And it was a good one! I think having the iPod horizontal is an important distinction tho, as most of my app synths have that orientation. I have a feeling though, that none of the existing apps will work with this... do much variation in design and nobody's ever had to think about using any apps with an external controller before. This ION unit seems to need the ION app to run, but there are probably those out there smart enough to figure out a workaround, or at least sell apps that will work with this. Unfortunately, ION seems to be on the low end of technology; most of their MO is to provide very easy solutions for the average consumer. Synth app developers definitely should reach out to ION!

I think the space is just so you can slide it horizontally into the dock.

My son and I BOTH got a Bliptronic 5000 for Christmas and one of the first things we did was to link them together. We soon discovered something new and undocumented...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lcUJ9Md680

It's lots of fun, even tho the sound is mono, a bit lo-fi and noisy, but for $50 dollars it's worth it for the as yet untapped the mod factor once some tech-savvy folks hack a few!

The pretend "loading" delay at 0:32 was f'ing brilliant! I really didn't get into the tune until the 3-minute mark, when it really started to kick into high gear, and the wanton destruction of the ASCII instruments at the end was just perfect! Refreshing stuff!

For extreme portability, I'll still take my nanoKey any day, since this Akai looks to be over an inch thick and would cause quite a bulge in my laptop case! Sure, its keys are more "real," but since the nanoKey isn't intended to replace my regular keyboard, I'll stick with the nano's chicklet keys and its more slim profile.

That doesn't mean the Akai sucks, is crappy or useless; it's just different from the Korg. Better? For Everyone? Of course not... it's a niche product, but at that price point, Akai --like Korg-- will sell a ton of 'em... to quite of few "nobodies" as well!

Looks like a wonderful application of his programming skills. But is it going to be an interactive visualizer for one's iTunes, or is it going to create its own generative/reactive music?

Kinda funny, but there's a lesson to be learned here about editing: this video is at least TWICE as long as it needs to be! Both main sections just go on and on, and the credits alone account for about a third of it. Musicians aren't the only ones who need to learn when to trim, I guess! It sure looks as if they had fun making it, but how many punches in a row did I need to see??!!!