Paul Ridden

Yamaha US has started shipping the NU1 piano, an acoustic upright with the digital heart of a grand. The latest addition to its hybrid product category, which includes 2009's AvantGrand, the new family member is being pitched to serious musicians who are short on space, but still want to experience the feel and sound of a high-end – and therefore much more expensive – concert grand. It features something called Tactile Response System technology, which reproduces the kind of resonance players feel when tinkling away on an acoustic piano. The sonic mimicry comes courtesy of digital samples of the company's hand-built CFX Concert Grand.  Read More

After tempting us with some candid studio shots last December, followed by some attention-grabbing showcasing at CES 2013 and NAMM, Artiphon has revealed that its Instrument 1 will shortly be available to buy. The professional-grade instrument leverages the processing power of a docked iPhone or iPod touch running digital music creation and recording apps, such as GarageBand or Animoog. It allows existing guitarists or piano players to use familiar playing styles in a new way, while ushering in a whole new wave of digital music noodlers.  Read More

While quick charging technology installed at strategic points along a planned route might be a good fit for inner city buses, it's not going to be of much use to electric vehicles that stop infrequently. Volvo sees our future long-haul trucks and buses drawing the juice they need from the road itself, making large onboard batteries a thing of the past.  Read More

VitaSound has launched a multi-functional audio enhancement device for those who suffer from situational hearing difficulties. The PAE-300 has been designed for folks who don't need a hearing aid, but could do with some help when trying to hold a conversation in a noisy room, or watch television without needing to crank up the volume. It's powered by the intriguing Neuro-Compensator technology, that's said to enforce an optimal electrical signal from the root of the auditory nerve to the brain, resulting in improved audio clarity and a natural listening experience. Gizmag has been sent one for review, but, since my hearing is pretty good, I've recruited my father-in-law, Jean-Jacques, as primary device tester.  Read More

Toshiba has announced three new additions to its Excite range of Android tablets, two of which beat the Retina iPad and rival the Nexus 10 in terms of display resolution. All three run Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and will hit Toshiba's online store on June 25, ahead of more widespread availability from July 7.  Read More

Large-scale multi-touch hardware designer and producer Ideum has teamed up with the Touch Systems division of 3M to launch the Platform 46 range of Windows 8 multi-touch tables. Both the standing-height table and the coffee table feature a 46-inch, bezel-free, 1920 x 1080 resolution LCD display panel and a powerful integrated computer system. They're set to make their public debut at 3M's booth at next week's InfoComm 2013 in Orlando, Florida.  Read More

Asus has unveiled the next step in the evolution of the hybrid note/tablet at the company's "We Transform" press event at Computex 2013 in Taipei, Taiwan. In addition to two CPUs and dual operating systems, the Transformer Book Trio adds a powerful desktop element to the mix. Other devices introduced by chairman Jonney Shih include 6- and 7-inch Pads, a wireless media center and a touchpad mouse.  Read More

Incorporate a tilting mechanism into a car, scooter or bike and not only have you just increased its wow factor by at least a thousand percent, but you've also greatly improved its stability and handling. Such is the case with Flexiskates, which boast the stability of quad skates and the speed of blades, while also catering for simulated alpine ski carving on pavement.  Read More

If you're in the market for a portable Win8 machine, and you don't fancy lugging Lenovo's monster Horizon Table PC around, you'll likely reach for something more manageable like Microsoft's own Surface Pro. Should your tastes run to something a little more one-hand-friendly, you'd probably need to abandon the Redmond giant's touch-tastic operating system for iOS or Android. The Iconia W3 from Acer changes that. Introduced at Computex, it's the world's first 8.1-inch tablet running the full-fat version of Windows 8.  Read More