Oddball is a drum machine encased in a bouncy ball you can lob at any surface

If you find learning an instrument frustrating to the point you’d sooner hurl the thing at the wall, you’re in luck. Oddball (£49) is the world’s simplest digital instrument, and it’s designed to be lobbed at anything in the immediate vicinity. The Oddball itself is a bouncy ball that also happens to be a Bluetooth-enabled motion- and pressure-sensitive trigger. Chuck it at things (or give it a delicate tap in your less angry music-making moments) and you create beats within the Odd app. Sounds can be overlaid, mixed, and have effects applied to them. And if you’re wondering whether if you get three of the things, you could create some kind of bonkers cacophony while juggling, yes you can. The circus will never be the same again.

Craig Grannell Contributor

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.