Trends in Japan - CScout Japan Blog » au Design Project x Yamaha merges music with mobile in new ways

au Design Project x Yamaha merges music with mobile in new ways

Written by: Michael Keferl on August 19, 2008 at 12:06 am | In DIGITAL LIFE |

As usual, the latestAU Design Project from KDDI is pushing the boundaries of what we think a mobile device should be to us. Japan is already known for putting out massive varieties of phones to cater to niche groups, so why not musicians?

The au Design Project x Yamaha does just that with a series of phones that double as musical instruments (or instruments that double as phones?). Designed by a foreign and Japanese team of young innovators (including Marianne Bailey) , these handsets are original, creative, and (the best part) actually able to make music!

au yamaha design project music phones 1

The pieces below are called Box to Play and Key to Touch. While the latter may be self explanatory, Box to Play integrates a synthesizer, scratch pad, and other fun musical toys, and folds up quite nicely.

au yamaha design project music phones 2

Sticks in the Air are just what you’d think…drumsticks with sensors for the beat, but they also snap together when you want to have a proper phone. Trio in Your Hand, however, flips open to create a scratch pad and sampler for mobile DJs.

au yamaha design project music phones 3

For those who like something a little more tactile, Strings for Fingers and Band in My Pocket bring the orchestra into the mix.

au yamaha design project music phones 4

Band in My Pocket is unique in that it comes with multiple accessories to create different instruments from the harmonica to the trumpet. Sounds are “hummed” into the handset (much like with Yamaha’s EZ TP Trumpet) with the rest controlled by the fingers.

au yamaha design project music phones 5

Personally we were dying to see these in action, but missed the show. Luckily, these video’s from PingMag’s YouTube channel capture the magic.

AU’s latest design project with Yamaha will be on display at the always fun KDDI Designing Studio in Harajuku until the end of August.

Tags: AU, design, KDDI, Mobile, Yamaha
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives license

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au Design Project x Yamaha merges music with mobile in new ways…

The au Design Project x Yamaha from KDDI show a series of phones that double as musical instruments. Designed by a foreign and Japanese team of young innovators, these handsets are original, creative, and (the best part) actually able to make music, …

Trackback by textually.org — August 19, 2008 #
[...] The au Design Project x Yamaha does just that with a series of phones that double as musical instruments.Designed by a foreign and Japanese team of young innovators, these handsets are original, creative, and (the best part) actually able to make music! via:Cscout Japan [...]

Pingback by Japans Au Design Project merges Music Instruments with Mobile Phones » ixplora — August 19, 2008 #
Literally, this is mobile meets music.

Comment by MayR — August 20, 2008 #
[...] outras imagens e vídeos no Trends in Japan e Ping [...]

Pingback by Digital Drops » Blog Archive » Celulares com Instrumentos Musicais com Assinatura da KDDI e Yamaha — August 21, 2008 #
[...] read in http://www.kilian-nakamura.com about interesting series of phones that double as musical instruments. They had been shown from [...]

Pingback by Especially from Design Project x Yamaha… | Mobiles Deluxe — August 22, 2008 #
[...] çıkardı. Geleceğin müzik telefonu olan bu ürün ortadan dörde katlanıp kutu haline dönüşebiliyor. Dahası, telefon küp olduğunda müziğin ritmiyle görsel bir şölen yaşatıyor. Normal bir [...]

Pingback by Yarı telefon yarı müzik kutusu | Teknobilim — August 23, 2008 #
[...] the rest of the post at the CScout Japan site. Rate this post: [...]

Pingback by Trend: Yamaha music mobile | CScout Trend Consulting — August 25, 2008 #
[...] via: Trend in Japan [...]

Pingback by » au Design Project x Yamaha: 音樂 + 手機 — August 26, 2008 #
[...] [Via textually.org, Trends in Japan] [...]

Pingback by KDDI’s au design project creates cellphones that double as instruments | clubsnews.info — August 29, 2008 #
[...] some phones are making music down at the KDDI [...]

Pingback by Trend: Mobile Phone with LCD Projector | CScout Trend Consulting — August 30, 2008 #
[...] Trends in Japan » au Design Project x Yamaha merges music with mobile in new ways “‘The au Design Project x Yamaha does just that with a series of phones that double as musical instruments (or instruments that double as phones?)’ Imagine what portable music game neatness could be done with these!” [...]

Pingback by Top Gamer Blog » Archive » GameSetLinks: Collectors Beware, Pac-Man Is Here — September 3, 2008 #