| miniMusic BeatPad update |
MINIMUSIC ADDS SUPPORT FOR SONY AND VISOR ENHANCED SOUND
More sound in your pocket!
| miniMusic BeatPad update |
Both the Beat Plus Springboard module (made by Hagiwara Sys-Com) and the T-series and NR-series Clies (made by Sony) use the Yamaha LSI tone generator, an FM sound chip. This chip includes both ADPCM playback capabilities and a full FM set of General MIDI sounds (128 different instrument sounds plus drums). This chip allows the handheld computer to create multi-timbral and polyphonic music without plugging into an external music instrument (like a keyboard, synthesizer, or sampler). With BeatPad, this allows the user to interact live with layers of melodic and drum patterns while listening to them play, making changes at any time to pitch, volume, duration, tempo, loop length, instrument, accent, and soloing or muting any track.
"The biggest advantage of making music on a handheld computer is it's portability," says Chad Mealey, president of miniMusic. "It can always be with you, in your pocket. Adding an external MIDI sound module can unleash the full potential of our software, but until now it added size and weight to the handheld. The Beat Plus Springboard module slides entirely inside the Visor adding no size, and the sound chip in the new Sony handhelds is built in! Nothing extra for the user to buy or attach. This guarantees that users always have the best music tools with them where ever they go. These are both great additions to the world of portable music and we are happy to support them in our software."
Both of these software updates also include some work "under the hood" to bring the applications up to date in preparation for the upcoming Palm OS 5 devices expected later this year. Although these applications have not yet been tested on actual Palm OS 5 products, they are expected to be fully compatible.
Pricing, Availability, and Distribution
These upgrades will be freely available to owners of previous versions. Since these updates primarily benefit owners of the Beat Plus Springboard module or the Sony T-series or NR-series handhelds, they will not be automatically sent out to all software users. Anyone who does use our software on this hardware can contact miniMusic at support@minimusic.com to get the free upgrade. New users can buy NotePad or BeatPad for $29.95 US each, or can get both in the miniMusic Mobile Software Pack from the minimusic website (minimusic.com) or distributed to music stores in North America by ThinKware. The miniMusic on-line store also features special discounts on tone modules, like the Beat Plus Springboard module, when bundled with the Mobile Software Pack.
About miniMusic
Based in San Francisco, miniMusic provides portable music tools for composition, education, performance, and entertainment so that musical ideas can be explored anywhere and anytime, giving individuals the freedom of musical expression on their own terms. Shipping applications include NotePad, BeatPad, and BugBand and a Palm-to-MIDI interface.
For more information please visit the miniMusic website at http://www.minimusic.com
miniMusic, miniMusic NotePad and BeatPad are trademarks of miniMusic. Palm OS, Graffiti and HotSync are registered trademarks, and Palm and Palm Powered are trademarks of Palm, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other brands and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.