Akai Professional has released updated firmware for the MPD24 USB/MIDI Pad Controller.
Offering improved transport functionality, v1.09 is the second update to the original release of MPD24 firmware. A complete document of release notes is also available for review at www.AkaiPro.com.
Owners can update their MPD24 firmware by selecting the Docs & Downloads section of the MPD24 [...]

Akai Professional is now shipping the MPD32 pad controller.
MPD32 is Akai Professional’s flagship pad controller for musicians and DJs. Using a USB cable to connect to a Mac or PC, MPD32 is designed for hardware control of apps like Reason, Ableton Live and GarageBand.
MPD32 also features transport controls for interfacing with DAW/sequencing applications like Sonar, [...]

Akai has announced that they are now shipping the MPC5000.
Akai’s MPC5000 is the first MPC to permit eight-track streaming hard disk recording for real-time capture of individual tracks or even entire songs. A 20-voice, three-oscillator analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 PPQ resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous [...]

If you’re interested in an MPC, get ready to drool.
Akai is shipping the MPC5000, the MPC they call “the most advanced MPC on the planet.”
It offers 8-track streaming hard disk recording, a 20-voice, 3-oscillator analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 ppq resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous sample [...]

NAMM Update: Akai Professional announced the availability of its new USB/MIDI performance controller: the MPK49.
The MPK49 combines a 49-key, semi-weighted, aftertouch-equipped keyboard with 12 genuine MPC drum pads, complete with the popular MPC Note Repeat function and Swing parameters found in the iconic MPC family. Forty-eight total pads are accessible via four pad banks.
The MPK49 [...]

NAMM Update: The MPD32 is Akai Professional’s latest pad controller for musicians and DJs. Using a USB cable to connect to a PC or Mac, the MPD32 is designed for hardware control of programs like Reason, Ableton Live and GarageBand.
The MPD32 is the only pad controller on the market to feature the MPC Note Repeat [...]

At the 2008 Winter NAMM Show, Akai Professional announced the MPC5000, the first MPC to include eight-track streaming hard disk recording, a 20-voice, three-oscillator analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 PPQ resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous sample tracks and 12 Q-Link controllers. There is even a new [...]

NAMM Winter Show: Akai Professional introduced a new tool for creating beats on-the-go - the XR20 Beat Production Station.
The XR20 is a portable beat production station loaded with a sound set that is geared towards making Hip-Hop and R&B beats wherever and whenever inspiration strikes.
More than 700 pre-loaded sounds cover a range of drums, percussion, [...]

Akai Professional has introduced the latest member its music production center (MPC) family, the MPC500.
Portable and battery-powered, the MPC500’s functionality includes drum programming, sequencing, and sampling capabilities that allow artists the luxury of creating music on the go in a compact, road-worthy chassis. The MPC500 is data compatible with both the MPC1000 and the MPC2500 [...]

NAMM 2006 Winter Show: Akai announced Version 2.0 software revision for MPC1000 Music Production Center. The update, which coincides with a cosmetic change (from blue to black) for new units, is available free of charge from the company’s website and includes a number of significant enhancements that facilitates greater versatility from this popular [...]

NAMM 2006 Winter Show: Akai Professional introduced the MPC2500 Music Production Center.
The MPC2500 is the successor to the company’s highly acclaimed MPC2000XL. Featuring an inviting user interface, great-feeling velocity and pressure sensitive pads, twin onboard effects processors with a send for outboard effects, Q-Link controllers, plus 10 outputs and an S/PDIF digital output, the [...]

NAMM 2006 Winter Show: Akai Professional introduced the EWI4000S Wind Controller.
The newest addition to the EWI family incorporates numerous enhancements to its overall design as a wind controller, and adds an integrated analog modeling synthesizer optimized for wind control, dedicated MIDI In and Out ports, an audio output, new performance functions, internal effects processing, and [...]

This 16 pad USB MIDI controller is an inexpensive way to add a ton of flexibility to your system.
The MPD16 is an MPC-style MIDI pad controller. It gives you 16 touch-sensitive pads that you can add to your computer music workstation by just hooking up a USB cable. Carrying on the style of the MPC [...]

Akai is best known for their samplers, but they have created some other innovative products. Their lineup now includes:

MPC1000 Music Production Center - this sampler production center provides an integrated desktop sampler along with 64 tracks of sequencing.
Z4/8 24-bit Samplers - the world’s first 24-bit/96,Hz dedicated hardware samplers
MPC4000 Sampler/Sequencer - this is the most powerful [...]