I’ve been using Intua BeatMaker for about a week now on my iPod Touch. It works well as a mobile sketchpad for writing simple tracks of beats and patterns. The user interface took some getting used to, as features are split up between Home, Pads, Sequencer and FX screens. There’s a noticeable lag when switching between screens as well. Sample kits and exported audio can be transfered to and from an iPhone or iPod Touch using their file transfer utility BeatPack. It’s easy to drag samples from my computer into a set and then transfer it over, although I had to add the ports (3131) to my Firewall to get a connection. There are two audio effects busses, but the choices are a bit meager: synced delay times are only divisible by 1/4 notes (e.g. no 1/3, 1/6, 1/12), three-band EQ and a simple bit-crusher. I’ve already exported a half dozen sketches for use in Live, so I’ll be posting some of the results in the coming weeks.

UPDATE: here are some sample exports: 001, 002, 003-8-bit, 005-hard (MP3s).

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I’m lovin’ my recent birthday present from my wife: a shiny new iPod Touch. It’s quite a step-up from my 2nd gen iPod (which served me well for six years, despite its monochrome display, bulky form, dwindled battery life and lack of a dock connector).

It’s handy to check email, news feeds or the weather from (almost) anywhere, in addition to having music, pictures and movies at my fingertips. Browsing for music and apps without needing my laptop is also convenient, albeit a temptation to splurge (since I buy much of my music from Amazon MP3 rather than iTunes these days, it’s not quite a one-stop-shopping experience).

Some of the free apps I’ve found useful so far: Facebook, Exposure, Evernote, Twitterific, Remote, WeatherBug, Othello, Wordpress, BoxOffice, Last.fm, Pandora Radio.

Someday I hope to get an iPhone 3G, but for now the iPod Touch is my perfect PDA.

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