This application is not a toy, it's a completely new way to create stunning DJ mixes whenever you like. You can touch and feel your tracks, move around them, scratch them, EQ them, loop them, pinch them, and mix them without cueing - only by visual control.

All the tracks are frequency-colored (the low-bass parts have different color), to make beatmatching even easier.

The application divides the screen into two sections, one for each track. It then displays a visual representation of the track (the waveform) and allows you to set a cue point and kick start the track.

Overlaid are various different controls including a three channel EQ, one effect and volume control for each track. You control the position of the track by simply sliding your finger, and set the BPM through plus/minus buttons.

Amidio were kind enough to send over a pre-release copy for me to have a play around with so I have had plenty of time to get used to the interface and the different way of mixing. As a proficient DJ it was initially quite hard to get used to the new way of mixing the tracks, the lack of a preview made me quite and nervous and I made a lot of mistakes initially (much like  'real' DJing). It was enough to put me off ever using the application again, but where would any of us be without a little persistence?

Much like using other DJ techniques the more you know your tracks, the easier it becomes. You learn to recognise various parts of the track from the visual representation much in the same way you learn to read vinyl, or the track visualisers on CDJs. Additionally they offer a mechanism (through a headphone splitter) for being able to preview the mix before sending it live, although I haven't had a chance to try this out yet.

Sometimes I would find myself accidently moving the track when trying to mess with the EQ, generally when I was getting a little overexcited by the mix. This is one area that will be difficult to overcome due the physical size of the device and the touch screen interface but I am sure new interaction methods and ideas will come as the product matures. For a first version it is quite impressive what they have achieved.

It was disappointing to discover I couldn't simply use the tracks I had loaded onto my iPhone with iTunes - this is a restriction from Apple, not an oversight in the application. Amidio have provided a way to get your tunes into the application, it just takes a little bit of extra work.

Touch DJ is currently priced at £8.99 with a Christmas discount of 25% on offer . The price is probably a bit more than I would expect to pay, especially as I don't believe it's quite ready to be used as a performance device as it stands.

Overall its fun, intriguing and a great way to show people who don't know how to DJ what is going when you mix on vinyl and CDJs.