I’ve had an iPad 2 for nearly a year now and over that time I’ve accumulated a load of apps, some used more than others. There is such a wealth of amazing (and not so amazing) apps that have made home and work life easier, or given some sort of entertainment on the way. Here are some of my favourite iPad apps.
iPad Model: iPad (2nd Generation) White, 64GB WIFI+3G
Dock: Safari, Mail, Camera, Tweetbot, Day One, Settings
Flipboard
This is one of my favourite apps of all time. Flipboard is like a digital newspaper that you are the editor off. You select a set of RSS feeds on topics you’re interested in or from websites you visit the most, then it is automatically populated and updates frequently. I tend to use it to follow technology news but also other things like the amazing LifeHacker website, SoundCloud and YouTube. I use this app several times a day, including on my iPhone.
Get the Flipboard App from the App Store
Tweetbot
I switched to Tweetbot a few months ago after getting fed up with the official Twitter app. It’s a nice clean interface that’s quick and easy to browse. My favourite feature of this however, is the ability to sync timeline positions between devices. It remembers where I left off on the iPhone and I can continue on my iPad or vice versa. It’s probably quite an overlooked feature but has spared me much frustration since I bought the apps.
Get the Tweetbot App from the App Store
Spotify
Thankfully, they finally released an iPad app! This is an extremely attractive app that streams nicely to Apple TV using Airplay. Setting up playlists and browsing is easy and it’s quickly become my number one music app.
Get the Spotify App from the App Store
TuneIn Radio
This is a great app and it’s worth getting the paid version. Tons of Internet radio stations, allowing you to save favourites, record and use it as an alarm or sleep timer.
Get TuneIn Radio from the App Store
Skype
Skype wins hands down over Facetime for me. Probably because there are far more people I know who use Skype to do video calls. The interface for this app is attractive and the picture quality is always good. In fact, I’ve found the iPad version more reliable than the desktop version.
GarageBand
This app is so cool! I don’t use it much for recording but I’m sure it’s a capable app, I tend to use the instruments for classroom demonstrations or generally just messing about. The last update brought a new String Section feature allowing you to play Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass. The pitch bends on the guitar are a bit comical, but this is great fun and an excellent learning tool.
Get GarageBand from the App Store
Analytics Pro
This is a lovely app that allows me to track visitor statistics on my website. It uses your Google Analytics account to display the stats. It probably doesn’t display every single stat that the website itself shows, but I use this very often and it’s very reliable.
Get Analytics Pro from the App Store
SatNav 2
There are loads of expensive SatNav apps out there, so whilst browsing for something cheaper I came across SatNav 2 – a cheap solution but a very reliable one. You can purchase additional maps or voices in the app itself, and the prices for these are still reasonable. I may probably do a blog post about this app to cover it in more detail because it’s that good. Also available for the iPhone.
Get SatNav 2 from the App Store
BBC iPlayer
This was a pretty anonymous app for me until they recently updated it and allowed you download TV shows to watch for 30 days. Saving 3G usage is a big deal and downloading shows allow you to watch them at excellent quality.
Matt Keil 