Continuing our quick look at some of the iPad related announcements at this year's Winter NAMM we have a couple of products from Behringer to mention.

iStudio iS202

This seems very much like Behringer's version of the already available iO Dock by Alesis, with a lower price tag.  Comparing the two, they have very similar specs and input/output options.  Have a look at the images below for a visual comparison.

The other connections for the iO Dock are on the sides as shown below:

Current prices for the Alesis iO Dock seem to be around £139+, with prices for Behringer's iS202 not generally available, but B&H have them listed at the moment for $149.99 (about £95).  If the Behringer is generally available for under £100, we think it has a good chance of success.

Check out the specs for the iStudio (iS202) at Behringer's site and the video below for a brief preview.

iX16 Digital Mixer

The iX16 digital mixer has been specifically designed to integrate with your iPad as the controller.  The iX16 has 16 audio inputs (hence its name we guess).  The controller app can control the sound mix over WiFi, so you can stroll around the venue with your iPad and stand exactly where you need to be to get the perfect mix, while the iX16 sits on the sound desk responding to your input.

It's all a bit clever really and not our area of expertise to be honest, but we have done our fair share of show and concert setups between us.  The iX16 and accompanying software is definitely on our wishlist.

For the full details check out the iX16 page and be sure to take a look at the video below for a brief look at the iX16 and the iStudio iS202 from musicianews.com (if you are watching this on your iPad, the video stops at around 3:32 but will carry on playing with a blank screen until 8:09).

Next up in our brief look at iPad announcements from this year's Winter NAMM, are a couple of announcements from Alesis.

DM Dock and Dock Pro Kit

We have seen a few innovations in the field of iPad use for drummers, but Alesis have made a serious attempt to capture the attention of drummers who want to have the iPad at the heart of their sound.

Featuring a healthy 13 x 1/4 inch trigger inputs, the DM (Drum Module) Dock is like a souped-up iO Dock for standalone use with your existing electronic pads/kits or frame mounted as an integrated part of the Dock Pro Kit.

There are also the usual MIDI connections and a footswitch port so you can change kits on-the-fly using compatible apps.  These apps also allow a quick change of sound sets using drag and drop so the possibilities are pretty much endless given the amount of downloadable sound sets that are out there.

More details are available on the DM Dock product page and the official Press Release. 

iO Mix

We originally saw the iO Mix being demonstrated at MusikMesse last year but it has featured again at NAMM and because it reminds us so much of our original Fostex tape based 4-track recorder we wanted to give it a mention.

Touted as the world's first iPad dedicated multi-channel mixer/recording interface, the iO Mix enables input of mics, instruments and other audio via 4 x combo XLR/standard 1/4" jacks.  As you would hope, each channel has individual trim, gain and pan controls (just like your old 4-track) and even some EQ control. 

Importantly for us it also features a guitar DI input so that you don't need a seperate amp, useful for on-the-go mobile recording.

Like the DM Dock above, the iO Mix will charge your iPad when docked and fully encloses it inside the unit so it is nice and snug, but also up to a little knocking about in the (bedroom) studio.

We found a quick demo of the iO Mix at NAMM 2013 on YouTube, from Netherlands based audio suppliers Bax, so thanks to them for sharing this video, check it out below. 

As before, if you have any comments or want to let us know what you are looking forward to seeing, we would love to see them below.

If you create music on or via your iPad, you need to know about some of the very cool stuff announced at the Winter NAMM Show that has taken place over the last few days in California.

There is a lot to get excited about as always, so in the next few posts we are going to highlight some of the shiny new tech announced for your iPad.

iRig BlueBoard

IK Multimedia had several new products to announce at NAMM this year, but this is the one that got us the most excited.  

As anyone who has tried it knows, switching settings or presets in the middle of a song using any of the iPad guitar FX sims is pretty tricky and worst of all, it means taking your hands off the guitar which usually requires adapting the way you play the song to allow time for poking at the touch screen.

