Whether you create music for a living or just simply do it as a hobby, I’m sure a lot of people will be happy to know that GarageBand, a popular music creation app which was previously only available on the iPad is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I haven’t tried GarageBand myself but I’ve seen several videos of people using this app to create beautiful music.

For those who aren’t familiar with GarageBand, this app turns your device – iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad into a touch musical instrument and a full-featured recording studio. Play pianos, organs, guitars, drums and basses using multi-touch gestures and make use of 9 built-in amps and 10 stompbox effects. GarageBand allows users to record/mix up to 8 tracks, save it as an audio file (AAC format) and/or sent to the desktop version of GarageBand. The app also comes with 250 professional samples to help users get started.

Screenshots:

GarageBand version 1.1 Features:

• Universal app designed for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
• Create custom chords for Smart Instruments
• Support for 3/4 and 6/8 time signatures
• Reset song key without transposing original recordings
• Transpose songs in semitones or full octaves
• Additional quantization options for recordings including, straight, triplet and swing
• New audio export quality settings for AAC and AIFF (Uncompressed)
• Arpeggiator available in Smart Keyboard
• Adjustable velocity settings for Touch Instruments
• Numerous enhancements, including automatic fade out and improved audio import options

NOTE: GarageBand requires iOS 4.3 or later and is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd gen), iPod touch (4th gen) and iPad. Users who already purchased GarageBand for the iPad can re-download and install the app on their iPhone or iPod Touch for FREE.

GarageBand is now available on iTunes for $4.99.

Anyone using GarageBand? Have you tried using GarageBand on the iPhone or iPod Touch?

The Opera Mini browser (version 5) made its debut in the Apple App Store on April 2010, recording more than a million downloads in the first 24 hours. Last Monday, Opera released a long awaited update for iOS devices – Opera Mini 6. This web browser was designed and created not to compete with the default iOS web browser – Safari but to complement it and provide a different kind of browsing experience.

Opera Mini 6 Features:

• Much faster and smoother panning and zooming that lets the user get all the way into the details of every page, in one smooth motion
• Share buttons to share the love for a site to your friends on My Opera, Facebook, Twitter or vKontakte right from the Opera Mini 6 browser
• New jazzed-up skin and redesigned Opera menus

Screenshots:
iPhone

iPad

Safari doesn’t work well on crowded WiFi networks and thats where Opera is trying to win new users. Opera Mini 6 features up to 90% of data compression which allows a much faster browsing experience and uses up much less data which very useful for iPhone or iPad users who are on slow connections and/or are roaming on limited data plans.

Another cool thing about Opera Mini 6 is that it will detect the type of device used (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad) and it will adapt to it and automatically switch screen resolutions and user interface.

I installed Opera Mini 6 on my iPhone and tried opening some of the popular websites like CNN, YouTube, NBA, etc. and compared the results with Safari and Skyfire. Based on my tests, Opera Mini 6 loaded websites considerably faster than Safari or Skyfire. Aside from it being faster than the other browsers, I love the user interface. For now, the Opera Mini 6 will be my new favorite browser on my iPhone.

Anybody else installed Opera Mini 6 on their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? How do you like it? Based on your experience, is it much faster than Safari or other available web browsers for iOS devices? Please share your thoughts.

Seems like the WordPress team is working hard and paying much more attention to it’s mobile apps especially the WordPress for iOS app. Just a couple weeks after they released version 2.6.4, the team released another update – WordPress for iOS 2.6.5 earlier today which addresses and fixes more than 30 issues.

Version 2.6.5 of WordPress for iOS is now available in the App Store. This update includes many smaller fixes and eliminates a few more crashes. All in all, more than 30 issues have been taken care of including correct image scaling for Original Size images and a number of fixes around Pages. Update now and let us know what you think!

We had to leave some issues for the next major update of the WordPress for iOS app, 2.7. This version will have Push Notifications, as well as some restructuring behind the scenes to make the app more reliable. Some of you are still reporting issues with duplicated content, which we know we’ve solved in part but needs more looking into. If it happens to you and you’re able to reproduce it, feel free to nudge us about it in the forums so we can investigate further.

