gTar iPhone guitar hands-on

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When we first caught word of the gTar, it was a bit of a mystery, with an online presence amounting to little more than a low-res press shot, an enigmatic YouTube teaser and assorted specs coming out of South By Southwest and various investor sites. This week, however, brings TechCrunch Disrupt to town -- and Incident Technologies has braved some unseasonable New York City storms to come along for the ride. We managed to snag some time with the iPhone-docking instrument ahead of its debut on stage this afternoon.

Details are still a little scarce -- but here's what we know: the company is looking for a summer release for the educational instrument. In the meantime, Incident has thrown up a Kickstarter page, so you can get in on the action. A limited number of investors can get their hands on a unit for the low, low donation price of $350, once it goes into production. That's $100 off the estimated $450 retail price point -- not cheap, sure, but there are a couple of things to note here. First, we played with the gTar for a bit and we can say, definitively, that this isn't just some cheap, plasticky toy -- this feels like a real, amateur-level electric guitar. Also, for whatever it's worth, that price also includes a backpack carrying case -- so that's something, right?

Follow along after the break to get some fingers-on impressions.

Gallery: gTar hands-on

Continue reading gTar iPhone guitar hands-on

gTar iPhone guitar hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons

Last month, TED announced its new education initiative -- fittingly named TED-Ed -- with a YouTube channel showcasing teachers' lessons presented as animated videos. Today, the program moved forward, as TED opened up a beta version of a website meant to complement those lessons. Though there are plenty of study aides here, ed.ted.com is really about the grown-ups on the other side of the classroom. The site lets teachers with a TED account "flip" videos from TED-Ed and YouTube -- i.e., customize them to include multiple-choice and open-answer questions and links to additional info on a topic. Currently there are 62 videos and 238 "flips" available for viewing, but TED is gearing up for a full launch to be timed with the new school year in September.

Continue reading TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons

TED-Ed website launches in beta, lets teachers customize video lessons originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTED-Ed  | Email this | Comments