Crave-worthy curves for a premium price. Belkin's got another Valet dual charging accessory for iPhones and Apple Watches, but this one's a portable. Earlier this year Belkin launched a new, more affordable dual-charging dock, the Powerhouse Charge Dock for Apple Watch + iPhone ($100). Now it's got a new portable dual-charging that will hit stores soon: The Valet Charger (also $100), which has a built-in Magnetic Charging Module to recharge the Apple Watch, as well as USB out port for charging your iPhone -- or any phone. (No word yet on international pricing, but we'll add it as soon as we get it).
Roli Blocks is a modular music studio, with each individual Block attaching magnetically to any of the four sides, But this isn't just for musical newbies -- the system is scalable to serve as a professional tool for advanced musicians, Multiple Blocks can be attached magnetically to any of the four sides, Optional smaller control pad Block accessories have built-in buttons to change settings and build beat loops quickly during a performance, It all starts with the Lightpad Block ($179, or £169.95), The pressure-sensitive silicone leather folio case for apple iphone x and xs - papaya pad displays lights on a grid, with each light square representing a different note, But you don't just tap the light squares as if they were keys on a piano, The real art in a performance lies in how you press your fingers on the pad, Dragging a finger can glide between notes, bending the pitch as you slide into the next note, You'll also get different sounds depending on how long and hard you press down..
But what if you don't know what notes sound good together? Simply let the lights be your guide. Blocks can be set to only light up parts of the pad that are in the same scale. Stay in the lights, and you can stay in harmony. As someone who took piano lessons for 10 years, I found the light system one of the most interesting parts of the Blocks design. In a brief demo, I could quickly see how experimenting with corresponding lights could be a way to teach yourself musical theory without even realizing it -- all while removing the fear that you'll sound bad if you improvise.
But one can not perform with Blocks alone, You need the accompanying smartphone app, Noise, to change settings, such as the scale or instruments, The app is also the only way you'll hear your music -- there's no audio output on Blocks, All the music is played through a phone via a Bluetooth connection, Blocks requires the iOS app Noise, leather folio case for apple iphone x and xs - papaya which connects over Bluetooth, Dependency on the app is why more professional users would want to buy the extra control Block accessories, the Live Block and Loop Block, each $79 (£69.95), Those come with preset buttons to quickly switch settings, And at launch, the Noise app is only available on Apple's iPhones or iPads, but the company says an Android app is in the works..
There's another downside for professionals: The only way to save and share your music creation is through Roli's online network, Noise.fm. Roli says additional sharing and saving functions are planned. That network happens to be the key to keeping Blocks feeling fresh. At launch, 128 sounds are available to download through Noise.fm, and it's where artists can share their tunes for others to tinker and build upon. Even well known artists including Grimes, Steve Aoki and RZA are contributing and making their own downloadable soundpacks.
