iRig Keys Universal Electric Keyboard iPad iPhone Mac PC Review Kids Adults Love Music

Music

Classical Chopin, Ragtime, Jazz, Rock and Roll with The Beatles and Sir Elton John, and even the Pop Songs of Barry Manilow. No matter how it's played, these composers, artists and music styles -- among many others -- are what has made piano great and one of the most popular of all musical instruments for centuries. Now, with the recent introduction of iRig KEYS from IK Multimedia there is something new and exciting that piano hobbyists like me and some of the other members in my family can play and enjoy -- a universal portable keyboard controller that runs with the entire suite of desktop computer and mobile Apple iOS products: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac. In addition it works with PC Windows.

Modern: iRig Keys Universal Electronic Keyboard connected to my iPad 2

Antique: This piano in the National Music Museum collection is extraordinary

The piano as we know it today indeed has a long and rich history. According to Wikipedia, the invention of the modern piano around the year 1700 is based on earlier string instruments from the Middle Ages and is credited to Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori. Many beautiful and technically amazing pianos have been built ever since including the beautiful upright piano pictured above with stained glass insets that we saw at the National Music Museum at University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD on one of our many family road trips.

In the 1920s the first electric piano was introduced, more than 200 years after the first classical piano was invented. But it wasn't until the 1950s when great modern pianists Duke Ellington (1955) and Ray Charles (1959) performed on them that electronic keyboards skyrocketed into popularity.

Yesterday: Me & my brand new Wurlitzer Studio Upright in 1973

Today: My 40+ year-old piano and the brand new iRig KEYS 

Fast forward to the present. Technology has penetrated nearly every aspect of our lives for good, including music -- improving both the playing experience for amateur musicians and the listening pleasure of every day kids and adults who just love hearing great tunes. With the iRig KEYS, we now have the first ultra-slim and highly portable universal MIDI controller keyboard for those Apple devices that connects directly to the dock connector of the iOS device as well as to the USB port on both the Mac and the PC.

iRig KEYS shown with everything that comes in the box

The current model is compatible with

• iPod touch Gen 3 and 4
• iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS
• iPad, iPad 2, and iPad 3
• Mac OS X 10.5 or later
• PC Windows XP (SP3) Windows Vista (SP1) and Windows 7 or later

iRig KEYS hooked up to an iPhone 3GS

Note: To connect with the iPhone 5 you will need to separately purchase a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter.

Watch this short video to see how iRig KEYS works




As you can see from the YouTube demo this offers so much and you will get many hours of enjoyment from it. Not only does the keyboard offer a full range of three octaves plus one note, it is so compact at just 20" x 4" and about 1-1/2 pounds to easily pop into your backpack or carry on to bring with you wherever you go. This would be perfect to take along on vacation so your child can practice piano every day while you're traveling. It is also a fun device to have on hand at parties so kids can gather round and sing karaoke style. It's a blast for adults who love playing piano, too. So why not bring it to the office and share with your coworkers during the lunch hour?

What's more is that the instrument comes complete with three free professional quality virtual instrument apps: iGrand Piano Free Version and Sample Tank for mobile devices and Sample Tank 2L for desktops. These free apps can be immediately downloaded making the iRig KEYS truly plug and play straight out of the box. There are also additional iRig KEYS apps you can buy like the ones I uploaded to my iPad 2 while preparing this review including iGrand Piano and iLectric Piano -- each app is priced at $9.99 for the Full Version. This connected keyboard runs with other apps, too, including the uber popular app GarageBand and others. Full product specifications and details are available on  irigkeys.com.

Image from ikmultimedia

The iRig KEYS carries a suggested retail price of $99.99 USD and is available from musical instrument and consumer electronics retailers worldwide both in-store and online. In addition this unique keyboard may be purchased direct from ikmultimedia.com.

FTC Disclosure: This is a compensated post and I received the iRig KEYS and the iGrand Piano and iLectric Piano apps to facilitate this review. However, thoughts in this blogpost are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Play Free Online Games for Charity to Earn Money for Your Favorite Nonprofit or School

Community

When I hear about a company trying to make a difference I feel compelled to share the news with my readers. Here's a great way to help raise badly-needed money for your choice of charity just by playing free online games offered by Goodgames.org. These include Mahjongg Dimensions, Klondike Solitaire, Word Search 2, a game of strategy known as Treasure Hunt and others.

