Hands Free Page Turns for iPad Musicians with the AirTurn BT-105 Bluetooth Page Turner

iPad users will soon be able to turn pages hands free. AirTurn, Inc. is releasing the BT-105, its hands free page turner for the iPad and other Bluetooth-equipped Mac and PC computers on Tuesday, November 16, 2010. The BT-105 is perfect for musicians who need to keep both hands on their instrument while using apps for reading sheet music and guitar tabs. The BT-105 is super compact and can connect to one or two foot switches. A simple tap on the right foot switch will turn pages forwards, and a tap on the left foot switch will turn pages backwards.

The BT-105 works with a growing number of iPad apps, including forScore, MusicReader, and unrealBook. It can also be configured to work with programs running on Bluetooth-equipped Mac and PC computers that can accept Page Down and Page Up keyboard commands, such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Keynote, and most other document and presentation programs.

The BT-105 features a power switch, status indicator light, and an internal rechargeable battery with a mini USB recharging port. Battery life will vary, but users can expect up to 100 hours of standby usage. The BT-105 also features automatic Bluetooth pairing with the iPad for easy connections and fast page turns, as well as a built-in debounce filter to prevent multiple page turns for each foot switch press.

The BT-105 will be available for purchase from the AirTurn web store at a retail price of $69 US.

More and more musicians are discovering the ease and convenience of being able to carry their entire sheet music collections in digital music reading devices like the iPad and forgoing the bulk of paper scores. The BT-105 finally makes the iPad a practical sheet music reading tool for musicians who need to keep their hands on their instruments and their focus on the music.

iPad developers who are interested in integrating the AirTurn into their apps can submit applications for the AirTurn Developers Kit at http://airturn.com/ipad/ipad-airturn-developer-kit-application

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• ipad
• airturn
• page turner
• hands free
• bluetooth
• bt105
• bt-105
• pedal
• footswitch
• foot switch

[jubalslyre]

Thanks! Does it not set it off too easily? BTW, it's Kate the harpist from Curtis ('01) - hope you're doing well!

[hughsung]

@jubalslyre Hi Kate! Great to hear from you! The new ATFS-2 pedals require a firm action - they're also completely silent in operation, the quietest foot switch that we know of on the consumer market. We have some other cool switch interfaces that work with the BT-105 - you might want to sign up for our newsletter to learn more about the latest updates :)

[jubalslyre]

So, Hugh, how do you turn pages with your foot when you need it to pedal? ;-)

[hughsung]

@jubalslyre I use an organist's technique: I use the toe of my foot to press the Una corda pedal (soft pedal) and the heel of my foot to press the AirTurn if I need to use both pedals at the same time. :)

[idioticman2003]

what if i have two ipads using a BT-105 each. Will the signal interfere with each other?

[hughsung]

@idioticman2003 Each BT-105 has a unique ID. You can have an entire room full of BT-105s with iPads and they won't interfere with each other. In fact, we've made the pairing process easy - no need to punch in any confirmation codes as per other Bluetooth devices, and each BT-105's ID shows up in the iPad's Bluetooth devices settings, making it easy to quickly find each matching pair. We had 8 iPads with BT-105s running at the same time at NAMM, and not a single glitch during the whole show!

[ratgell]

Hey Hugh, looks great! I want to advance photos like a slide show from an I pad. Can I do this with this device?

[jubalslyre]

@cjd2897 My instrument requires me to use both hands and feet, so I was just trying to get more info on how the product is operated. Hugh's reply was helpful, although I need more pressure to move a pedal on the harp than is required on the piano, so I'd have to experiment to make it work. It could usually be worked around, though.

[cjd2897]

@jubalslyre humans have two feet. i hope you're ambidextrous.

[WindyCitySax]

Great product, thanks for sharing!

[LiamKeez]

lol at pics