When is a console not a console?

ProCutX iPad App

With the arrival of an iPad app intended to be a Control Surface for FCP X, the debate about touch versus physical controllers starts here. Neil Roberts kicks it off

I found the announcement of the ProcutX iPad control surface from Pixel Film Studios interesting. It allows control of FCPX from an iPad using a simplified user interface based on “High-end film editing consoles” including a jog/shuttle wheel.

Physicality

But to me the whole point of a console is its physicality; the tactile feel of the jog wheel or the shuttle control makes the console and the media an extension of your hand.
I was part of the team that developed the Lightworks console and we spent months getting it to feel right. The weight and the drag of the Jog wheel, the variable spring tension of the shuttle levers, even the shape of the buttons, were all adjusted to create the most ergonomically designed console I’ve ever had the pleasure to use.

Almost every other control surface I’ve ever tried has been flimsy and lacked the physical feedback to make me feel “connected” to my media. I certainly don’t see how it can possibly work with the touch screen of an iPad.