The Retronyms have released the DopplerPad expressive touch
instrument for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available at the Apple
App Store (http://dopplerpad.com/itunes) at an introductory price of
US$9.99.

DopplerPad is a live performance music production application that
was inspired by tools such as the Korg Kaosscillator, Yamaha
Tenori-on, and DJ mixers. Synthesizers, samplers, and drum pads
combine with visual displays to create a portable instrument that's
purportedly still intuitive enough for recreational use.

DopplerPad's interface imitates the standard DJ setup of a mixer with
turntables on either side, but replaces the turntables with
music-producing touchpads. The app launches to the mixer, where the
user can access the two touchpads, their playback controls, a
crossfader, and a loop bank that stores up to 14 loops.

The framework for a loop on one of DopplerPad's velocity-sensitive
touchpads begins by adjusting the tempo and number of beats.
Thirty-seven instruments are available to design melodies and
harmonies with bass, percussion, and additional sound effects, while
four samplers allow users to record snippets of any audio to add to
the mix. The gate/arpeggiator and scale editor polish the loop with
unique rhythms that are always in tune.

Using DopplerPad's musical tools, users can layer sounds and phrases
to create complex loops with visualizations. What's more, the
Retronyms are holding a video contest coinciding with the release of
DopplerPad to see who can create the best DopplerPad track.
Submissions will be accepted until Aug. 21, and the prize for the
winner is an iPhone 3GS.

Details of the contest rules, screenshots, and tutorials are
available at http://dopplerpad.com, and the video trailer for
DopplerPad can be found at http://dopplerpad.com/video