I found out about the update when I was checking my iPhone apps for any available updates. Even though I don’t really use the WordPress for iOS app that much except for comment moderation, it’s still good to see the WordPress team spending more time addressing and fixing issues/bugs on their mobile apps. One feature that I hope they would consider adding in future versions of the app is the ability to access the spam folder. Some legitimate comments get mistakenly flagged as spam and sometimes users accidentally mark the comment as spam when they meant to approve it. Giving users the ability to access the spam folder allows them to check for legitimate comments or undo their mistake without having to leave the mobile app.

Btw, I still get a “XML-RPC Error Bad login/pass combination” error message whenever I open the app but after I click the OK button, I can access the app and everything works fine. Weird! Anyone else experiencing the same issue?

WordPress for iOS 2.6.5 is now available on iTunes or on the App Store.

Anyone here using the WordPress for iOS app? Do you use it for blogging or just for basic functions like moderating comments? What other features/options would you like to see added in future versions of the app? Please share your thoughts.

Earlier today, the WordPress dev team has released an update for the WordPress for iOS app – version 2.6.4. This update fixes numerous bugs (20+) and has been specially tested in two specific areas: the Media Uploader and the Post Write/Edit sections. It is also considered as the most stable release of WordPress for iOS that the team has released in a long time.

WordPress for iOS version 2.6.4 also fixes a bug from the previous version – 2.6.3, where the app inconsistently saves line breaks in the code and removes line breaks when a user edits posts. The team has also addressed the issues involving the Media Uploader where the app crashes when users upload many photos.

Additional enhancements included in WordPress for iOS 2.6.4 are: added option to set any size to uploaded photos and media list is now ascending, making it easier for users who have a lot of content.

WordPress for iOS version 2.6.4 is now available in the App Store.

Epic Games previewed an upcoming iOS game during an Apple keynote earlier this year. Powered by Epic’s cutting-edge Unreal Engine 3 technology, this game displayed unparalleled graphics never before seen on the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or any portable gaming console like the Sony PSP or Nintendo DS. If you were able to try the free preview of the game called Epic Citadel, then you know how awesome this game’s graphics are. This is the same game that you’ve seen on the iPhone 4 and iPad commercials.

The game’s full version now called Infinity Blade, is now available at the App Store for $5.99. Infinity Blade is optimized for the iPhone 4′s retina display but it is also a universal app, meaning it will play on any device running iOS 3.2+ (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPod Touch 3 (16 GB and above), or iPod Touch 4).

I haven’t tried Infinity Blade yet as I’m still downloading it at the time of writing. The app is 318MB which is huge for an iOS app. Anyways, here are some reviews from some of the top gaming and tech websites:

IGN: “A surefire Game of the Year contender. It just may be the best iPhone game of all time.”

TouchGen: “This is the best game I’ve played on my iPhone. This is the game we’ve been waiting for!”

Slide: “A unique and enthralling experience from the start.”

Ars Technica: “It’s one of the few games on the iPhone that if I were to get an e-mail tomorrow saying that it’s available, I would stop everything I was doing, find my iPhone and buy it.”

Screenshots:

Features:

• DYNAMIC SINGLE-PLAYER CAMPAIGN – Spectacular 3D characters and environments powered by the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 bring to life the story of a lone knight’s pursuit to save civilization.
• RESPONSIVE AND INTUITIVE TOUCH CONTROLS – Attack, dodge, block, and cast devastating spells – all with the simple swipe of a finger.
• SIMPLE NAVIGATION – Easy to use, tap-to-move controls enable players to effortlessly navigate and explore the castle realm while searching for collectable items such as treasure, swords, shields, armor and other magical objects.
• DEEP CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION – Dozens of Swords, Shields, Helmets, Armor, and Magic Rings to acquire and master – leveling up your character and increasing Attack, Health, Shield and Magic skills.
• GAME CENTER – Achievements and Leaderboards

With all the rave reviews this game is getting, it won’t be surprising if Infinity Blade was chosen as game of the year.

Infinity Blade is now available for download from the App Store

Anyone already tried and played Epic Game’s latest game Infinity Blade for iOS? What are your first impressions of the game? What device are you playing it on – iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad? Please share your thoughts.