yamaha

We seem to have had a run of gadgetry for bi-wheeled vehicles lately, so it's no surprise that Yamaha would get into the act. But the combination of features it's chosen for its EC-02 electric bike is something of a head-scratcher: an iPod dock and a frame that glows in the dark, according to Inventor Spot.

The built-in dock makes enough sense, with controls on the handlebar and a clear cover to protect the player against the elements, but the need for nighttime luminescence is less clear to us. Perhaps it has something to do with the bike'… Read more

When it released the original Digital Sound Projector in 2005, Yamaha was one of the first mainstream manufacturers to dabble in the burgeoning virtual surround-sound field. Since then, the company's products have been the benchmark in the single-speaker surround field. Not content to rest on its laurels in the face of increasing competition, Yamaha's just announced three new models, which make up the third-generation of the Digital Sound Projector line. All three are designed to deliver a wider soundstage than earlier units, and include new 5-Channel and "My Surround" modes in addition to standard Dolby Digital and DTS decoding modes. While they can be used in conjunction with AV receivers, each model is essentially a fully functioning home-theater-in-a-box, so you can just connect your sources (DVD, cable/satellite, game consoles, etc.), and be good to go. The big step-up feature for 2007 is the addition of HDMI connectivity to the two top-of-the-line models. Details are as follows:… Read more

A few days ago, Yamaha announced three new AV receivers: the RX-V1800, the RX-V3800, and the flagship RX-Z11--which is an 11.2-channel receiver. We'll get into the details on each of the new models, but overall they share many of the same new features we've been seeing on models from Onkyo, Denon, and Sony, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support, several HDMI 1.3a ports, and extensive video upconversion options. Both the RX-V3800 and the RX-Z11 also feature a graphical user interface (GUI), following the trend started by Sony with the STR-DA5200ES and now followed … Read more

Is it possible that life is imitating art--or at least games--when it comes to guitars?

Yamaha has been making the real thing for 41 years, but its latest bass seems to be taking a cue from the lightweight guitar controllers of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Unlike traditional basses that "weigh a ton," Yamaha's new RBX4 A2 uses a new type of vibrational technology and construction (called "Alternative Internal Resonance," if you must know) that can produce deep sound with a much lighter instrument. They even look like game controllers, featuring LED pickup controls and … Read more

The link between digital entertainment and exercise seems to be fairly well documented on the Wii alone, so it stands to reason that the combination would be fertile ground for other companies. And when's the last time you saw anyone on a cardio machine at the gym without an MP3 player?

Yamaha has clearly figured that out with its new "BodiBeat," a wearable gadget scheduled for August that it says is "the world's first music player/heart rate monitor that selects and plays songs to match the pace of the user's workout." It … Read more

Given that we're long past the age of piano dancing, this might be the closest we get to playing any type of keyboard that's not connected to a computer. Yamaha, which is proving itself in the digital music world with products like its virtual drum set, has developed the equivalent of painting by numbers for the piano to debut in August.

Its EZ-200 keyboard has a "follow-the-lights" system that even tone-deaf types like us can handle, as well as touch-sensitive keys that sound louder as they're struck harder. "All you have to worry about … Read more

If technologists worked as hard on energy issues as they do on virtual drum sets, perhaps we never would have heard of global warming. That's the way it sometimes seems, anyway, given how many percussive instruments that routinely come to market.

At least the latest example comes from an established name in music, Yamaha, unlike many of the generic products out there. Its "YDD-60 Digital Electronic Drum Machine" not only lets you bang away all day, but it also works without drumsticks at all, bongo-style, and provides 230 digital voices to accompany your arrangement if you're … Read more

For better or worse, most consumer electronics companies don't announce products with Apple-like fanfare. There's no gilded invite, no glitzy PR event at the Moscone Center, no 90-minute Steve Jobs presentation. For most companies, it's a booth at CES in January, and a press release. Three to eight months later, the product pops up at Amazon, Best Buy, or J&R, often with more of a whimper than a bang.

Take the new AV receivers from Yamaha and Onkyo. Keen eyes at AVS Forum and other enthusiast sites began noticing that new entry- and midlevel receivers … Read more

Toshio Iwai, the designer of beloved Nintendo DS music game Electroplankton, has been showing a prototype of his jaw-dropping Tenori-On instrument since 2005. Last week, Yamaha announced plans to turn this Star Trek-worthy digital sound toy into an actual shipping product, retailing with an estimated price tag of around $1,000. For most consumers, that is an insane price for a beautiful sound toy, but electronic musicians and artists are falling all over themselves for this thing. The Tenori-On is a touch screen grid of white LEDs that allows you to compose music by activating little squares that trigger built-in … Read more