Foot controllers are the natural solution to this problem and this is not the first Bluetooth foot controller for iOS we have seen, but it might be the nicest looking.

The BlueBoard ($99.99 / €79.99) is a wireless MIDI controller (so it should work with most MIDI apps you have on your iPad.  It is advertised as working up to about 30ft away from your main iPad rig, so you could set it up on the other side of the stage for those spotlight solos whilst retaining some control over your virtual pedal setup.  It will also work with your iPhone/iPod Touch and your Mac if you have one.

Check out the video below and the web page for more details, suffice to say, we want one very badly!

iRig HD

More than just an update for the much loved (and to be honest still default for us) iRig guitar interface, the iRig HD is another device altogether.  

iRig HD a 24-bit A/D convertor, with thumbwheel adjustable pre-amp on the device and digital noise reduction plus many other features, but what really stood out for us is that this device can be used with your Mac too via an interchangeable cable that features USB, 30-pin and Lightning dock connectors.

This is for us a brilliant feature that means purchasing less cables or audio devices for musicians who use both iOS and Computer based processing/recording apps.

We have yet to hear what it really sounds like, but we are really keen to find out and we will be looking out for some good samples in the near future.

More details again on the web page and in the video below:

We are always interested to hear what you think and what announced products you are looking forward to seeing (or maybe just adding to your wishlist).  Let us know in the comments below.

As you may already know if you have been here before, we are big fans of Nikolai Lockertsen and we have featured his work several times in the past.

This image stood out to us though because it is not quite in the normal vein of futuristic/other-worldly art that Nikolai usually draws on his iPad.

Painted using the Procreate app, for his son Felix who has just turned 4, 'Dad n Son' is a beautifully detailed and touching portrait of the most magnificent example of Father and Son.

As Dad to a Son called Felix who is also 4 years old, it struck a chord and I just had to share it with you.

Nikolai added his picture to our iPad Creative Flickr group, where you can find more than 20,000 other images created and/or edited using an iPad. Be sure to check out the fantastic artwork there and feel free to join the group and add your own artwork to the pool.

IK Multimedia continue to bring great sounding, and fantastic looking, guitar goodness to your iPad with their new AmpliTube Slash for iPad, a special edition of their iOS guitar effects app.

The official trailer below shows what some of the equipment included in this special edition sounds like (we're loving the OctoBlue):

IK Multimedia are rightly proud to note that Slash apparently uses the iRig and the iPad / iPhone Amplitube app on the road to capture ideas and practice his riffs.

Check out this overview with Slash himself demoing the sounds:

What more can you want? At a fairly reasonable £6.99, we're off to the (in)app store now.

It's about time we did another round-up of some of the tracks we've been listening to over on SoundCloud. Here is this week's trio of tracks. We think they really show off what can be done now with the raft of music creation apps we have on the iPad. See what you think:

'Forever I Know' by onwardvoyageur 

This song is just beautiful and sounds great. Played using a Ukelele, and the Pocket Organ / ThumbJam / GarageBand apps on the iPad, plus (presumably) onwardvoyageur's 6 year old Daughter on piano, we think you'll like it. 

'Thursday, Two PM' by Victor Lams

We're not sure if it is the cute vocals, kooky instruments or just the number of apps used to create this song that makes us love this track, but love it we certainly do. Our only criticism, it's too short, so we have to keep playing it again. Great job and great production Victor!

Apps used by Victor included Meteor Multitrack Recorder, iSequence, SoundPrism Pro, Grain Science, Beatmaker 2, Animoog and Tabletop.

'Sonic Vibrations (Original Club Mix)' by Sensadark

A change of pace now. Sensadark contacted us to let us know about his tracks on SoundCloud that were all created with Korg's wonderful iMS-20 app and we are glad he did.

This kind of uplifting club sound is just what we need pumping out at full volume on a dark, dreary wet day in England's so-called Summer. We're not so sure our work mates agree, but we're much happier now. Turn it up loud!

Over to you

We hope you enjoyed listening to our picks this week, be sure to leave a comment either here or over on the tracks at SoundCloud and let us know what you think.

