PREVIEW: Djay for iPad, the killer app you've been waiting for

If there ever was a killer app for Apple's iPad, this may be it. Introducing djay for iPad, a remarkable piece of software that lets you automix your music multitouch style on a realistic turntable interface.

Call me childish, but such ultra-portable, cutting-edge DJ gear would have been a dream come true back when I was a teenager - and it still is. Thanks to Algoriddim, the German team behind djay for iPad, everyone can be a digital DJ in exchange for twenty bucks.

Algoriddim is a familiar name to the Mac-totting digital DJs and professional musicians. Their djay for Mac application combines remarkable attention to detail, intuitive user interface, and pro-grade mixing capabilities. The iPad version not only matches the Mac counterpart in core features, it outdoes it in several areas.

Djay for iPad lets you pick songs from your iPod library and then scratch and mix them using what developers call a "hyper-realistic turntable interface." Indeed, the app smoothly rounds and layers the song's cover artwork atop a realistic-looking vinyl record..

And if you don't want to miss the action, put the app on auto-pilot and let it mix your favorite playlists automatically while you're talking up pretty girls over at the cocktail table.

In addition to the pretty interface and handy Automix mode, djay for iPad sports BPM analysis with automatic beat and tempo matching, pitch-bend, cue point trigger. Mixer, tempo and EQ controls will also come in handy, as will automatic transition controls like fade, backspin, reverse, and brake.

Another cool thing is the fact that the software analyzes a song to display its visual waveform with beat–synchronized scrubbing. There's also live recording, pre-cueing (with optional headphones adapter), and more.

And if the below videos are any indication, everything works in real-time, courtesy of low-latency sound APIs in iOS. You'll also appreciate full multitasking support, enabling you to run the program in Automix mode for a continuous mix of your music while you check your email and surf the web.

On top of that, djay for iPad also supports AirPlay media streaming technology built into iOS 4.2 so you can output your real-time mixes to wireless speakers, Apple TV, or AirPort express base station.

Summing up, the notion of being able to put tons of music on a thin 64GB device, hook it up to the sound system and play digital DJ just using your fingers is no longer unheard of. If that didn't grab your attention, you're probably too old anyway.  Djay for iPad is a twenty bucks download from the App Store. More information is available at the official website.