Portable DJ Gadget Improves UI with Second Version

Portable DJ Gadget Improves UI with Second Version

Portable DJ Gadget Improves UI with Second Version


Tonium is releasing the second version of its Pacemaker music DJ player at CES 2009 this week, and the company says this is the one that will live up to the expectations and finally provide an easy-to-use portable turntable.

The new 60GB Pacemaker looks like the old one, but the change is all about the software and the user interface. The UI has been fully altered to make it easier to get to your music faster, only requiring pushing a button or two, as opposed to the endless scratching and pulling needed in the last version.

The main feature that makes mixing much easier is called 'auto beat match,' which is matched to a single button and mixes selected songs together (There's no word on how many songs you can mix at once). This should enable inexperienced DJs to assimilate to the gadget's other advanced features.

The original mobile disco was a lot of fun but it was impractical. In her review,
Senior Editor Nancy Miller thought the Pacemaker DJ player was mostly a good idea for a gadget, but the complicated menus and UI (as well as the huge price) soured her overall experience.

Tonium Marketing VP Ola Sars says that even though the UI now makes the DJ a much more approachable option, the player will still maintain its full Pro DJ capabilities and that the Pacemaker online community should reflect that. But as of now, there are no promises the 2.0 will be cheaper than before.

Considering the economy and the fact we still like the idea of a cool DJ gadget, we're crossing our fingers that the price will be slashed. Because making a gadget everyone can use doesn't mean squat unless people can get their hands on it.