As we always say in these posts, we want to hear from you too. So, if you have your own iOS created sounds (preferably with the iPad, but we won't hold you to that) here's how you can get them to us:

• Join our iPad Creative SoundCloud group then click on the 'Share a Track' button on the group page
• If you're on a computer, click 'Send us your sounds' at top of the sidebar to the right of your screen --->
• Leave us a link to your track on SoundCloud in the comments below

We're looking forward to hearing from you soon.

If you follow us on Twitter then you may already have seen the beautiful painting below by Roz Hall, of fellow artist Benjamin Rabe, but we wanted to mention it here as it really stopped us in our tracks.

When you look at the brush strokes, colour, light and shade in this portrait it is hard to believe it was painted on an iPad, but it was! It just makes you say "Wow!".

Roz used Procreate (second time we've mentioned that app in as many days) and a healthy dose of talent to create this image, we are sure you'll love it too.

Be sure to check out the rest of Roz Hall's artwork on his Flickr stream.

Educators are always seeking the 'Holy Grail' of teaching - engaged learners. It's even better when students don't realise they are learning but do so through having fun and being creative. That's where the iPad comes in.

Children especially are naturals at wanting to interact through the touch interface, many computer owning Parents will testify to that after repeatedly cleaning smudgy fingerprints off their screens.

Here are a couple of videos demonstrating how the iPad is being used to engage and teach children through fun and creative learning.

iPad Pilot Project - RCEF

This video from the Redwood City Education Foundation (RCEF) shows how one elementary school is using the iPad to help children get involved and interactive with learning, mainly in Maths and Literacy lessons:

iPad Pilot Project Funded By The Redwood City Education Foundation from RCEF on Vimeo.

Using DoInk to envision the future

This video, one of many from the Clay Animation Network, shows what children from the Lawton Elementary school think the future will be like. Apparently in 50 years time the world will be full of aliens, robots, teleportation and floating people. Sounds about right to us (apart from the aliens probably).

The elementary school students used the brilliant iPad animation app DoInk to create their vision of the future:

At Lawton elementary 66 students are creating animations in groups of 2 and 3 students using the animation program called DOINK.  Each group will create a 10-15 second animation showing a scene that could happen in a school 50 years from now.

There are a lot of ideas in this video, it's quite a long one, but stick with it, we think you'll enjoy the animations:

Share your story

We love hearing about how the iPad is being used in the Education field, so if you have any good examples of creativity in the classroom with any age group, young or old, please let us know about it.

Dip into our iPad Creative Flickr Group on any given day and you will find many examples of paintings, sketches, photographs and even some animations that have been created or edited with an iPad.

The painting below from Dan Hoffman was made with the stunning Procreate app. We loved the colour, light and style of Treasure Trove, it really stood out to us, we hope you like it too. Be sure to check out Dan's other paintings on his Flickr stream.

Read our recent post about today's release of Photosmith 2 and want to grab your own copy for free? Why wouldn't you? Read on...

Comment and win

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning your very own copy of Photosmith 2 (a $19.99 app) is leave us a comment below stating the feature of Photosmith 2 you are most looking forward to using.

That's it!

Here are a few details about our giveaway: 

• To be eligible for this giveaway you must leave a comment below stating the feature you are most looking forward to using in Photosmith 2
• You must enter a valid e-mail address with your comment (it will not be made public). We will e-mail you your unique code if you are a winner
• Your comment should be left before the closing date and time of this giveaway which is Monday 28th May 2012 at 1900 GMT

A big thank you to C² Enterprises, developers of Photosmith 2, for generously providing the 3 promo codes for this giveaway.

We are very excited to let you know that Photosmith 2 has been released today.

Photosmith 2 is the essential Adobe Lightroom companion for the iPad from C2 Enterprises.

We went in-depth in our review of Photosmith when it was released last year (be sure to read that review to find out more about what Photosmith does).

