Did y’all notice the link to this .pdf file earlier in this thread? It’s an interesting read…
http://www.vpipes.com/newsletters/060509_2006_spring_nl_eng.pdf
The idea of being able to practice with earphones/buds is mighty tempting.
Ok Mr Moderator, your concern has been noted-indeed they have generated some interesting debate and are awaited with huge anticipation! 
Just curious if anyone knows who the Beta testers are and why they haven’t mentioned anything?
It’d certainly be interesting to play with one of these, though I’m not certain I’d ever end up playing one. There’s something to be said for being in tune, but there’s something to be said for tradition and acoustics.
Dionys
Cripes! 980 Euros! 
You could buy a real stick for that… and without that rediculous display (reed cap) on top.
It did sound pretty convincing though. I wonder how you play accidentals? No keys on that “chanter” 
I wonder too about accidentals. Anyone know if they are possible on the Vpipes??
Ballygo
I want to know if it can be plugged into a sequencer, because that would be freaking awesome.
Here’s the response I got. Sounds legit to me..
Dear Mr Hamon
Many thanks for your interest in the vPipes-Uilleann.
Let me explain where we are:
We currently have two prototypes. The first is currently with Cillian
Vallely given that he is carrying out the final “test drive” and; the
second
prototype is the one we are working on here.
Cillian will be returning the vPipes-Uilleann prototype at the William
Kennedy Piping Festival (Armagh) in November with his “report and
conclusions” so to speak 
We are receiving tremendous reviews from people who have tried it so
far
such as Cillian Vallely, Fred Morrison, Diarmaid Moynihan, amongst
others,(even Paddy Moloney thought it was marvellous when he tried it
briefly just before a concert a few weeks ago).
An important part of the sound quality comes from the fantastic sound
samples that we were lucky enough to get Cillian Vallely to record for
us at
Trevor Hutchinson’s studio in Ireland. Incidentally, Cillian has
recorded
both his priceless Rowsome and Froment flat and concert sets for our
sound
samples.
We are unable to give exact “available by” date because many production
processes are out of our strict control but we expect that the first
units
will be available in the not too distant future. The sooner the better
for
all concerned!
It has also come to our attention that on several forums the
vPipes-Uilleann
is being called a hoax and “v” certainly does not stand for
“vapourware”.
I don’t think that we could express it better than “Tony” on posts
dated
13th September and “Joseph E Smith” on posts dated 15th September.
Perhaps
“ladypiper’s” address got eliminated by spam filters and thus didn’t
reach
us, so apologies for that, although whether or not e-mails get to us
are out
of our control. We are interested in getting to as many people as
possible
and strive to answer all e-mails within 24-48 hours.
In terms of accidentals they can be played by means of the rear-keypad.
Should you have any further questions we look forward to hearing from
you
further but we shall nevertheless keep you duly informed as matters
progress.
Kind regards
RmC
vPipes Project
www.vPipes.com
Im hearing some pretty good things about them. Not in production yet, will cost about 1,000 euro when they first come out. A nice clip of Cillian Vallely playing one on www.vpipes.com
I`ve been hearing pretty good things about them for the past three years - including that they will be available shortly!