Best iPad Apps In 2010
Apple's iPad tablet computer
Apple’s iPad tablet was released in April this year and since then it has sold like crazy. In fact, when the holiday season finally got here, most people had already added the device on their wish list and research companies discovered that it was the most popular gadget of the whole year. Maybe contributing to this is that there aren’t really other worthwhile tablets on the market.
In other words, the choice you get is Samsung’s Galaxy Tab which was released quite late in 2010 and isn’t actually groundbreaking. So what attracts people to the iPad? Well, first off it’s a bigger iPhone if we’re to keep things simple. If you liked the iPhone, chances are that you’d appreciate the iPad in your life as well. The iPad will also let you run apps, read books, surf the web, take notes, sent e-mails and more. It’s slimmer and lighter compared to netbooks. It has a more pleasant form factor as well. You won’t have to hold it on your lap, you can hold it in whichever way you want. You can even flip it to choose whether you want to see something in landscape or portrait. I’m not here to praise or disapprove of the iPad. For many months, you couldn’t really criticize the product because it was sort of the only one of its type. There was really nothing to compare it to, except for other types of devices.
What’s quite important when it comes to Apple and the iPad is to mention that the user of the best-selling tablet will gain access to a huge number of applications through Apple’s App Store. This counts a lot because you’re not stuck with the same features. You can add more whenever you want to. Sure, some apps you can find are quite simple and for the most part useless (such as fart apps, quiz apps, etc) but at least they are fun and they provide extra entertainment. Other apps actually prove quite useful in certain situations. Since the year is nearly over and we’ve previously talked about iPad apps a lot, I figured it was time to sum everything up and come up with a list of top iPad apps that were released this year and you can download if you feel like it. For every category I’ve tried to include several alternative apps aside from the one that proved most popular. That’s because I learned, somewhat the hard way, that sometimes what works for other people quite well may not work so well for you. All forms of feedback are greatly appreciated so if you have anything to say about this article, the iPad or any applications be sure to leave a comment below.
There’s a reason why Weather HD is the number one weather application in the US as well as 51 other countries. That’s because it’s quite simple to use and to look at but at the same time delivers a good looking interface. In fact, most publications have admitted that this one app can display the weather in the prettiest way ever. So we’ve talked about what it looks like but how do you use it and what does it have to offer? Pretty simple stuff, to be honest. You can navigate between cities by using the arrows positioned at the top right side of the screen. Swiping to the left or right in the middle will let you navigate forward and backward. If you want to see the forecast you can simply tap on “Show Forecast” on the bottom left. You can add multiple cities to the list and you can remove them at a later time if, for instance, you were only interested in the weather there when you went on a trip.
The app also features a clock that can be enabled by going to settings. From the same location you can select the size of the clock too. Several other features can be displayed or hidden such as Chance of Rain, Pressure and Visibility. You’ll find them all under “Display Settings”. To refresh the information you’ll just have to shake the device. What makes this app even more popular is that it’s quite decently priced at $0.99. Its iTunes page can be found right here.
As an alternative to the app mentioned before we’d like to tell you about The Weather Channel app that offers in-depth weather forecast, innovative maps, a video library and more. The weather maps can be displayed in full-screen mode and are customizable. You’ll be able to get real-time Twitter feds from popular TWC on-air personalities for good measure and some form of social networking/micro-blogging integration. Other features include: in motion radar that includes past and future views, riveting storm footage, local, regional and national forecast video and local traffic cams. While this one is free to download, some people have expressed their concern regarding the ads that are displayed. Oh well, because it’s free to download, I guess you have nothing to lose if you try it out. Find it here.
If you simply want to write notes, then iA Writer is perhaps the best choice for the iPad. It has multiple advantages. First off it’s simple, to the point and quite efficient and has been praised by many people who have to write as a job (whether reporters, actual writers or with other occupations). You’ll never get distracted while trying to write something and you’ll always get to see just how many words you’ve written up to that point. This sounds like a common-sense feature but the reality is that multiple text editors either have “word count” hidden away somewhere or they don’t offer it at all.