Version 2 brings with it a raft of new features including a re-designed UI and under-the-hood programming feats that make this app an absolute necessity if you use Lightroom and an iPad.

More about those new features in a moment, but first take a look at the new promo video below:

After being on the beta program for the first version of Photosmith last year we were very happy to be invited onto the beta program this time around too and we have to say this update is just what the (Lightroom) Doctor ordered.

New Features

Here's a rundown of those new features, many of which have been requested by users of Photosmith V1 (links in this list go to articles about that feature on the Photosmith website - well worth reading):

• Batch Tagging
• Batch Keywording (Yay!)
• Smart Groups
• Two-way sync with Lightroom!
• Choose which iPad albums to import
• Corrupt Image Protection
• Histograms
• Re-worked UI
• Sharing and Cloud storage enhancements including Facebook, Flickr, Dropbox and e-mail
• Native support for Export and Publish Services functions in Lightroom
• Direct integration (receiving photos) from Eye-Fi cards
• (and a new icon)

Photosmith 2 also has many speed enhancements and optimisations, which should be welcome news for any users of the 'original iPad' out there.

If you are at all interested in Photosmith, we would encourage you to follow the links in the list above and explore the website to read more about the new features and how the app works.

We will repeat what we said in our review of the original release of Photosmith just over a year ago, only with even more conviction this time:

"If you use Adobe Lightroom you need this app on your iPad. It's that simple."

Screenshots

To further whet your appetite for this app, we thought you might like to see some screenshots of Photosmith V2 in action.

Keywording in Photosmith 2 - Image courtesy of C² Enterprises

The lovely Smart Groups in action - Image courtesy of C² Enterprises

Sharing options work very well - Image courtesy of C² Enterprises

Previewing RAW File & Histogram - Image courtesy of C² Enterprises

Easy Collection creation, just select, drag & drop - Image courtesy of C² Enterprises

Adding metadata to an image - Image courtesy of C² Enterprises

Win a copy of Photosmith 2

Photosmith usually retails for $19.99 and we think that is a fair price for the functionality and workflow enhancement it offers Lightroom using Photographers.

But you can win one of 3 copies of Photosmith 2 in our upcoming giveaway. Check out this post for details of how to win.

Every day there are plenty of images being added to the iPad Creative Flickr Group. We wish we had the time to show them all to you, even keeping up with the new images is a challenge for us, but we are going to try really hard to let you know about more of them in future with these short posts.

This one from iPad Junkie (aka Rick Shulman) caught our eye today because of the clever old school/new school social media idea and also great detail. Rick painted this image on his iPad with the excellent Procreate app.

Feel free to leave us a quick comment below and tell us what you think.

More sounds from the cloud (SoundCloud of course) for your delectation, created using an iOS device and/or apps. No real theme this time, just tracks we heard and wanted to share, to get you thinking about having a go yourself.

Be My Queen by Li$H

Robotic vocoder (via VirSyn's iVoxel) mashed with GarageBand strings and some fantastic drum sounds? We love it! Nice one (again) Li$H.

It's Just the Lighting by Simplexity (Derek Mecca and Jeff Pritchett)

[Update: We have amended this bit of the post after Derek contacted us and let us know some more details about the Simplexity project.]

Odd but strangely compelling to listen to, this fairly spartan track was created by Derek Mecca and Jeff Pritchett under their collaborative project 'Simplexity'. They used Korg's iMS-20 and Addictive Synth (another VirSyn app) on a couple of iPads to put this song together. We hope you like it too.

Personality Disorder….System Failure by Michaelw

And finally, an amazing, disturbing and almost operatic piece from the brilliant Michaelw (Michael Wadlow from Wales). We liked this because, although uncomfortable to listen to in places, it is also totally entrancing in others. This track is a bit of a departure from some of Michael's other stuff, he really mixes things up here and makes you marvel.

Made using Animoog, iMS-20 and studio.HD, this track left us speechless and is a great way to round things up for this instalment. Awesome job Michael! 