Image from Goodgames.com

That's right all you have to do is have fun and play, then choose from a list of 109,000 nonprofits and schools on their donation list or add your own. Considering that more than 113 million people in the U.S. play 50 million hours of casual online games per day, partnered with Goodgames you can help raise more than $1 billion a year for deserving nonprofits.

Goodsearch, Goodgames parent company, is no stranger to giving back to the community. Since the program began, they have already donated almost $10 million to causes across America through supporter's simple daily actions like web search, shopping online, dining out and taking surveys.

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive any payment or other compensation for this story however I'm entered into a contest to win $100. Thoughts in this blogpost are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Talking Ginger Plush Birthday App Review

Toys

April is turning out to be a really busy month. There was Yom Ha'tzmaut this past Tuesday and Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd. Now to top it off all this month I'm inviting everyone to the virtual celebration of Talking Ginger Superstar's 5th Birthday.

Image from TalkingFriends

MBE partnered with Talking Friends, this post contains affiliate links

Who's Talking Ginger you may be wondering? If you or your kids don't know him already let me introduce you to this rather unique fun and interactive boy cat character toy.

Image from TalkingFriends

Standing 12" tall, the very orange tabby Ginger is the little nephew of Talking Tom (also pictured below), who along with Talking Angela, make up the chatty trio of furry covered cats. Together the personable threesome are the first iPhone and iPad app powered plush toys of their kind brought to you by TalkingFriends. Each of these lovable cats also works without apps simply by pushing any of the buttons on his tummy.

Meet Talking Tom, Ginger's Uncle

Here's my little model cuddling with Talking Tom

Ginger is a young toddler kitty who is as curious as any human kid his age. In his first app he talks about all the important things that young pre-schoolers must learn: brushing teeth, getting clean and potty training.

Talking Ginger up close

Push Ginger's belly buttons to hear music and talking

Install batteries in Ginger's back

Like the other Talking Friends, Ginger comes packed inside a heavy duty cardboard box with a USB cable and carrying bag. Three AA batteries not included are needed to get him talking. 

Now let's get this party started by previewing Talking Ginger's Birthday App

The BEST part is that Talking Friends has also provided a huge Talking Ginger prize package valued at $150 for me to give away to one MommyBlogExpert reader. See details immediately below to enter and win this not-to-be-missed gift bag of goodies. 

H - APP- Y Birthday

Talking Ginger Gift Basket

GIVEAWAY

Ends 5/20/13

Talking Ginger Prize Pack valued at almost $150 includes everything pictured

• Reusable Talking Shop Tote 
• Talking Friends Magnets ($9.99) 
• Interactive Talking Ginger Plush ($49.99) 
• Talking Friends Water Bottle ($13.99) 
• Talking Friends Key Ring with App Sounds ($8.99)
• Talking Friends iPhone Cover ($19.99) 
• Talking Friends Notebooks ($9.99) 
• Talking Friends Talking Friends App Gift Cards ($30)

HOW TO ENTER

Just leave a comment(s) below this post and you're entered. Contest ends May 20, 2013 at 12 midnite PST and is open to legal residents of the U.S. only. ONE (1) winner will receive the full locaded Talking Ginger goody bag pictured. Winner will be selected at random from entries received and will be notified via email and must respond within 48 hours to claim their prize. 

Required (Mandatory) Entry

Simply leave a comment below this blogpost saying why you'd like to win this prize. Don't forget to include your email address, Facebook and/or Twitter contact info in the comment section so the winner can be contacted.

Optional Extra Entries 
Earn extra entries to win for doing one or more of the easy options listed below. Just be sure to return to MommyBlogExpert (MBE) to leave an additional comment after each individual extra action you do to confirm so we can record all your additional chances to win.

1. Follow @mommyblogexpert on Twitter 

2. Like @mommyblogexpert on Facebook

3. Follow @TalkingGinger on Twitter

***Bonus Entries***

You can earn even MORE chances to win each time you TWEET the message below, up to 3 times each day. Don't forget to return to leave a comment on this post with the direct link right after every Tweet you do so you'll receive an entry for each of your RTs.

Tweet to copy and paste:

Grab this Talking Ginger Birthday $150 Interactive Toy Gift Basket GIVEAWAY for your child http://tinyurl.com/d8qnecf #TalkingGinger

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Mommy Blog Expert is an Amazon Affiliate: We receive a small bit of compensation, a no extra cost to you, when you click on our links and make a purchase. 

FTC Disclosure: I received the Talking Friends products featured. In addition Talking Friends is providing the prize gift basket and shipping for the associated giveaway. However, thoughts in this blogpost are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.