Rarely here at ClubGuide have we experienced such rampant gear lust as we are experiencing at the moment!
As a DJ who has recently made the shift from lugging a heavy bag of vinyl around with him to lugging a slightly less heavy laptop to gigs (and I thought I'd be loyal to vinyl for ever!), how could I not be enthused by news that the Pacemaker is finally a reality!

While references to the Pacemaker have been around on the internet for the last year or more, the obviously computer-generated images and 'pie-in-the-sky' specifications made it seem like at best, vapourware, at worst, some kind of elaborate practical joke. However, I am informed by trusted sources that the Pacemaker is indeed real, and even better, will be hitting the shelves very soon.

"So what is this Pacemaker thing," I hear you ask. "Isn't it some kind of device to help you not die from a heart attack?" Well, actually, no, it's not. The Pacemaker is Swedish company, Tonium's attempt to leapfrog Apple and a host of other competitors in an attempt to produce an iPod style device that can be used to mix two tracks together, with no need for a second device or any type of external hardware. Similarly sized to a Sony PSP, the Pacemaker is based around a 120GB hard drive. The in-built software handles BPM-syncing automatically and according to the press release boasts "all the functionality of a full, professional DJ setup", although it doesn't say if that includes Allen and Heath style quad-band EQs or a fully-functional FX section or not!

An interesting add-on to the Pacemaker itself is the Pacemaker owner's community, which claims to allow owners to legally share their mixes with other Pacemaker users. Quite how this will work in terms of copyright, I'm not sure - but if they manage to pull this one off, it'll defilitely be a first, and could change the rules in the often highly grey area that is distributing your own DJ mix.

Certainly the Pacemaker looks like a fun tool for houseparties or keeping yourself entertained on long journeys, but only a full-hands-on test will tell if it's any good for the pro, semi-pro or even amateur DJ. Hopefully it won't be long before we get the opportunity to try one out - we'll bring you a full review as soon as we can.