Show us your stuff

We hope you enjoyed listening to our picks this week, but as always, we want to hear from you too. If you have your own iOS created sounds (preferably with the iPad, but not essential) here's how you can get them to us:

• Join our iPad Creative SoundCloud group then click on the 'Share a Track' button on the group page
• If you're on a computer, click 'Send us your sounds' at top of the sidebar to the right of your screen --->
• Leave us a link to your track on SoundCloud in the comments below

We're looking forward to hearing from you soon. 

Thank your for taking the time to listen to our notable tracks, feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think of this week's picks.

Opinions vary on the need for iPad keyboards, but they do seem to be ever popular, although we haven't seen the perfect one yet. Or have we?

Build a Brydge

(Sorry, we couldn't resist that one) Brydge (pictured above) is a new Kickstarter backed keyboard, designed to "transform your iPad into a laptop worthy of Apple".

For a Kickstarter project it has done fantastically well. The team behind the Brydge were after $90,000 funding.

By the end of Tuesday this week, their first day, they had secured pledges of $100,000! At the time of writing, they still have 35 days to go and already have nearly $286,000 in Kickstarter pledges and rising quickly.

Apparently the demand for making your iPad look like a MacBook Air is very high.

To see what all the fuss is about check out the Kickstarter video from the Brydge team:

What we are curious about is if you want something like this for your iPad. What do you think?

Sensu- Artist Brush for iPad from Artist Hardware on Vimeo.

It took 6 months from the close of their successful Kickstarter campaign (it felt like a lot longer somehow), but the team at Artist Hardware finally started sending out the first Sensu brush production units earlier this month to their patiently waiting backers, including us.

So, was it worth the wait?

Oh yes - we have a new love in our lives!

Industrial design

The Sensu has been designed as both a stylus and an artist brush for your iPad (and other capacitive screen devices).

It performs this dual function using a very carefully thought out design that incorporates the brush handle as a protective cap when in 'stylus mode' and it works really well.

Sensu brush stages - Image courtesy of sensubrush.com

As a Stylus

When the Sensu arrives (complete with a nice little felt slip case for Kickstarter backers) it is in stylus mode (top of the picture above). We were really impressed by the way the Sensu Brush works as a stylus or pointing device.

How it feels

The chrome-plated brass body feels light but stable in hand. The length of the stylus means it fits perfectly in the crook of our hands between thumb and index finger when used in pen/pointer mode. The smooth sculpted shape of the stylus body/brush cover is simply lovely. 

We felt it was one of the most natural and balanced styli we have used. It seems just about perfect for long sessions writing, sketching, or painting. Of course, everyone's hands are different, but we think the Sensu is spot-on as a stylus.

Sensu brush stylus - Image courtesy of sensubrush.com

Stylus tip

Artist Hardware have gone for the soft, malleable rubber 'ball' approach that many other stylus makers have used, which does seem to best emulate a human digit. The construction is solid though and we had no worries about possibly tearing the material or mushing it out of shape like some of the cheaper styli we have tested.

As with many new styli, it takes a short while to get used to the amount of pressure needed, but once you have worked it out you don't think about it again.

As a Brush

It is when it is in brush mode, though, that the Sensu really shines. Slip the protective cap away from the stylus tip and you reveal the brush, cosseted inside.

Flipping the cap round and putting it back on over the stylus tip creates a handle for the Sensu Brush which is only a little shorter than the handle found on another favourite of ours from last year, the Nomad Brush.

Sensu in Brush mode - Image courtesy of sensubrush.com

Again, the team at Artist Hardware have thought very carefully about the design here and we don't have any complaints about the balance or feel of the brush in use. As with the stylus mode, the brush sits nicely in the crook of our hand and, with fingers on the rubberised barrel grip, feels perfectly natural to use. 

Similar to the Nomad Brush but with a more tightly bunched cluster, the hairs of the brush are synthetic, conductive, fibres.

In use, the brush felt very responsive and tracked precisely across the iPad's screen. Like the Nomad Brush, it is possible to use the brush as a pointing device on the iPad screen if you really wanted to (though it is not always as accurate or reliable as your finger would be for these tasks).

