Sometimes less is truly more, and in the case of the VOX audio player, that was true as millions of Mac fans adopted the flexible OS X multimedia app with the sleek minimalist design and gorgeous sound output.  However, because VOX was developed as a personal side project, it never reached its full potential.

Today, Coppertino, an award-winning developer of OS X software, announced that VOX 0.96 is now open for public beta registration at http://www.coppertino.com/vox/.  Coppertino is offering all Mac users the opportunity to be the first to try out the updated version of Vox, and to help shape the dynamic audio player before it is released to the masses.

Originally released to great promise by Italian student Alessio Nonni, the VOX OS X audio player was quickly adopted by millions of Mac users thanks to its easy-to-use design and ability to handle an extremely wide variety of formats, including FLAC, MP3, AAC, Musepack, Monkey’s Audio, OGG Vorbis, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, IT, MOD, XM and others.

Now, backed with a new user interface and powerful BASS engine, VOX 0.96 is a robust audio player for OS X devices that delivers high-quality sound within a minimalistic and intuitive design framework. “We have been fans of the VOX audio player precisely because of its simple approach to design and use, and its ability to handle almost any audio file,” said Ivan Ablamsky, Founder of Coppertino.  “We are eager to work with the Mac community to see that VOX reaches its full potential.”

This new app, MINT.io from Amidio Inc, is an extraordinary Groovebox app for the iPad, aimed at budding bedroom musicians who fancy being the next Skrillex. It’s not bad actually being Skrillex, odd stage name aside, you get to lay some really cool dubstep and date (well used to date) that hot Brit Ellie Goulding. Check out the rest of the press release for more details, and screenshots:

MINT.io is a revolutionary scale-based, intelligent electronic music production machine, aimed at live House, Dubstep and Breakbeat performances, built under the paradigm of one-screen interface in order to achieve maximum realtime tweak ability.

The groovebox consists of a drum synth, a bassline synth, a sample-based pond-style twin synth, an automatic pad/chord machine and a noise generator. These all benefit from pristine audio quality (CrystalClear 5.0 Ultra-Precision Audio Engine) and are stocked with modern sounds, which offer many endless hours of instant music-generation fun even for those who are new to making music.

First in the time of grooveboxes, the user is presented with an amazing, completely automatic pattern generator, which is capable of making great, highly varied beats and synth melodies! Any of the 8 patterns can be randomized with just a double tap, or the mighty Randomize All feature can be used.

MINT.io is capable of producing really impressive tracks, which can be recorded instantly to .WAV and .MIDI formats. Speaking numbers, there are 5 sound generators, 5 filters, 20 drumkits, 20 bass presets, 32 Raindrop sounds, 16 Chord sounds, 8 patterns. MINT.io is available as a free-to-try app with enough free content to demonstrate its huge potential. There is an unlockable Premium mode ($4.99 or equivalent) which enables all the functionality. Check it out over here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mint.io-groovebox-music-in/id585905223?mt=8

Remember the old PC classic Descent? It was one heck of a shooter which allowed for six degrees of freedom. Even though it was confusing at first, I really enjoyed the shareware version and somehow gotten a hold of the pirated full version from a school mate . Piracy would be the last thing on Prague-based Keen Software House very own 6DOF 3D shooter titled Miner Wars 2081.

The game, which features players controlling advanced mining ships in an open world asteroid belt area is set to be released in Q3-Q4 2012. However, the soundtrack, composed by award-winning composer Karel Antonin, along with Marek Mrkvicka, is now available for sale! Be prepared to be swept away on majestic space flights, experience the chill of the deep space void and listen to the songs of lonely space travelers!

Interested? You can purchase the soundtrack right over here: http://www.minerwars.com/Store/Index.aspx?o=add&c=1&p=6 or check out the demo right above.

