I use my iPad for ? The Results

June 2, 2010 in News by David John

Last week we asked you what you use your iPad for. We limited the choices to entertainment, productivity, communication and managing your life. Initially the results favoured communication but within 2-3 days of the International launch the results had swung firmly in the direction of entertainment.

I have been thinking quite a lot recently on where the iPad fits in and I think Oliver Breidenbach’s description of using it as “proof of concept” fits really well.

What Apps ?

This is the big question excited International iPad owners want to know. What 5 Apps do you you think are essential from day 1 ?

Please list your favourite 5 Apps for the iPad in the comments below.

7 Comments

May 23, 2010 at 7:06 pm | David

Yeah, come on ipad owners, let the lists commence! Mine has shipped for delivery on Friday and I’ve got £33.84 in my itunes account just waiting to be spent
May 23, 2010 at 8:29 pm | Harry Atkins

Mine arrives on Tuesday so I don’t have a favourite yet, I will definitely come back as soon as I start using it! I think I will be mostly using my iPad for Productivity and Entertainment but I can’t vote as I hav not used it yet!!
May 23, 2010 at 11:59 pm | Andy

Top 5 apps for my Apple iPad 16GB Wifi device:

1) ComicZeal4 – I got back into comic books about two years ago, ever since I’ve been waiting for iPad. Now that it’s here, this is my ‘home’ app.
2) iBooks – Reading with the iPad is a wonderful experience. I don’t have circadian light/sleep issues so it’s illumination doesn’t bother me. This app pairs DELIGHTFULLY well with Calibre. Remember kids, sometimes you need to go from !@# to TXT to EPUB.
3) StreamToMe – Not free, cheap tho. You can download a free app for your Mac, connected to a nice big 1TB USB Hard Drive and voila, you can instantly stream video content from your Mac, somewhere else in your house. 16GB is a limit? I THINK NOT.
4) Evernote – What a great way to take meeting notes! Plus it’s a great place to keep recipes, and pretty much anything else text-based. I use evernote, and I love it.
5) GoodReader – iBooks does well for EPUB, but some things really can only live in PDF. GoodReader is like a swiss army knife for PDF’s. I didn’t think I’d use it much, but once I started, it’s right up there with my most-used-apps.

There are a BUNCH of other apps, but the 5-app-rule is in effect. Any questions, feel free to email me @ bluedepth at gmail dot com.
May 24, 2010 at 11:45 am | Andrew Gribben

I’ve started using my iPad as an everyday machine, replacing my 13″ MacBook, both whilst teaching and out and about. My workflow has moved effortlessly to the iPad with the help of these apps:

Good Reader
I’ve copied all my notes and lesson plans as well as a good selection of my documents onto the iPad, but the added bonus of WebDav and Dropbox access makes this the best app for managing and viewing documents. It’s like Finder for iPad.
Safari
Not just for regular browsing but for email too, I find Gmail’s web app more useful than Mail.
IM+
All the conceivable IM protocols, a basic twitter stream and a built-in web browser. Great for keeping in touch or contacting clients.
iTeleport
I manage the school network and this is a great way to VNC into any of the school machines should someone be having a problem. Bonjour discovery is an added bonus, that works great with Macs and Ubuntu; Windows has been giving me problems though.
iCal
On the iPad it’s beautiful and useful. I can view my plans for the day and what’s coming up that week or month in a way that surpasses both desktop and iPhone iCal.

Other honourable mentions:
Pages, iSSH, OmniGraffle, AirVideo
May 25, 2010 at 12:08 am | Johnny

I’d recommend, in no particular order:

1. Goodreader for managing and viewing PDFs and other documents – can be used in conjunction with DropBox.
2. MyKeePass (iPhone app) for accessing KeePass databases
3. Scrabble – brilliant – just like the real thing but you will never lose any tiles. The dictionary could be much better though. Multiplayer wifi makes it interesting.
4. Real Racing HD. Even if you’re not into games, this app is a tour de force. Steer by tilting your iPad left or right – it actually works really well and you can play over Wi-Fi against others on either iPads or iPhones. Incredible stuff, almost rivals the Gran Turismo games on the PlayStation.
5. Contacts. The way it integrates with Mail, Photos and MobileMe for over-the-air syncing is just fantastic. Never before has been managing your address book been so easy.
May 27, 2010 at 6:33 pm | Harry Atkins

Okay I now have my iPad,
It is one of the best things I’ve ever bought!!
My five favourite apps SO FAR are (In no particular order) :
1) Virtuoso : amazing free piano app with really good sounds!
2 )iBooks : obviously, it’s pretty much a given as soon as you get the iPad.
3) GoodReader : great PDF reader that works flawlessly with iTunes
4) Tap Tap Radiation : really intuitive interface with good couple of songs, not just a copy of iPhone version, it’s a whole new thing!
5 ) iWork suite : kinda cheating as it’s 3 apps but they’re all great in my opinion!
May 30, 2010 at 12:55 pm | Amit Desai

1. GoodReader
2. AirVideo
3. Instapaper
4. Simplenote
5. Would like to add Things but without OTA sync, I am still waiting.

Others that I am waiting for are: Reeder and “Twitter for iPad” / Tweetie