Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2010 > April > 14 > Entry
iPad: The Apps
Last week, it was announced that there were 3,500 apps available for the new Apple iPad and every time I look it feels like hundreds more have been added. It’s impossible to take a look at them all, but here’s a quick rundown of some I like (both paid and free) and some I wasn’t as impressed with.
If you want to read my full write-up of the iPad, you can find that here.
Here we go!
News apps: I’m not as big a newshound as you might imagine. I have my RSS feeds to keep up with tech news and headlines, but I don’t go out of my way to visit news sites. But so far, I really like the “NPR” app, which has a lot of content but puts it on three easy-to-navigate horizontal rails and offers audio and photos for almost every piece of content. (Full disclosure: I’m a contributor on the network’s “All Tech Considered.”) The “BBC News” app is also fantastic with lots of iPad-compatible video. “USA Today” is also worth a look. Less impressive is the “New York Times Editor’s Choice” app which disappointingly is a very literal take on a newspaper app:
THIS is what you do on a new format? Shoehorn a centuries-old format into it, along with giant ads? I don’t get it, honestly. (All news apps mentioned above are free.)
Games: I can’t think of a better game I’d rather play on the iPad than “Plants vs. Zombies” ($9.99), which is even better than the desktop version I reviewed last year. Touch adds a lot to the game and it looks fantastic on an iPad screen.
I’m also addicted to “Diner Dash: Going Green” ($4.99) not because it’s a great game (it’s good, not great), but because it’s so hard I can’t beat it. Damn you, “Diner Dash!”
iPad versions of games I was already playing like “Word With Friends HD” ($2.99), but few of them top some of the premium apps like “Scrabble” ($9.99) which can be played locally, over Facebook or even with iPod Touch or iPhone devices serving as the Scrabble tile holders (with a free add-on app download).
And then there’s the out-of-nowhere, no-brainer games that are perfect for the format like “Glow Hockey 2 HD” ($1.99) which includes lots of themes and gameplay options for playing on one screen or over two iPads.
Info and entertainment: My current favorite news/entertainment app is Entertainment Weekly’s “Must List” (free) which gives you their weekly rundown of what’s hot, but also gives you links to audio samples, in-app YouTube videos and direct links to buy or view books, movie trailers and lots of other media. It’s beautifully designed and makes me feel like this whole new-media thing is really going somewhere on the iPad:
“Epicurious” (free) was one of the first iPad apps I downloaded; I use their recipes frequently and have already started keeping the iPad in the kitchen when I cook for reference. You can use it to e-mail recipes, keep a list of favorites handy or to get nutritional info or reviews on a particular recipe. Indispensable.
My wife is a member of “Gilt,” a shopping network with short-duration sales of premium items. She hasn’t bought anything yet, but the app beautifully shows off the wares of many designers and boutique shops in a visually stunning way. You can get multiple views of the same item, view different colors and get push notification when sales start. (“Gilt” is free to download and browse.)
“Marvel Comics” (free) is another stunner to show off — you can browse comics you purchase online (or grab for free; there are a smattering of free titles in the shop). Comics look fantastic and you can have the app guide you panel to panel, fitting each one perfectly on the screen whether you’re viewing it in portrait or landscape mode.
And then there’s apps like “Netflix” and “ABC Player” that stream HD-quality video. Dale Roe will be rounding up TV-related apps in an upcoming piece. I’ll post a link as soon as it’s available. [Edited to add: Here is the link.]
There are also quite a few iPad apps available and on the way from Austin developers. I’ll be writing more about those in coming posts.
Other apps I recommend: “Labyrinth 2 HD” ($7.99) “Digits” (99 cents), “Voice Memo” (free), “WeatherBug” (free), “Google” (free, has voice-based search), “Pages” ($10), “iBooks” (free), “AOL Instant Messenger” (free) “Pandora” (free), “Twitteriffic” (free trial/$4.99 full edition), “Adobe Ideas” (free).
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Applications, Gadgets, Shopping
Comments
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By Brenda Thompson
April 14, 2010 6:56 PM | Link to this
Oooh, thanks! There are lots here I didn't know about, especially some of the games you recommend. Can't wait to check them out. I LOVE the new Google app and the voice-based search actually works quite well. Agree on Epicurious, which I've liked so much on my iPhone, and on NPR--their app is one I'm most anticipating.