Media servers, Smart TVs, Sony PS3s, Xbox 360s, media players, tablets, smartphones. Within the past few years, we’ve seen technologies that have transformed the living room, which has long been the mainstay for socializing between family members and friends, into a high-tech environment capable of even rivaling workplaces. But unlike the humans that share the same space, more often than not these hardware are not connected to each other.

So it’s left to software to help bridge together these devices. Enter Bianor’s award winning iMediaShare app for iOS and Android devices. Think of it as the glue that holds everything together or in the words of Bianor, turn your iOS or Android device into the ultimate remote control for your living room’s entertainment devices. The app takes on multiple roles, firstly you get to display content stored on your device to a connected Smart TV or to a media server such as the PS3 on the same WiFi network. The following list of supported players is not exhaustive:

• Smart TVs from Samsung (with AllShare), LG, Sony BRAVIA, Panasonic Viera, etc.
• Video Game Consoles: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft XBox 360
• Network Media Players: Apple TV, Sony Blu-ray, Popcorn Hour, WD TV Live, etc.
• Audio players: Denon, Sonos, Onkyo, Linn, Philips Streamium, Yamaha, etc.
• PC/Mac media servers: Twonky, Windows Media Player, etc.
• Other DLNA/UPnP compliant media players.

That’s pretty cool especially when you have tonnes of pictures or videos on your iPad or Galaxy Tab to show and you don’t want your friends and family to be limited to just 9.7″ of screen real estate. With iMediaShare, you get to share those media content to that huge Smart TV sitting in the living room or to that PS3 in your bachelor pad.

Secondly, iMediaShare has a number of online video channels available for your viewing pleasure right on your iOS or Android devices. The Full version of the app comes with a number of channels in HD, and the channel library for the Premium version includes: Animal Planet, Audi TV, Bild, Beet TV, Break.com, CNBC, CNN, COIN-OP TV, College Humor, Dailymotion, Deutsche Welle, Driving Sports, Earth Touch, Engadget, Euronews, Facebook, France 24, Funny or Die, G4, Harvard Business Review, HDNet, Les Debiles, MaYoMo, Motorz (HD), NASA TV, NY Times, Picasa, PortalZINE, PR Newswire, PSN, Revision3 (HD), Showtime, Spiegel Online, TED Talks (HD), The Onion, TWiT TV, Victoria’s Secret, VideoBASH, Vimeo, White House, YDN Design, YouTube (HD).

I know that YouTube (HD) alone is worth the price of admission for the Premium version of the app (USD 5), and the best part is, like the local media files on your iOS or Android devices, you get to display these online content onto your TV or media player. Yup, who needs a Mac and an Apple TV when your iPad (or iPhone or Android device) and a high-speed Internet connection would suffice.

Last but not least, this is probably the killer feature brought about by the latest update to iMediaShare: the ability to discover and access photos, music and video on local network media servers! Yup, if you have a Windows 7 PC sitting in your living room, you can use iMediaShare to access the movies stored in that PC and display it onto a normal LCD TV in your kitchen which is connected to an Apple TV. There are plenty of possibilities with this app and you get to try it for FREE with the Lite version. As mentioned earlier, the Premium version is available for USD 5 on the iTunes App Store (click here)

For more details, visit http://www.imediashare.tv/

The Humble Bundle formula is pretty flexible in its offerings. In the past you would purchase a Humble Bundle and get games for a variety of platforms and on top of that, you would get soundtracks too as a bonus So it didn’t really surprise me when the new Humble Bundle: The Humble Music Bundle solely consists of albums and my, what a collection it is (it’s a refreshing change as well, with all the bundles going around the market these days).

This time, you pay how much you want for 5 albums and if you were to exceed the average amount, you get an additional album! These albums are Calling All Dawns (Christopher Tin), Favoritism (MC Frontalot), Best of the Valkyria Chronicles (Hitoshi Sakimoto), Album Raises New and Troubling Questions (They Might be Giants), Jonathan Coulton’s Greatest Hit Plus 13 Other Songs (Jonathan Coulton) and the bonus album Twelve Remixes of Four Songs (OK Go).