You can see Matt Lynaugh from Artist Hardware doing just this in his video below, where he demonstrates using the Sensu to paint a portrait in ArtRage on his iPad. It is well worth a watch if you're keen to see the Sensu brush in action.

Painting a Portrait with the Sensu brush and Artrage from Artist Hardware on Vimeo.

Tried, tested, loved!

We tried the brush with ArtRage, procreate, Inspire Pro, SketchBook Pro, Paper, and the stylus with Penultimate, Notability, Skitch, Bamboo Paper, even (perhaps especially) Draw Something, as well as other apps that we had sat on our iPads. The Sensu worked faultlessly with all of them.

But we're not the only ones who have been using the Sensu, check out some of the images below from Matt Lynaugh (the first one being the end result of his video above) plus a few other Sensu users who have shared their work:

Sam-3.17.12 © Matt Lynaugh

Assorted Veggies © Matt LynaughImage © Raul Allen

Image © Margi Laurin

Final Thoughts

Whilst individual user style and personal preference always come into play with devices like the Sensu, we have to say we have loved using the Sensu Brush. In fact, it is now a permanent companion to our iPad and taken everywhere with it.

The iPad Creative kids (ages 6 and 4) took to the Sensu with total ease as well and began painting with the brush immediately after it was unwrapped. In fact, for a while, it was a struggle to get it off of them.

If you are looking for a great stylus or brush for your iPad, but especially if you are looking for both, our recommendation is that you order the Sensu as soon as it becomes available.

We got our Sensu by backing the Kickstarter project and we are very happy we did.

Sensu will be available for purchase in May 2012 from sensubrush.com at a price of $39.99.

TikiBone have been developing 'SketchPad Pro: A Filmmaker's Storyboard for the iPad' for a while now. The app is designed to make the storyboarding workflow more instantly accessible, easier to share and cheaper (especially with regard to materials costs).

SketchPad Pro: A Filmmaker's Storyboard - KickStarter from TikiBone on Vimeo.

The team behind SketchPad Pro, Roger Trier (a storyboard artist) and Scott Ahten (iOS Developer, animator and VJ), have got the app to the point where it is almost ready for release, but to make it a truly awesome app that does all they want it to do for their customers, they need to be able to invest more time and resources into it.

This is where their Kickstarter Project comes in. Roger and Scott want to make the leap, quit their day jobs and go full time on SketchPad Pro (rather than developing it in their spare time as they have so far).

They are after $20,000 funding to bring SketchPad Pro to final production by the end of the Summer. You can get on board with a pledge of just $5, this will help them out of course, but for $25 you can secure a copy of SketchPad Pro for yourself when it is released.

There are various other pledge levels, with some unique rewards, so if you're an Artist, Animator or Filmmaker or just interested in backing the project, check out the Kickstarter Page and let them know we sent you.

James Cobb created 'Proud', an original track, entirely on his iPad using Apple's brilliant Garageband for iOS. James used Smart Instruments to lay down his track (although he says he plays Guitar and Piano anyway) and recorded the vocals using his iPad's built in mic.

This is the first track James has shared on YouTube but it sounds like he has more in store as he says in his profile:

"All of my music is created on iPad, mainly GarageBand at the moment but I'm excited to use other apps like nanostudio and iKaossilator in my future songs."

Sounds like a good start to us, nice one James:

Another instalment in our infrequent series highlighting some of the fantastic creative talent found over on SoundCloud.

This time we are featuring new material from three artists that we have mentioned before and who we follow on SoundCloud. 

'Tango' by BAD FUN

Created using Korg's iMS-20, this is another slice of bright and uplifting Electronica from BAD FUN (a.k.a. Mike from San Jose, USA). Turn this one up loud!

