If you have recently bought a new iPad I have some “must have” apps you should start out with. Of course, some apps you may wonder why they are so “must have” and argue that you don’t need them. Ok, you just might not. This is my list and there may be more that you would suggest (please do so in the comments). This is the first 5 and I will post more in chunks of 5 in the future. For what it’s worth, here’s my list: This is the app, next to Google, that will teach you pretty much anything. Wikipedia is very accurate and way more up to date than the Encyclopedia you have on your book shelf. There are things that may contain errors but it’s just as accurate as a traditional Encyclopedia. Here’s a article and links to studies on it. Anyway, I like it and it’s a great way to solve arguments or have ready to teach your kids when they have those repeating “Why?” moments. Price: Free . I love this app. Yes, it is simple. A lot like the stock notes app. What’s great about this app is it syncs between other iPads, iPhones, iPod touches and even a web browser app. Price: Free If you’re using the previously mentioned app, Wikipanion, to search for a actor, tv show or movie and just can’t get all the info you want, you need the IMDb app. IMDb stands for Internet Movie Database. The app connects you to their website with loads of info on TV shows, movies, actors, and a lot more. It’s free and it’s great to have while sitting on the couch when you’re trying to figure out an actor’s name or what other movies they’ve been in. The best Twitter app is, Read More
Apple’s recent iPad 2 commercial displays many great uses for the iPad other than games and web browsing. The iPad can be a great learning tool for both kids and adults. With my oldest son just beginning homeschooling, we plan to use the iPad along with other teaching tools. There are many apps other than the ones shown in this commercial that can be used for learning. Do you have a favorite that’s not listed here? Please share in the comments! Apps from the commercial: TED: TED presents talks from some of the world’s most fascinating people: education radicals, tech geniuses, medical mavericks, business gurus and music legends. Find more than 900 TEDTalk videos (with more added each week) on the official TED app — now for both iPad and iPhone. Chinagram – Chinese Writing: The iPad application that tells the story of Chinese writing, explaining its rationale and showing its beauty, sign after sign. Try your hand at ideograms and learn more about one of the great cultures of the Orient. – (NOVA Series) is a cutting edge app built on our NOVA technology. It is a completely new app, but in recognition of our loyal customers we are providing this application as a free update to the previous original Skeleton System Pro. Every detail has been re-designed from the photo-realistic 3D model to the quick navigation. There are thousands of changes – including the most in depth 3D skeleton ever developed, the ability to rotate, cut and get superior/inferior views all with the simple stroke of the finger. is a “universal binary” and is designed for the iPhone AND iPad, so you don’t have to buy two different apps. It now supports Game Center! Play chess with your friends in real time! tChess Pro is the high-quality, critically acclaimed Read More
Recently, someone figured out that if they changed just one little number in the code for the iPhone Facebook app, the iPad app would be revealed when installed on the iPad. You needed to be jailbroken so you could access the Facebook app files to change the code that marks the app for the iPhone or iPad. The app was a little buggy but the layout was pretty good. Nothing to blow your mind but better than the tiny little iPhone app. UPDATE: There is a hack in Cydia called FaceForward that re-enables the hack and doesn’t require the step by step hacks below! It probably won’t work again anytime soon but if they give back access here’s how to hack it: 1. You must be jailbroken. 2. Install iFile on your iPad so you can edit the Facebook application files. It’s free in Cydia. 3. Install the iPhone Facebook app on your iPad. It’s free in the App Store. 4. Open iFile and navigate to Applications/Facebook/Facebook.app/Info.plist 5. Tap on Info.plist and either use Text Viewer or Property List Viewer and change UIDeviceFamily to 2 instead of 1. 6. Reboot iPad. Here’s a few screenshots I grabbed before it stopped working: Read More
The best thing about this app is that it shows the current weather on the app’s icon as a badge and there’s no need to jailbreak. There are other apps like WeatherIcon that hack your Weather icon to show the current temperature instead of a constant sunny and 73. The app has other basic weather features that honestly don’t impress me that much. None of the maps are full screen on the iPad and they reload each time you tap on them, which isn’t fast. It would be nice if it cached the one’s already downloaded. Also, the maps show no state boundaries so it’s hard to tell where everything is at. You can also tweet or Facebook the current or forecasted weather. The apps is worth downloading for getting the current temp on your homescreen but not worth the extra $0.99 for the maps. This app is universal meaning it will install on all iOS devices. Read More
For some strange reason, Apple decided to leave out the Calculator app on the iPad. Thankfully, there is a free one in the App Store that works great. It’s simply called “Calculator for iPad”. It looks and works just like the iPhone app. When you rotate it to landscape you get a scientific calculator. There is a bit of an annoying ad at the bottom that moves around but if you are wanting pure functionality, this app works. Nice icon too that looks just like the iPhone app but the equals sign is replaced with the letters “HD”. I paid for the upgrade that lets you remove the ads and has 7 different themes. The developer has other apps including Weather+, Fahrenheit & Celsius. Read More
This game is pretty simple but still challenging. You start with a ball and some different shapes and use the shapes to get the ball to the flag. Sounds simple, but here’s the catch: The app was developed by a 14 year old in 8th grade. The app is free for iPhone & iPad and has a few more levels that can be purchased for $0.99. What’s even more amazing is that it was once the most downloaded free app in the App Store. Read More
Opera has released a version of it’s alternate web browser for the iPad. It was originally a big drama to get another browser on Apple’s iOS next to Safari but Apple eventually allowed it. Opera has been available on the iPhone for a while but now works on the iPad too. The app is pretty good over all and has some great features. Opera loads webpages on their servers and then compresses the data to load faster on your device. It’s great when you have a slow connection or you want to save bandwidth on your iPhone or iPad data plan. It also has a password storing system and multiple tab support. I do have a few problems though. Too often it loads the mobile version of the website and there’s no way to get out of it. Facebook is a perfect example. That is VERY frustrating. It would be nice if you could switch back and forth between mobile and full web browsing. There is a switch in the settings but this doesn’t do what’s expected. Read More
April 01, 2011 Douglas Angry Birds, App Store, Games Our family loves Angry Birds so we were excited to see a new version called Angry Birds Rio. Apparently we’re not the only one who likes the new version because it’s currently the #1 selling app in the App Store as I write this article. Instead of crashing birds into pigs who’ve stole your eggs, now you’re trying to crash into cages of birds to help release them. There’s also different levels with monkeys in trees and a big bad guy bird you have to knock out of the sky. There is a catch to this game. All the levels have not been released yet. Only section 1 and 2 are ready and the rest will be released throughout the year. Read More
When mixing sound, I’ve always wanted a setup like this. To do what is going on in this video you need a Yamaha 01V classic, iPad, TouchOSC (iTunes link), MacBook Pro and USB to MIDI cable. To keep up with the progress just watch for updates on this YouTube channel: northatlantadj Read More
Normally this app is $4.99, but today (03-16-11) it’s on sale for just $0.99. It currently has 181 effects and filters and has some tools like rotate and crop. You can also combine effects for even more vacations. Some of the better known effects include Sepia, TiltShift, Posterize, Blur and the list goes on and on. I also like the many options you have in sharing your photos. Not only can you save it to your iPad but you can share it via Flickr, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter or email. Check out the screenshots and video below and make sure to grab it quick before the sale ends. Read More
Hidden iPad Facebook App Found, Then Blocked by Facebook, Then Re-Hacked! [Update] - Apple iPhone School