That’s quite an impressive collection you got there Humble Music Bundle. A quick check on iTunes yielded a USD 9.99 selling price for just Christopher Tin’s album Calling All Dawns and here you just need to pay above USD 7.87 (at press time, this average figure was correct) to get SIX albums. The amount you pay goes in support of the musicians AND the to charity as well in the form of Child’s Play Charity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

What are you waiting for? Head over to: http://www.humblebundle.com/

There’s a new match-3 game in town, and it’s beautiful. Chronocore Apps’ GeoDrop HD features retro graphics of the shiny kind that would remind anyone familiar with iOS titles of Geometry Wars and GeoDefense. According to the developers, GeoDrop offers a challenge beyond the usual match-3 gameplay mechanics. This is done by challenging the player to build up clusters of blocks of the same colour, with 2 stars within the cluster removing the entire chunk.

The full game comes with 3 game modes, namely Classic, Hardcore and Action and features 3 exclusive music tracks produced by Chris Huelsbeck, the very same guy that brought us the intro music for R-Type and the soundtrack for Turrican 1-3!! That’s a super retro throwback and an awesome coup by Chronocore. The game is also a universal app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and having said that, it comes with Full HD/Retina graphics support.

The Lite version of the game on the other hand offers up one game mode and one Chris Huelsbeck track. You can grab the Full version of the game right over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geodrop-hd/id478344246?mt=8 or the Lite version right over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geodrop-lite/id528118356?mt=8

South Korean mobile developer APD Inc, in a bid to bring innovation to the mobile market by mixing technology and street culture has released their first iOS title, Mad Acorn. According to them, it’s a game that successfully blends both action and rhythm together, with game’s background music and sound effect perfectly in sync to increase the players’ excitement.

The game is created as a live-action comic book. A total of 4 stories, with 4 stages per story (a total of 16 stages) are available from the beginning. Another extra story is coming soon and will be distributed as a free update in the upcoming weeks. Each story has its very own setting and cartoon.

The first cartoon of each story introduces how Mad Acorn (a squirrel) got into the mess. Each story has distinctive themes and music, for example, the first story called “Burning Bridge” is mostly Euro-pop music while the second case named “Boogie Train” is mostly disco music.

What makes this game even more compelling is the addictive gameplay. Developers worked hard on the sound effects as well to make a user feel immersed into the action. 16 original songs are excellent to play, but also to listen. While playing, users can collect 29 achievements to display in the Trophy Room. Furthermore, they can easily share their experience on Facebook.

“Games that have been released recently lack innovation because developers and publishers are trying to avoid risks. We decided to release a new title that would be fun and interesting to play, but also bring something new to the gaming experience. Mad Acorn is a great mix of fun, music and addictive gameplay. You can literally play to the beat which is completely different.” commented Hyoungsoo Kim, CSO of APD Inc.

Mad Acorn is available on the iTunes App Store for 99 cents: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mad-acorn/id516855471?mt=8

This is not the first time Nineoverten.com has put up something on iOS-based musical instruments, but this probably takes the cake in terms of cuteness (simply because it’s a digital ukulele of all things). Check out the following press release:

Amidio Inc (www.amidio.com) has released Futulele (http://amidio.com/futulele), the definitive Ukulele synthesizer for the iPad. The application has drawn a lot of attention upon its announcement in Spring 2012, thank to the unique possibility of combining two iOS-based devices (iPad and iPhone) using a special guitar-shaped case in order to make a compact digital wireless guitar.

Since that, Futulele has come a long way from a concept to the real application and has a lot more to offer. It looks amazing (supports Retina displays), sounds awesome, offers fully automatic playback modes, great interface and, as promised, an extension option via the Futulele Remote app.

