Apple releases GarageBand, iMovie for iPad 2

Apple has posted GarageBand for iPad (US$4.99) which turns your iPad into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses on your iPad. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.

Play your iPad like a musical instrument.
• Perform on dozens of musical instruments on the innovative Multi-Touch keyboard.
• Tap out beats from the seat of acoustic and electronic drum kits.
• Recreate legendary guitar rigs on your iPad with 9 amps and 10 stompbox effects.
• Record your voice using the built-in microphone, and apply fun sound effects.
• Use the Sampler to create an instrument from sounds you record, then play them on a keyboard.

Sound like a virtuoso with Smart Instruments.
• Tap chords to instantly create keyboard grooves with the Smart Keyboard.
• Strum chords on acoustic and electric Smart Guitars, or trigger fingerpicking patterns for popular chords.
• Groove with an onscreen electric or upright Smart Bass by tapping on chords.
• Drag drum instruments onto a grid to create your own beats with the Smart Drums.

Create a song anywhere you go.
• Arrange and mix your song with up to eight tracks using Touch Instruments, audio recordings, and loops.
• Trim and place musical regions exactly where you want them to play.
• Use the Mixer to fine-tune each track’s volume – solo or mute any track, or adjust pan, reverb, and echo.
• Use over 250 professionally prerecorded loops as a backing band to your song.

Share your songs.
• Email songs right from your iPad (AAC).
• Export your song and add it to the iTunes library on your Mac or PC.
• Send a project to your Mac and open it in GarageBand to continue refining your song.

More info about and download link for GarageBand for iPad here.

Apple also updated iMovie (US$4.99) to version 1.2 with the following new features:

• Universal app designed for iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th generation).
• Multi-Touch Precision Editor (iPad only).
• Multitrack audio editing with 8 themed soundtracks and over 50 bundled sound effects.
• Audio recording directly into the timeline.
• Audio waveforms (iPad only).
• Three new themes — Neon, Simple, and CNN iReport.
• HD sharing directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport.
• AirPlay support for sharing to Apple TV (compatible only with second-generation Apple TV; requires iOS 4.3 or later).
• Project transfer to your computer and compatible iOS devices through iTunes.
• Ability to add titles on photos.
• Option to add fade-in from black and fade-out to black.
• Numerous enhancements, including trimming in Video Browser, in-use markers, video rotation, and more.

More info about and download link for iMovie for iPad via Apple’s iTunes App Store here.