I think that it is safe to say that no technology out there has been as innovative and useful as the smart phone.  The smartphone didn’t happen overnight either; it took the span of decades to get the formula just right.  There was a need for cameras, cellular phones, and pocket devices – but few had figured out how to combine them into one unit without creating a giant mess.  This is only half the story though because without the need for video games and other types of media, the smartphone would be nothing more than a bloated PDA.  The direction that it is heading is also something to be questioned. Televisions have already been combined with the internet as well as wireless audio.  This means that not only do we have access to different forms of media on the fly; these devices can all communicate with each other.  One of the bigger developments is finding a way for the smartphone to communicate with a HD television – and it is significant for DJs who are already using tablets to DJ.  It would allow us to transmit our screen on even larger screens, skipping the computer or laptop monitor altogether.  The time for this is now. http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/digital-media-servers/plair-streaming-solution-preview

Performing with a tablet instead of hardware wired in sequence seems like a real taste of the future, or at least a step in the right direction for future music makers.  It currently has not overtaken the need or want for better hardware and MIDI technology, but I think that due to pricing constrains the lead will become much closer in only a few years.  Currently, these tablets are really only limited by artifacts such as latency or hardware connections.  Other than that, it is really up to the developers to make something that can be useful to a musician.  One of the key elements that make app A better than app B, is the performance value. A performer on stage who uses an iPad doesn’t want to worry about performance issues.  You’d think that a computer would be able to keep up with a piece of hardware, but sometimes the operating system can cause constraints that are unavoidable.  The other problem is the layout of these programs.  Too much functionality often means that navigation will suffer in some way.  You need a way to allow the musician to access areas of the program without having to sit down and squint at the screen.  http://www.djtechtools.com/2013/06/09/great-apps-for-live-producing-performance-on-ios/