When the current batch of tablet PCs came out last year, many in the tech community dismissed them as mere toys. They were labeled “consumption devices” because the conventional wisdom held that their lack of processing power and touch-based interface made content creation impossible.
With the release of the iPad 2, Apple has really made strides in proving this wrong with the iMovie and GarageBand apps available for $4.99 each. Using these two tools, I was able to both edit together some quick background music, as well as stitch together a series of photos into a video slideshow that could be edited and uploaded straight from the iPad to YouTube.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8mhgpBgHcs
Unfortunately, you cannot currently import music created in Garageband directly into iMovie. However, once you have transferred the music to iTunes on your PC, then back onto the iPad’s iTunes, you can use it in your iMovie projects. Hopefully, Apple will add this functionality in a future update, or a 3rd party app will find a way to help.
There’s no doubt that the more involved professional multimedia creation process will still require dedicated computers for years to come, but it’s amazing to me how quickly tablet PCs are opening up the world of mobile content creation for the rest of us.
