Having worked extensively with the , I know that the application can really task a Mac's processor and memory. So I was anxious to see how the new iPad can handle the new ( Macworld rated 5 out of 5 mice ) app. And since the mobile version of GarageBand also runs on the original tablet, the app provides a nice way to compare performance on the different iPads.

Simply starting the application took about 5 seconds on the iPad 2 and 6 seconds on the original iPad. I took the included demo project and added a track to it. When I used GarageBand's menus to attach the song to an e-mail, it took 22 seconds on the iPad 2 and 25 seconds on the original. These two tests may not show dramatic performance differences, but they add up over time to a generally snappier, more responsive feel when using the iPad 2.

The performance boost on the iPad 2 was much more dramatic when performing an import of GarageBand file from iTunes. The iPad 2 was nearly twice as fast at loading and optimizing the file than the original iPad--an impressive result.