continues to amaze me
Screens is really off topic for Palm Sounds, but it has to be said that as so many projects don't get finished it is good to hear of something going on that is making some progress.
FlipStart price drop (via Brighthand)
Brighthand has news of the flipstart mini notebook dropping in price from $2000 to $700, which is much more reasonable.
I'm interested in the FlipStart simply because of the size of it. It is just 5.9 inches wide, 4.5 inches tall, and 1.6 inches thick and weighs only 1.8 pounds (with extended battery). In many ways it reminds me of my old libretto laptop which was great at the time.
It does make me wonder if the days of the PDA are effectively numbered now?
A couple of new pocket recorders
FutureMusic has a couple of stories on new pocket recorders. One from Yamaha called the the Pocketrak 2G, a compact recorder featuring 2GB of built-in memory, easy USB file transfer, and Steinberg Cubase AI DAW software.
The other is the snappily named Sony ICDUX70 and ICDUX80 digital recorders / portable MP3 players. These new models have 1GB / 2GB respectively of internal storage space and a USB 2.0 port for transferring and recharging.
The other is the snappily named Sony ICDUX70 and ICDUX80 digital recorders / portable MP3 players. These new models have 1GB / 2GB respectively of internal storage space and a USB 2.0 port for transferring and recharging.
Why no more iPod music games?
I was thinking about Phase, the iPod game, and wondering why there aren't more music related games for the iPod platform? The interface is simple and easy and there are lots of possibilities. Why not a kind of electroplankton for the iPod where you can adapt to interact with the music on your iPod using an interface like that of electroplankton?
Or for that matter something like Jam Sessions? Play along to your fav tracks?
Perhaps we'll see more thing like this once the iPhone /iPod Touch SDK is released into the wild and more developers can start to make interesting things for that platform. I do hope so.
Asus UMPC (via Brighthand)
Brighthand has this post on an upcoming UMPC from Asus. Given that according to the article it is the size of a PSP it looks fairly amazing for the size.
Now if Apple had announced something like this yesterday I would have been over the moon.
Clever Parrot site has vanished
Sadly it looks like Clever Parrot, a site dedicated to developing PNOs for developing media rich Palm application has vanished, which is a real shame as there aren't many developers left for the palm platform.
Screens Environment: Continuing progress
Screens is moving along at a rapid pace now. I hope there'll be something to play with soon.
Everex Cloudbook (via livePA)
LivePA has this post a the Everex Cloudbook. Now that's a bit more like what I would want with a small device.
OT: MacBook Air - Nice but not what I was hoping for
Apple have unveiled the world's thinest laptop. I have to admit it is a nice looking piece of kit. Never mind, maybe something will turn up with the WWDC?
Of course they've made some updates to the iPhone and iPod Touch too, but nothing amazing. The SDK is still on track for February so we'll just have to wait for that.
20% off at Palm Software Connection
Palm Software connection has a sitewide sale with 20% off. Just use NYSALE20 at the checkout.
MacBook Air?
Lots of the Apple sites have been reporting on the MacWorld teaser line "There's something in the air", and rumours of a device called the MacBook Air. Allegedly the device will be an ultra thin laptop and not the PDA / Newton replacement that people have been hoping for.
Personally I hope that they do something in the UMPC space, but we won't have to wait long, as it is less than a day now to the keynote.
Personally I hope that they do something in the UMPC space, but we won't have to wait long, as it is less than a day now to the keynote.
Palm OS II devices in 2009 (via Brighthand)
Brighthand has an article on the next OS from Palm, rumoured to be called "Nova". Apparently devices running the new Linux based OS won't be around until early 2009.
My bet is that it will be late, and that the new devices will be smartphones only. I just can't see Palm going back to the traditional PDA format, which is a real sham.
My bet is that it will be late, and that the new devices will be smartphones only. I just can't see Palm going back to the traditional PDA format, which is a real sham.
Things you shouldn't see ...
I found this on a forum thread on KVR Audio. Something that always makes me sad. Software projects that don't end up going anywhere but look fantastic at the start. What a great shame, this one looked fantastic.
The other one I found one another forum, although I'm not sure if it isn't the same project, again ended without anything to show, which is a massive shame.
TuneStudio special price: $249.99 (again)
Just a quick post to say that the TuneStudio is once again at the $249.99 price tag (as a special discount). I do hope that it is at that sort of price when it comes to the UK.
UMPC runs Transmission (via CDM)
CDM has this story on a Samsung UMPC running the software distribution for the Trinity Audio device. It does look very cool indeed, I just wish that Apple would make something like this. Maybe next week?
Dual Screen Apple Device? (via Brighthand)
Brighthand has a rumour on a new dual screen apple tablet device for MacWorld next week. It is a great rumour and I'd love to think it was true, but I can't see it at the moment. Who knows, I guess we'll have to wait and see next week.
Screens Environment: Porting to Palm OS
Screens is starting to port over to Palm OS. Although early it is quite encouraging.
Redlfy Mobile Companion first impressions (via Brighthand)
Brighthand has an update on this Windows Mobile companion device. One of the important things that comes out is the lack of support for multimedia in terms of video screen size and the fact that there are no speakers on the device. Never mind, perhaps they'll do that in a later version.
