Sound and Music

The bigger picture, indeed: by blowing up the screen of the iPhone to
tablet proportions, the iPad has become a lightning rod for discussions
about the future of computing. It has also left interface designers
with a challenge: what should interfaces look like? Can you simplify
designs, as on the iPhone, but also make use of a screen size closer to
what’s available on desktop computers? Those questions are especially
potent when applied to making this new generation of devices expressive
in music.

Even though the device won’t be in consumers’ hands until the
weekend, I’ve managed to compile a list of what’s coming, with the kind
assistance of the best mobile music blog out there, Palm Sounds.

Talking to developers reveals some news you likely expect – many
(though certainly not all) iPhone developers plan to port their tools to
the iPad. But it also includes some surprises, like a renewed interest
in other tablet and netbook platforms. (Nothing quite compares to the
surprise that a popular
Palm developer was switching to open-source hardware design.)

And as iPad developers reconsider the design of musical user
interfaces on Apple’s device, it’s long past time to evaluate how UI
design can work in all digital music platforms.

Here’s a first look at what to expect.

Continue reading at Create Digital Music