'Lorem Ipsum-L6' by nOtrO

Time to chill out a little now with this track from nOtrO (a.k.a. Sylvain Berthu from Saint Clément de rivière, France). Sylvian created this track in just 3 hours using NanoStudio from Blip Interactive. It evokes in us thoughts of travelling at night, maybe as a soundtrack to being on a train racing through the countryside. We like the vocals that are introduced later on in the track too.

'Keep Fighting' by DJBitBurner

We are always suckers for a chip tune, maybe it's because of the ZX Spectrum's anniversary this week, but we really enjoyed the sounds in this NanoStudio track from DJBitBurner from Bakersfield, USA, especially the descending slides near the end.

Over to you

We hope you enjoyed listening to our picks this week, but as always, we want to hear from you too. If you have your own iOS created sounds (preferably with the iPad, but not essential) here's how you can get them to us:

• Join our iPad Creative SoundCloud group then click on the 'Share a Track' button on the group page
• If you're on a computer, click 'Send us your sounds' at top of the sidebar to the right of your screen --->
• Leave us a link to your track on SoundCloud in the comments below

Thanks again for listening, we're looking forward to hearing from you soon.

It may not feel and respond like a real guitar, or bass, or drum kit or other instrument, but with the right app the iPad can sound like one if you play it well enough.

This is ably demonstrated in the video above by Dutch band Rigby, who you can see performing their new (Aha like) single 'One Life To The Next' [iTunes Music Store link] live on Vara, a National Dutch media network.

Instead of their usual instruments, the band travelled light with just their iPads, plugged into the radio station's sound board and they were ready to go.

We were very impressed with the result, what do you think?

App spotting will be rewarded with our deep respect. Leave a comment and tell us which apps you can see in the video.

Starry Night (interactive animation) for iPad from Petros Vrellis on Vimeo.

With hypnotic relaxing visuals and audio, Starry Night (interactive animation) for iPad is our new favourite thing to play with on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

What's it like?

In this truly immersive experience, beautiful melodies tickle your ears (especially if you wear headphones) whilst the lush colours used in Van Gogh's original 'The Starry Night' painting are pushed together and mixed into a river of moving particles guided by your touches on the iPad's screen.

It is easy to imagine there is real paint under the glass as you push these fluid colours around the screen, the motion cleverly creating what seems like resistance as real oil paint might. Using clever algorithmic calculations, the app can either continuously flow the paint at different speeds or in another mode the paint slowly returns to its resting state before starting off in motion again.

It is hard to describe what a wonderfully immersive experience it is getting hands-on with an art piece like this, you just have to have a go.

Reactive music

The music reacts to the motion you introduce too, so if you go crazy and madly swirl the paint around with all 5 digits on one hand, for example, the music gets louder and more intense, then fades and simplifies as the motion slows. We found that it could be a little intense at full speed, but around half speed or even slower it is a much more gentle experience.

If you prefer, you can turn the music off altogether, but there are three different patterns to choose from and we think it adds a great deal to the hypnotic effect of the app.

Take time out to explore

Suffice to say we love playing with this app and exploring Van Gogh's painting in this fully interactive way. It can even serve as a musical picture frame on your desk when your iPad isn't being used.

If you allow yourself time out of a busy and hectic day to just lose yourself in the experience that Starry Night offers you, we are sure you will love it too.

We've been waiting for this app to be updated before reviewing it here, as the first version wasn't quite Retina iPad ready, but now with Version 2.0 we wholly recommend downloading a copy. 

But wait, before you do, read on for your chance to win a free copy of Starry Night for your iPad.

Giveaway time

To be in with a chance of winning 1 of 5 copies of Starry Night (interactive animation) simply leave a comment below naming your favourite Van Gogh painting.

Please remember to leave your name and e-mail address (your e-mail will not be visible to the public) so we can contact you if you are a winner.

We will randomly select 5 commenters to receive a copy of Starry Night (interactive animation) after this giveaway closes at 1900 GMT on Friday 27th April 2012.

Thank you to the App Developer, Petros Vrellis, for providing a review copy and the 5 promo codes for our giveaway. 

App Store Link: Starry Night (interactive animation) $1.99 / £1.49