9.4.10. iPad and Creativity, I

This Post by Giles Bowkett goes into why the iPad is NOT where creativity goes to die. It's something I have been meaning to write up myself, but haven't gotten around to doing so just yet. I do hope to write more on the subject, but until then I will just add this: if the iPad was only about consumption, I would not have bought one. For months, dating back to when the iPad was just an ever growing rumor, I would show friends apps like Looptastic and Jasuto and say "imagine this on a bigger screen!"

I didn't even see the i-Electribe app coming. I have a real Korg Electribe as well. The iPad implementation is just stunning. (I also have both a real Korg MS-10 and a DS-10 cartridge for Nintendo DS. It's fun to have these real tools, and then have software representations of them in unusual places. A VST plug-in is just so boring compared to an iPad or DS surface, and both of those surfaces are far more fun to use on trains or patios than a laptop).

The iPhone has already proven itself as a fun and capable device for making music, visual art, and even for writing. It's like the universal pocket notebook, capable of capturing not just words and doodles and snapshots but also drum beats and synth sounds and singing and on and on and on. The quantity and quality of creative apps for the iPhone is part of what excites me about the platform. The iPad just adds to that excitement.