Futulele features state-of-the-art sound engine which makes it the best-sounding digital Ukulele ever created. The physics-based CrystalClear 4.0 sound engine operates with 72 highest-quality Ukulele string samples, combining and tweaking them on the fly to deliver a fantastic Ukulele experience. Futulele detects your strumming speed and alters the sound accordingly, just like on a real guitar. The “machine gun effect” (repetitive samples) has been reduced to a near-zero level. 4 customizable FX are available: Grand Stereo Reverb, 3-Band EQ, Lush Chorus, Tape Delay.

Only one button is required to engage the Automatic strumming, and there are 15 strumming patterns to choose from. Recording to .WAV/.M4A is a blast and takes only one tap as well. The chords are organized into chord sets. Futulele comes with 10 pre-defined chord sets, and user sets can be created easel, with up to 12 chords can be used per chord set. There are 132 possible chords in total, which is more than enough for any song.

One of the most remarkable features of Futulele is that it can be operated with the iPhone (iPod Touch) and the iPad simultaneously, in a way that has never been introduced before. It is not a secret that many iPad owners also have an iPhone, so Futulele is an excellent and innovative reason to get the best musical juices flowing out of both.

A special guitar-shaped case holds the two devices, making it possible to select the chord on the iPhone and strum along the iPad screen, just as on a regular instrument. Changing a chord requires only one tap, and the strumming technique is easy and convenient. No external wires or hardware accessories are needed, since the devices use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (selected automatically) for communicating.

This functionality becomes possible with the optional Futulele Remote app (available separately) installed on the iPhone/iPod Touch. Futulele is available for $4.99 (launch price) from the AppStore: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=527394207&mt=8

I remember not too long ago about reading on an musical group which used iPhones and iPads as musical instruments. Talk about being avantgarde huh? That musical group can add in a new musical instrument to their repertoire with the release of the Sound Wand app by UK-based indie creative studio Club 15CC (you can trust folks in the UK to come up with some really funky names).

This is the first in the series of apps which leverage on the built-in motion sensors on the iPhone 4 (and above) and the iPad 2 (and above) to create very unique and sophisticated virtual music instruments. Sound Wand allows users to create sublime, original music by moving your device through the air like a conductor – it’s like plucking invisible harp strings which surround you.

According to the developers, the end result is that it is easy for anyone, even the youngest child, to create harmonious music, yet it is sensitive enough for seasoned musicians and even viable for live performance. The app is now available on the iTunes App Store for USD 2.99, check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/app/sound-wand-more-than-toy./id514362230

Want to download Lady Gaga’s latest hit song “Marry The Night”? You can do so for free on Tap Tap Revenge. Leading up to New Year’s Eve, Tap Tap Revenge is giving away a song a day, including a few holiday favorites, Grammy nominations, and hit singles from the world’s biggest music acts, including Lady Gaga, whose new hit song “Marry The Night” is today’s free track.

No Tap Tap Christmas would be complete without a little Coldplay.  The band’s new hit song “Hurts Like Heaven” is the free track of the day on December 25th, and because we can all use a little post-Christmas cheer, Tap Tap Revenge is also giving away Bootsy Collins & Snoop Dogg’s “Happy Holidaze 2012” on December 26.

Other hit songs being given away for free in Tap Tap Revenge’s holiday promotion include, “Feel So Close” from Calvin Harris, “Body Work” from Morgan Page (ft. Tegan & Sara) and The Band Perry’s smash hit “If I Die Young.”  The free music doesn’t stop there, as Tap Tap Revenge will also be giving away songs from cool artists like:

• Alkaline Trio “American Scream”
• She Wants Revenge “Take The World”
• Coleman & Chris “Outta My Head”
• Ivy “Fascinated”
• Chancellor Warhol “Crystal Clear”
• The Outfield “California Sun”

Tap Tap Revenge was the App Store’s #4 game app of 2011 and is the most successful mobile music franchise of all time.  It is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, or on Android. Check it out over here on the iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap-tap-revenge-4/id405373266?mt=8