My top 10 favourite iPad apps
September 7, 2010 | 
Author | 1. Early Edition |
 If you read a lot of blogs this is a must have app. In fact, if you don’t read blogs then you should start and still buy this app. On most blogs and websites you will see a “subscribe” or “RSS” feed link. Basically all you need to do is click these links on your fave sites and blogs and copy the links into the Early Edition app. It only takes a few seconds. You can then group these feeds under your own headings. Treat each heading as your own personal newspaper. Then every time you launch the app it’s like getting your very own personal newspapers delivered to your hands in real time.
The app formats each rss feed under your own defined groups as a single newspaper. So for example, if you had created a group called “Cooking” and then added a few RSS links from your favourite food sites to this group this personalised newspaper would deliver content aggregated from all your links about cooking, recipes etc |
| 2. Flipboard |
 Flipboard is a very cool way of viewing your Facebook and Twitter feeds. With Facebook and Twitter people often posts links to content. There are normally so many of these links that people often can’t be bothered to click them to see what the link would take them to. Flipboard is cool as it automatically visits these links for you, pulls in the core content and formats it like a magazine for you. This could be pictures or even video that you can play right within the Flipboard app. Although I find this great for Facebook it is even better for Twitter. Using Twitter you can easily setup “Lists”. Some of my lists that I have setup include “Tech”, “Friends”, “Rugby”, “F1″ and “Celebs”. Any Twitter user can setup as many lists as they require and group the tweeters they are following into these lists. So if I want to see what’s going on in the tech World I simply view my tech list for real time tweets related to tech. If I want to know what’s happening in the World of rugby I look at my rugby list and can view tweets from international rugby players or those tweeting that I have followed related to the sport. This works well using most Twitter apps but comes into its own within Flipboard. I can simply hook up each of my Twitter lists to Flipboard as a section. When I tap that section my Twitter list is formatted as a magazine and all the content from each tweet that contained a link is automatically fetched and rendered for me. Flipboardtastic! |
| 3. Analytics HD |
 Ok, so if you don’t run any of your own websites or blogs then you will want to skip this one. However this post is titled “My top 10 favourite iPad apps” so here it is. The app hooks into your Google analytics account formatting all your sites visitor statistics in a clear and concise format. The app doesn’t have great reviews on the iPad app store but I find it useful and easy to use |
| 4. Pages |
 Pages is a fully functional Word processor for your iPad. I’m surprised at how much I use this app, in fact, I am using it at this very moment to tap out this post on my iPad. Once done, I simply hit “My Documents” within the app and can email the document straight to my desktop in Word, PDF or Pages format. It’s simple to insert pictures and has a nice drag-drop user experience when moving things around on the page. |
| 5. Popular Science+ |
 I have to admit I had never purchased or read Popular Science before downloading the app. The app is free and you pay a small fee for each edition that is downloaded. You really have to experience this to believe it. It looks stunning on the iPad’s display. The way they have designed the mag for the iPad is truly amazing. Each edition contains built in multimedia elements so you can flip images over , listen to sound bite interviews and watch videos all straight off the magazines page. Imagine a digital popup book and you will be on the right track. |
| 6. WIRED Magazine |
 Pretty much on par with Popular Science+ but loses 1 place as I prefer the UX (User Experience) that Pop Sci provides. Where as Pop Sci has what I can only describe as an overlay navigation system that is very easy on the eye and intuitive to swipe through WIRED has a more standard nav structure consisting of simple up and down finger strokes. That said, the graphics and images within both magazines are stunning and the addition of multimedia elements really does make you think about what the future of digital publishing has in store? What’s next? 3D? |
| 7. Kindle |
 The free Kindle app let’s you access and buy digital titles stored in the Amazon cloud. I’m lucky enough to own a Kindle device and for hardcore reading of ‘text’ as opposed to casual reading of magazines (with all their glossy images) I rate the Kindle hardware above the iPad. Mainly because the backlit screen the iPad has can become hard on the eyes after a couple of hours reading. I also love Amazons Whispersync technology between Kindle software apps that lets you continue reading titles on one device from the place where you left off reading it on another. The iPad comes with it’s own book store app but I find the titles available are generally more expensive on Apples store than Amazons. I believe Apple also have a technology similar to Whispersync but I have yet to try it out. I also read a lot of tech titles and where as Amazons Kindle store has an abundance of tech books Apple does not appear, at least as of this writing, to have any, and I mean any at all! Believe me I have tried searching for all my geeky topics and came up with “null”. I have posted a review of the Kindle which may be of interest to some |
| 8. BigOven Pro |
 I occasionally like to cook and experiment with different recipes. Sometimes I just want to see what I can cook up given whatever ingredients I have at hand. BigOven pro is a handy iPad app to have on these occasions. Due to the mobility of the iPad you can simply pick it up and take it anywhere like the Kitchen for example. I have often sat in our lounge, had a quick flick though this app, found something that got the taste buds tingling then propped my iPad up in the kitchen and attempted to cook whatever had caught my eye |
| 9. BBC News |
 The BBC news app delivers what you would expect – the latest news. I say the ‘latest’ news but anyone in the know knows you obtain the ‘latest’ news these days via Twitter which is real time and faster than any web based news content provider. That said, false news flashes are more and more often being tweeted these days so I don’t think the likes of the BBC have anything to worry about just yet. The app also provides a live feed to the BBC News 24 television channel that you can watch in real time which is a handy feature. Sky have a good news app for the iPhone but not as yet for the iPad (although it of course runs on the iPad as will any iPhone app). I started out using iPhone apps on the iPad but you soon grow to love the dedicated iPad apps that are built to take advantage of the bigger display |
| 10. HTR HD High Tech Racing |
 I don’t play many games on my iPad but this one caught my eye. It’s basically Scalextric for the iPad! You can progress through a series of races via built in tracks or better still, and what I used to love doing as a kid, is build your very own circuits and then race on them. Ok, it’s not as cool as the real thing but if you happen to be sitting on a plane, train etc and feel like a bit of racing fun it’s well worth a whizz. The full version is just a few quid although you can also download a free light version if you want to try it out |
So that’s my list to date (7th September 2010). If you are a fellow iPad owner what’s your favourite app? Please do tell in the comments as I’m always keen to try new app’s out.
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