ION's iDiscover cheap MIDI keyboard is a new 25-note device that features a dock for your iPhone or iPod touch and enables you to 'play it'.
The keys have a synth action and are velocity-sensitive, and there are also pitch/mod wheels and a selection of control buttons. The hardware works in tandem with the iDiscover Keyboard app, which contains a variety of instrument sounds that can be played and recorded.
While, on the face of it, this looks like a pretty inventive product, we're not totally convinced of its usefulness. Doesn't the beauty of making music on an iPhone or iPod touch lie in the fact that you can do it in the palm of your hand? What's more, it's not clear whether the hardware will be compatible with other apps.
Still, hats off to ION for giving this a go --the iDiscover Keyboard does also have a USB connection, so you can use it with your Mac or PC, too. Expect to see it in the second quarter of this year at a price that's yet to be announced.
(Via Create Digital Music)
