My Five Favorite iPad Apps

One of the things I've learned about the iPad this past week is that it's really all about the apps.

While some, in the buildup to the eventual iPad 2, will focus on the new hardware specs, which include dual cameras for FaceTime, the iPad would be absolutely useless without the apps from the App Store. While I am still searching, I have chosen five apps that really highlight the awesomeness of this device.

BlogPress

If you are a blogger, then this app is a must-have for you. It supports HTML tags, picture embedding, and is an all-around great word processor. I had been using it with my iPhone and loved it then, but it is a just a completely different experience on the iPad

Flipboard

When you're a developer and you have the iPad's gorgeous 9.7 inch screen to work with, it's expected that the interface of whatever app you make needs to be astonishing. The creators of Flipboard definitely set the bar with their app, which turns your Facebook and Twitter accounts to an interactive magazine, which you can also update. Using it is a lot of fun, especially flipping through all of the pages of your social life. It makes maintaining your Facebook less of a chore and more entertaining, and I can't wait to see what they can do next.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds is the best game on iOS. Period. You can call it stupid all you want, but flinging birds at mean, egg-stealing pigs has never been more entertaining. With the bigger screen size, Angry Birds is not only grander in scale, it allows for better strategy, since you can zoom out to see the full layout of the level.

NetFlix

One of my best friends let me use their NetFlix account so I could try out the iPad app. Honestly, I would pay $8 a month for this service, just so I could use this app whenever I wanted. Their streaming options continue to improve, and over Wi-Fi, the quality is pretty sweet. In fact, I just finished watching the complete Trinity Blood anime series today. Absolutely amazing.

Penultimate

I bought a stylus for the sole purpose of this app. It allows you to turn your iPad into a notepad, where you can write out and draw whatever you want, storing it into notebooks for your convenience. I actually cannot wait until I get back to Trinity so I can try it out, taking notes in class. No more heavy notebooks! Yes!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

iPad First Impressions (Day Two): Portability and Productivity

Right now, I am typing this post using the iPad Keyboard Dock, which I purchased from Best Buy along with a stylus (for use with note-taking apps like Penultimate).

One of my reasons (read: justifications) for purchasing the iPad was that it could replace my MacBook Pro whenever it needs to be serviced (which has been all to often, especially this past semester), or if I didn't feel like carrying around a 13-inch laptop everywhere I went on campus.

In my second day of usage, I decided to test out its usefulness outside of my apartment. So, against the advice of my mother and my friends, I took the iPad with me on my journey into the city. I assumed that my usage of the iPad would be limited due to its lack of internet connectivity (remember, I didn't buy the 3G version). I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I was wrong. Even though having internet certainly enhances the iPad, it is plenty useful. On my train ride into the city from Queens, I started reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons via the Kindle app. I had purchased the book when I first bought the iPhone a year and a half ago, but I never got past the second chapter. It turned out that the iPhone wasn't the most practical of e-readers (side note: I am currently using an iPod touch, since my iPhone 3GS was stolen in Port Authority).

The iPad, however, is the perfect e-reader.

I know that the Kindle is arguably the e-reader du jour at the moment, but reading on the iPad was so amazing that I wouldn't be surprised if I purchased some more books. The screen, which as I said last night, was huge, allowed for very comfortable reading, in both portrait and landscape modes. I read most of the book in portrait mode, since I really did like how it mimicked the look of a book in your lap, without all of the page turning. However, I could have read it in either mode.

The iPad, as you would expect, is also a spectacular media player. I used my iPod touch to listen to music while I was reading, but I could have easily just plugged my headphones into the bottom of my iPad. The iPad is also great with games. During the Posse Awards Ceremony (which I attended as a current Posse Scholar from Trinity College), I was playing Angry Birds HD. Speaking of, if you do not have this app, I need you to head to the App Store and download it in whatever version you need, iPhone or iPad, even Android and webOS. It is soooooo worth it.

The other great thing the iPad has proven to do well without Wi-Fi is what I'm doing right now: typing. Before I bought the Keyboard Dock ($69 at Best Buy and Apple), I didn't think that typing on the screen was that bad. It may have been a bit more taxing and time-consuming (I've typed just as much as I did last night in half the time) but I have found it workable. The Keyboard, however, is a must for anyone seriously using the iPad. It's an absolutely spectacular addition to an awesome device, and it makes you want to use the iPad the way Steve Jobs suggested way back in January of last year: to produce content. As soon as you start typing with this keyboard, you can feel the iPad's usability increase tenfold.

With day two of my iPad experience almost over, I still have no regrets in purchasing it, or not purchasing the 3G model. It's a brilliant device, that still has all of the potential in the world.

Check back tomorrow, where I talk about my favorite apps so far, and which apps and accessories the iPad sorely needs.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

iPad First Impressions (Day One)

I got an iPad! Should you?

Today, I went to the incredibly crowded Fifth Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan. It wasn't to get anything repaired (even though my month old iPod touch is going through some things) or to window-shop to my heart's despair.

No, this trip was to purchase an iPad.

A lot of people have told me that owning an iPad is absolutely pointless, offering explanations ranging from "it's an overgrown iPod touch" to "it's not going to replace your laptop". Still, I didn't care. I wanted an iPad and, thanks to my mother's awesomeness, I was finally able to get one.

I had been debating which type of iPad to get for weeks, even up to the register at the store. However, the Apple guy's response to my question confirmed my choice: "yes, you have to use 3G to access the iPad's GPS"

So instead of buying the iPad 3G 16GB, I bought the 32 GB Wi-FI version. I figured that I probably wasn't going to be using 3G enough to pay an extra $130 (seriously, they have to fix this for the iPad 2). I primarily live in two places with Wi-Fi, and I had no plans on traveling with it in the city, which has sucky 3G anyway. So, it just made more sense to forgo 3G altogether.

It has been 10 hours since I purchased the iPad, and I have been using it for a good five hours (I had other things to do) and right now, I am completely awestruck by this little device.

It's pretty funny that I call it little, since the most awesome thing about the iPad (at least right now) is the size of the screen. It's huge. I mean freaking massive, at least compared to the iPhones and iPods I had been accustomed to. There's just so much space to be filled up, by things like video and and really cool apps. My only vice about the size of the screen is how it's not being utilized. I quickly found myself asking why I couldn't watch a YouTube video and make a Facebook status on the same screen. It never came up as an issue with the iPhone, but that was because the screen was way too small. But with nearly ten inches, that seemingly minuscule issue grew in size. Hopefully iOS 5 will deal with/rectify the issue.

Many people question what the iPad is good for. Within minutes of using it, I found it's principle use: video. Video on the iPad is an absolute dream. If you like downloading movies and streaming things on Netflix, this is the device you must own. The size of the screen makes the viewing experience so much better when compared to the other iOS devices. YouTube on the iPad was particularly impressive. Some videos were clearer than others, but the overall experience was pretty awesome.

I am nowhere near close to finalizing my opinion on the iPad, but right now, I am amazed at how fun it is to use, and look forward to sharing my explorations with you.

Follow me throughout the week as I examine how this extremely popular device really works, and whether it's worth the money.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad