Speaking of Android and mobile, when it comes to reliable multi-touch on inexpensive devices, iOS has really been the only game in town. As I’ve noted previously, competing requires a usable multi-touch chipset. It seems one such chipset is making its way to a shipping product. Matt Gallant points us to our friends at Engadget:
Atmel confirms the Samsung Galaxy Tab uses its maXTouch touchscreen controller

Atmel, for their part, claim their technology is more responsive than competitors like Apple, offering both support for stylus input and faster response times – the latter interesting for music applications. Given how complex touch technology is, in terms of hardware and software alike, I’ll believe it once I test it – but that may be soon.

Update – this chip is also on the Droid Incredible and Evo4, says alien8 in comments. So we do have devices to test. The Tab has a bigger screen area, different hardware, and because this is Android and not made by one company, a different vendor software implementation, so it’ll be interesting to try it, as well.

The news is certainly relevant not only to Android fans, but anyone hoping multi-touch will start to appear in more platforms. And for music input applications, it could be great both for something like TouchOSC for Android (as well as potentially prompting other apps), and perhaps browser-based multi-touch control that could work across operating systems.

For the record, a few specs on the Galaxy Tab; thanks, Samsung PR.

Android 2.2 (Froyo)
7.0 inch TFT-LCD, WSVGA (1024 x 600)
Cortex A8 1.0GHz Application Processor with PowerVR SGX540
3 MP Camera with Auto-Focus and LED Flash
1.3MP front camera for Video Telephony
30 pin connector
WiFi 802.11n / Bluetooth® 3.0
Gyroscope sensor, Geo-magnetic sensor, Accelerometer, Light sensor
16G / 32G internal memory with up to 32G external memory slot
RAM: 512 MB

I’m no fan of proprietary connectors, but the other specs look good. Correction: it’s actually a standard connector — it just wasn’t identified as such. See Matt in comments — it’s a PDMI connector, which could be the answer to all our problems. (Think break-out connection to standard USB3 and USB2, plus video out, among other things.) That is, provided we get any developer support for it; otherwise, it doesn’t matter what those 30 pins can do.

Anyone know if Bluetooth 3 is any better at real-time applications than previous implementations? Side note: a lead engineer from Sony Ericsson last night assured me over dinner I’m reading too much into the spec, so I’m going to shut my mouth and do some actual testing with Bluetooth and MIDI, with some help, to see what happens.

Forget NAMM — one of a handful of hardware I’m most excited about in 2009 is all DIY, the 8-step GorF step sequencer. (I’m hoping for follow-ups like a Forg or Grof. Kermit (Muppet) fans know what I’m talking about.)

With four sequences with parameters, steps with pitch, gate, and Control Change, sequencing controls, legato mode, and the planned ability to both send and receive clock, this is one useful-looking device. And from the video above, it looks like it’s progressing really nicely.

In fact, if you think about it, it’s kind of puzzling that there isn’t a simple, cheap, commercial device that does this. As a kit, though, people could hack in features others might not imagine, it could be combined with other DIY and open source synth and music projects, and it makes a great kit and learning tool — meaning it’s more fun, anyway. And if you want a pink case, you can do that, too, but you can decide whether you want it more salmon or fuchsia.

Paul, do keep us posted!

Via musatkl / nostromo.

Here’s something I’d very much like to see: a hackable, kit step sequencer.

nostromo tips us off to a blog item on his site on the project. The creation of Monowave maker Paul Maddox, the 8-step sequencer is based on an Atmel Mega16 micro chip. The whole thing is looking very compact, which could make a nice little unit or might integrate well with other projects (like a synth).

The other good news to me: new DIY hardware could be a great way to run clock into software. Previously, that job has fallen to somewhat dull consumer drum machines. With DIY projects, even software lovers may soon be hacking new features into hardware and manipulating software sequences with that.

Planned features include “rock-solid timing” (sounds good), plus:

• 4 sequences with parameters
• Steps with pitch, velocity, gate on/off, and two Control Change messages (CC1/CC2) on a selectable channel
• Adjust tempo, base note (including via MIDI), sequence and step length
• Legato mode
• Send MIDI clock out, MIDI sync in (currently input isn’t done – input is usually trickier than output, but output may actually be more interesting to people)

nostromo already has some ideas for how to make this interesting when combined with chip trackers like LSDJ and LPGT, so worth reading his original post (thanks!):

Meet Gorf [mustakl]
GorF Project Page at Paul’s site Vaco Loco

Anyone out there worked on a similar project? (I’d sure love to have a DIY sequencer or two at our Handmade Music events in NYC!)