The Tonium Pacemaker

“Handheld DJing” is a set of words that sounds about as natural as “genetically modified babies,” but if Richie Hawtin (also known as Plastikman) is entangled in this mini-mixer’s beta testing, something’s gotta be right about it. Tonium’s Pacemaker is a portable, tiny media player that comes equipped with plenty of audio manipulation features to help DJ’s mix tracks on the fly. On first glance, it’s almost hard to take seriously; at only about six inches long and three inches across, the Pacemaker hardly looks capable of what it promises. However, consider the following specs: multiple file format support (MP2, AAC, WMA, WMA Lossless, WAV, VBR, and the Ogg format); an integral 120GB hard disk; an integral crossfader, and pitch, bend, loop, split loop and EQ/Gain filters. One more reason for DJ’s to break a sweat over the Pacemaker’s tiny shell: the thing has beat matching capabilities. The Swedish company behind the Pacemaker is currently taking non-binding pre-bookings for the techy tool’s soon-to-come release, and the global DJing world is hyped — to say the least — to get their twitchy hands (fingers, I guess) on this first-of-its-kind gadget. US buyers can expect to throw down about $750 for the Pacemaker, so If you’re considering snagging one, reserve it here.