BugLabs: I Love this idea !!!
I found this today whilst looking at highlights from CES. It has to be the coolest thing I've seen in a long time, and I have to admit that I do want to buy some of the modules.
Bug is a set of modules that can fit together to make the kind of gadget you want. Once you've made the physical gadget you write the software to go with it.
How cool is that then?
iPod Bluetooth transmitter (via iLounge)
iLounge has news of a new bluetooth transmitter for iPods. Normally I wouldn't post on something like this, but it got me thinking that if you had something like a DJ app that could run on an iPod and one of these it could be really fun.
PocketJam on sale for only $6.95 !!!
PocketJam's price is down to $6.95, which is amazingly cheap in my opinion. So if you have a Windows Mobile device you could do a lot worse than buy a copy of PocketJam.
Screens Environment: Update
Screens Environment has had a very active start to 2008 with more activity in January so far than in six months of previous years.
Let's hope something gets delivered for Palm OS in 2008.
Let's hope something gets delivered for Palm OS in 2008.
Belkin Podcast Studio this Spring? (via Futuremusic
FutureMusic has this report on another new iPod related device. This time specifically designed around podcasts. Futuremusic has this at a starting price of $100, but if the TuneStudio is anything to go by it will be double that by the time it comes out.
VL-Tone Rip Off on eBay
This is a fairly rare rip off version of the classic VL-Tone from Casio. Note the stereo speakers. Interesting that it in no way outputs stereo sound!
Guy creates Guitar Hero Turntable controller
Ok, a bit off topic, but kind of in the spirit of mobile music. This chap decided he wanted a turntable controller, so he made one!
TuneStudio press release
It is 1 year from the date I started posting on TuneStudio to the day they have issued a press release saying it is available. The price is $399, which is way to much considering that they started off with a price tag of $180!!!
Anyway I checked Amazon to see if they had it listed, and they did. For pre-order, with a release date of 1/3/2008 !
Rant over.
Anyway I checked Amazon to see if they had it listed, and they did. For pre-order, with a release date of 1/3/2008 !
Rant over.
CDM not happy at Pacemaker cost ($700)
CDM have picked up on the price for the Pacemaker device. I think that I have to agree that $700 is a lot of cash, but lets hope it comes down after a while.
PocketPicks includes TrakAx in their top 5 of 2007
PocketPicks include TrakAx as one of their top Windows Mobile apps of the year, and I think I would agree with them.
Don't forgot that the TrakAx competition is still on if you want to enter.
Don't forgot that the TrakAx competition is still on if you want to enter.
TuneStudio: Price back up to $399 !
Having just posted on the TuneStudio getting honored at this year's CES, I thought I'd check the Belkin site to see if there was any news on when it was coming out. Well the page was much the same, except that the "special price" of $249, has gone, and been replaced by $399.
I see this as very disappointing news. Belkin has been mucking around with this product for a year now, with the price going up and down, but mostly up, and never an actual release date set. It is very nice that they've won awards for this product, but awards for a product that isn't available to consumers is not much use to anyone at all.
Sorry about that, rant over.
I see this as very disappointing news. Belkin has been mucking around with this product for a year now, with the price going up and down, but mostly up, and never an actual release date set. It is very nice that they've won awards for this product, but awards for a product that isn't available to consumers is not much use to anyone at all.
Sorry about that, rant over.
TuneStudio at CES 2008 (via Slashgear)
TuneStudio has been honored at this year's CES. It strikes me that TuneStudio got an honor last year year.
OT: Intermorphic Product updates
Although noatikl and liptikl are Mac and Windows platform apps from Intermorphic, I thought I would continue to post on them for as they have been developed by the Cole brothers who brought us the much missed miniMIXA, and for that reason alone I think it is worth keeping an eye on the very clever things they're doing. Plus, I still hope they may return to the mobile space at some point.
Best of luck with both noatikl and liptikl.
Best of luck with both noatikl and liptikl.
Redlfy Mobile Companion (via Brighthand)
At first I didn't think too much of this when I saw it. It looked much like the fabled Foleo from Palm although a bit more plastic and less robust. Then I started to think that it could in fact be a bit more interesting, as according to Brighthand it extends the Windows Mobile device not just be adding a bigger screen and keyboard and mouse, but also USB ports. Now, that could be a little bit more interesting, as it could be fun to extend the use of some of the best Windows Mobile apps via a keyboard?
I'm guessing that the apps might have to be adjusted to accept a USB keyboard, but it is a nice thought nonetheless.
TuneStudio special price: $249.99
The TuneStudio page has been updated (again) and now shows the "special discounted price" as $249.99, which although higher than the first quoted price of $180 is lower than the last price on the site of $399.
It is worth noting that I first posted on the TuneStudio on the 7th of Jan 2007. It'll be interesting to see if the TuneStudio makes it to the market within a year of the first announcement.
I'm hoping that the delay won't have been just about ensuring compatibility with more models of iPod but about enhancing the hardware and functionality too. I guess we'll have to see what they eventually deliver.