Our very own DJ Hombre latched on to this a couple of months back, but we got to see it “in the flesh” at the NAMM Show 2013. It’s called the PDJ Portable DJ System, and is a handheld DJ set-up with two touchscreen “decks” either side of a mini mixer.
It’s got 2GB of onboard memory for holding tunes, but you can insert up to a 32GB SD card too, to pack a larger library. As well as all the usual DJ controls, it has a sampler and a built-in sequencer for mashing your own beats into the mix. It’s even got a mic in and line in, so it would be possible to DJ a proper party with it – although despite what the manufacturers claim, I wouldn’t like to scratch on those small touchscreens. There’s also a record button for saving your sets.
There are six on-board FX (phaser / flanger / delay / filter / roll / bit crusher), plus three auto-DJ modes. It has a 12-hour battery, and you can charge it via USB.
What’s missing? I couldn’t find a keylock, and it would have been absolutely amazing to see them make this properly wireless (with Bluetooth maybe?) – but nonetheless they’ve plainly packed a lot of technology into a small box here, and it was one of ther more original items we saw at the show.
Availability TBA, and retail is estimated at US$600. More info from the official site.
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Does the look like fun to you? Do you think it may succeed where other handheld DJ systems like the Pacemaker failed? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Phil Morse