To make sure that you can easily save your files anywhere and after that access them from anywhere the app delivers Dropbox integration. Other features include: arrow keys, direct punctuation, the ability to tap on the name in toolbar to rename, a reading time indicator, iPad optimized writing typography and a do and undo two finger swipe. In the near future the team of developers behind iA Writer also plan to add subfolders and autosync (which is currently done manually). Overall you get a great user experience out of this one with no annoying and distracting auto-correction or toolbars, if you’re willing to spend $4.99 on it. Find it on iTunes here.
Compared to the previous app, Evernote offered something quite different so it’s not really an alternative for iA Writer per say. Evernote was included in Apple’s “App Hall of Fame” and it basically turns your tablet into an “extension of your brain”. Naturally, the previous statement must have made you at least a bit curious so we’ll go ahead and explain what this app offers. It’ll help you remember virtually anything that you want to remember. It includes notes, snapshots, tasks and more and all the information can easily be synchronized between your phone and computer.
You can create text, photo and audio notes, synchronize this content with a PC and on the web, search for text that’s included in snapshots (somehow…) and mark notes as “Favorites” to jump right to them when you need them. To better remember where and when you created a note, all notes include geo-location information for mapping and search. It’s free for download and can be found here.
There are so many kids’ apps out there and they are all so interesting that this was perhaps one of the toughest picks. Exploring through multiple kids’ apps I guess I’ll have to admit I somewhat recovered all that childish enthusiasm I used to have. I’d like to start by presenting an app called Ultimate Dinopedia which was made by National Geographic Society. This app is practically the largest dinosaur encyclopedia ever created. Kids will get to learn more about all their favorite dinos plus other’s they haven’t heard of until now. Each of them has a profile in either the meat eater or plant eater section including fact boxes, fun facts, size comparison and much more. Did I mention that the art included simply looks amazing? Other features include : audio pronunciation, bonus videos, a visual table of contents and an interactive family tree which will let you fully explore all your favorite families of dinos. They say this is for kids but I had so much fun toying around with this that I’d go ahead and recommend it to all adults who fancy dinosaurs as well.
Each in-depth dinosaur has a full-page painting and other pieces of art in the app will let you take a closer look at the dino world and how dinos used to migrate for instance. Do give this as a gift to your child if you know he/she is interested in dinosaurs. It’s an exceptionally well executed app and available through the App Store for $5.99. Its page can be found here.
Another interesting and captivating app for kids, and, well, adults too I guess is Magic Piano. Explaining what this app does is quite simple. It’s a piano displayed in multiple ways from spiral, circular to rectangular. The classic tunes you’ll get are Bach’s Prelude in C, Joplin’s The Entertainer, The Star Spangled Banner, God Save the Queen, Mozart’s Turkish March, Be Still My Soul, Amazing Grace, Chopsticks, Final Fantasy Prelude, Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker March, Auld Lang Syne amongst many others. Play each of them as many times as you like, until you get to master them. The best thing to do for your kids is to educate them with apps like this one and discover whether they have any creative inclination for painting, and in this case music.
You can play bundled songs from the app’s song book by following the beam of light. Magic Piano offers several difficulty levels so when you get better at it you can try something that’s more of a challenge. The aspect of the keyboard can be altered by the user. You can get more keys or have them be wider if you like it better that way. For more information regarding this app that’s pretty affordable at $0.99 head on to its iTunes page.
As I’ve mentioned before, it was really hard to pick just a few high quality kids’ apps. That’s why in this category we have three of them (with some regret because there were several more that were definitely worth a download). The third app on the list is Drawing Pad, basically a classic drawing tool that provides the user with a set of “actual-sized” realistic crayons, markers, paint brushes, roller pens and various other tools. This app is cheaper than a box of crayons, as its creator mentioned. You can doodle all you want and then save your artwork to a Drawing Pad Album. You can look at it as many times as you wish afterwards. You can even continue with your work if it isn’t finished.
If you happen to come up with a real work of art, you’ll be able to share it through e-mail or with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, any creation of yours can be used as your desktop background. If a blank sheet of paper isn’t fun enough, the app now also delivers in-app purchases in the form of downloadable content. You can choose out of five illustrated coloring books: more fun, fairy tale, farm, sea life and winter holiday. The app is compatible with AirPrint wireless printing and costs $0.99. Find it here.
