Philips announced this week at its IFA press conference in Berlin that it’s teaming up with DJ and music producer Armin van Buuren for a brand new DJ controller designed specifically for the iPad and iPhone. It certainly isn’t the first controller on the market designed for iOS devices, and Philips isn’t exactly a company that comes to mind when we think DJ controllers, but its new M1X-DJ does have a few unique features apart from the celebrity endorsement. It’s also another win for Algoriddim’s djay app that Philips makes a point of noting is fully supported.
Rather than trying to mimic professional DJ controllers like the recently announced DDJ-WEGO2 controller from Pioneer (which we also got hands on time with this week at IFA), the M1X-DJ is aiming to reinvent the ghetto blaster by building in an 80-Watt speaker system underneath the controller. It’s clearly aimed at beginners with much more simplified controls compared to your standard controller (no quick looping functions and FX built-in like Pioneer’s), while Pioneer’s new model takes the other route by essentially shrinking down its higher-end professional products for the iPad. They are aimed at slightly different audiences: the Philips M1X-DJ has obvious upsides for casual, social settings, and the EUR 399.95 price tag might be a little easier to swallow when it also comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker that packs in some serious punch. The much more capable DDJ-WEGO2 controller will sell for $429 when it goes on sale in October.
The M1X from Philips is set to launch in November.
We went hands on with the DDJ-WEGO2 at IFA today: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv6fxk7U2yY&feature=youtu.be]
