The iDiscover keyboard turns your iPhone into a piano and more
By Jacob Schulman 
posted January 8th 2010 4:26PM
posted January 8th 2010 4:26PM
Sure, there are nifty apps that allow you to simulate a keyboard on your iPhone, but Ion Audio has gone ahead and created a physical one to match the newly announced iType. The iDiscover keyboard, along with the companion iDiscover Keyboard app, has 25 keys and effectively turns your iPhone into a music studio complete with synth-action keys, and pitch and modulation wheels. Better yet, it doubles as a controller for MIDI software on either Mac or PC.
This does not need to exist
@Esat Dedezade Half of modern technology doesn't "need to exist".. what's your point?
@Carepolice
I guess my point is that that this does not need to exist.
Though I get where you're coming from, technically, do any of us need to exist? Do electrons need to exist? Alas, this is too deep a discussion for these pages...
@Esat Dedezade I could actually use this if it supported Beatmaker and some good soft synths. Especially when it doubles as a USB-keyboard.
@Stiksi
+1 my man...If the sequencer is solid, I could take this with me along w/ my laptop when I have to run to the studio or take a flight..I have an MV 8000, 3 midid controlers, and software. To have this for spur of the moment ideas is a WIN
Where's the "crapgadget" prefix here? Guys?
@bureX
If it plugs into an iphone it will never be a crapgadget.
I can't wait for the addon that turns an iphone into a fridge....
"Control your fridge temperatures from your iPhone. Just plug it in, fire up the app (99c on the app store) and set your temps!. (Warning, if you receive a call during opreation, you must not undock the iPhone, just lift the iFridge to your ear)"
"turns your iPhone into a music studio"
lol
haha yeah!
Why? This has to be the most useless thing ever...
This heading could also have read "The iPhone turns your keyboard into a phone".
Engadget can you please post the story when ION goes bankrupt from creating all these useless crapgadgets that no one will buy? Thanks look forward to it.
2 octaves is never enough!111!
Would have been alot cooler if:
- It was simply a MIDI connector
- The software was a synth with different downloadable models (e.g Grand Piano, Rhodes, FM synths etc)
- It had sampling capability.
What is the audio latency of an iPhone anyway? ASIO4ALL can bring low latencies to PC HD audio devices so if they could devise the same for the iPhone that would be great. Or just bypass that by having an audio controller on their device.
@richb93 I would also like to know what the latency is. That's really the biggest question mark with this concept.
@richb93
It works with an iphone DAW studio that has pre-set patches and a few synths and stuff. But yeah it would have been WAYYY sicker IF it had MIDI capabilities
WTF? Just buy a real keyboard for fuck sake.
@ChazClout
It works with Mobile MIDI studios so you can write and compose on the road. If you actually played keys or wrote music, you could potentially appreciate it
Nice. I could definitely use more keys for this though.
They can make something like this, but there's still no joypad for the iPhone? That's a big load of crap.
Doesn't matter that this is crap. It's iPhone and Apple so leave it to engadget to post about it. Reaching a new low here.
What a POS. I wanted an iPhone electric toilet. Why hasn't someone made one yet? I really hope someone hasn't made one.
@traceroute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xck61q3WPuA
Not what you wanted, but better.
@thesimulacra
hahahaha wtf. *dies*
The question is whether or not this keyboard can work with anything other than this "iDiscover Keyboard app"... if it's stuck with that software (like they did with the iType), then this is absolutely useless. The only people who could use this (in theory) would be touring musicians who don't need a full-fledged sound suite for their performances, like the glut of indie-rock bands that throw in 80s synth sounds here and there. But if they're restricted to some one-off proprietary sound app, forget it. They need to be able to recreate what they did in the studio on stage.
@thesimulacra
"would be touring musicians who don't need a full-fledged sound suite for their performances"
Those are called hacks that pretend to be muscians. For them I reply - GET A REAL JOB.
If you were already going to spend $99 on a midi 25 key controller like the ones they demo in the Apple Store then allowing it to make sounds when only connected to your phone instead of having it connected to your computer is of slight benefit. (Assuming it is roughly the same price and quality as the Midi only controller products like:
M-Audio Keyrig 25 25-note Synth-Action Keyboard and Midi Controller
It's a useless peripheral.
Well it basically just uses your iPhone as the brains for a MIDI keyboard.
Don't see how it's completely useless. My USB keyboards are stupid if they're not plugged into a compute. They're control surfaces more then independent keyboards.
Not sure how much this one will cost but I'm sure it'll be cheaper then an entry level MIDI keyboard ($100-130), plus the softwre to run it (Reason / Pro Tools on the PC, though Garage Band is free on the mac - but it's expansion packs cost money).
Assuming you don't pirate the software like every 14 year old kid in his basement, this may be actually be a fun little entry solution.
I also bet a lot of you that are pegging it as useless don't do anything musical and can't see that part of its interest**.
** Of course some of you are musical, so no need to jump in with "but I am!" posts >_
@Daphoid BUT I AMMMMMMM..
that cool enuff?
I feel stupid after reading these comments, because I actually want one of these...
@jdude4 Don't feel stupid at all. It's a very cool idea and I want one too. It looks like most of these people aren't musicians and probably don't know what a MIDI controller actually does. Everyone loves to hate stuff on the Internet, especially when they have never seen or used it up close.
Look at these jealous losers, keep posting em Engadget.
Does anybody knows what app is that in the photos? ... that "Akai Profesionals" Thing ?! , becouse i can't find it enywhere on the appstore, ot teh internets.
Interesting. Is Ion Audio the same company as Akai Pro? Their Discovery keyboard looks exactly like Akai's LPK25 and the screenshots above show an Akai app. I have the Akai LPK25 and it is awesome for what it is. I only wish it had Aftertouch. It would be sweet if the iDiscovery could be hooked to a computer and ipod at the same time so you could control your DAW with they keyboard and ipod.
Cool concept but id rather but a real keyboard still.
"Interesting. Is Ion Audio the same company as Akai Pro? Their Discovery keyboard looks exactly like Akai's LPK25"
synthesia, Ion Audio seems to be some kind of consumer-oriented company that distributes music/audio products to that market in some sort of marketing/licensing agreements with mainstream music companies that want to reach that market without diluting their brand names.
The iPhone App Store does not currently have any Akai music apps so the the keyboard probably is from Akai (which is very pro). I know Ion Audio also has a number of products that are clearly based on Alesis technology.
If Akai is providing the underlying software and hardware for this puppy it could possibly be a decent instrument despite the ever ready condemnation of the non-musician peanut gallery— or, it could be junk. But wouldn't it be nice if people could wait to learn more before just blurting out uninformed opinions?
Yes, yes it would.