We’ve been thinking about picking up our own little synth lately, so we were pretty stoked to see Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 — even if it’s not near production yet. The pocket-sized synthesizer — which will also double as a controller for a digital workstation — is going to boast eight synth models and eight samplers, effects, a sequencer and an arpeggiator. There’s a built-in mic, speaker, and, excitingly, an FM radio. On the controller side of the device, it’s got transport controls, four rotary encoders, plus 16 quick keys. There’s no word yet on when (if) this thing will hit the market, though they’re taking volunteers for beta testing as of now. Sounds awesome, looks rad: sign us up!

Update: Video of a display test of the OP-1 after the break!

[Via Music Radar]

Continue reading Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 synthesizer sure to entice Mark Mothersbaugh

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 synthesizer sure to entice Mark Mothersbaugh originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn’t want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back — so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We’ll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we’ve got a pair of Audioengine A5 speakers on offer. Read the rules below (no skimming — we’re omniscient and can tell when you’ve skimmed) and get commenting!

Special thanks to Audioengine for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share the name of your favorite pet, that would be cool too (FYI: ours are Salvador and Penny)
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one pair of Audioengine A5 speakers. Approximate value is $349.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Tuesday, March 31st, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Filed under: Announcements

Engadget’s recession antidote: win a pair of Audioengine A5 speakers! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Samsung’s 2009 Blu-ray player lineup was outed at CES this year, all pricing and release date information was conveniently omitted. At long last, Sammy has pushed out the details we’ve been waiting for at its Spring Fever event in New York City. Granted, the BD-P3600 and BD-P1600 are already on store shelves for $399.99 and $299.99, respectively, but we figured it prudent to pass along those official numbers straight from the source. Of note, we’re also told that the ultrathin BD-P4600 will indeed be coming in April for $499.99, and if Best Buy’s website is to be believed, it’ll be April 19th if we’re talking specifics.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Samsung’s 2009 Blu-ray player lineup officially priced originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung has rounded out its line of DAPs with the new YP-U5 and YP-Q2, both squarely targeted at what have come to be well-defined DAP categories in recent years. The Q2 (pictured) has a friendly icon-based interface, with familiar touch-sensitive controls below the screen — though we found ourselves futilely tapping at the large bright icons out of habit. The interface is fast, the screen is great, and the feature set builds on Samsung’s typical kitchen sink, now including DNSe 3.0 sound enhancement — though we’d say the 50 hour battery life steals the show. The U5 looks thoroughly dated, though it’s more ergonomically friendly to those athletic types among us than some thumb daps. The teensy black and white OLED screen makes it a bit of a chore to run through the functions, but at least it’s there.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Samsung YP-Q2 and YP-U5 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are not many areas of technology that have improved in usability as much as online collaboration tools. By online collaboration tools I am referring to solutions that provide all or some of the following functionality in an online, real-time, architecture.

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Online Collaboration Tools – Are You Ready For Primetime?