I reserve IP addresses for specific MAC addresses in the router settings, BTW.

Strange - I use an iPad 1st gen and never lose the connection, maybe it's a range issue? I remember it acting flaky once, after an OS upgrade... deleting the wifi settings and setting them up from scratch sorted it out.

I've been meaning to start an iPad apps thread for a while but have been too lazy about it. Here we go...

On the Splash screen (most frequently used)

Atomic Browser (configured with bookmarklets for ReadItLater, ReadItNow (access your ReadItLater list), Readibility, TinyURL, Define highlighted word, Translation for highlighted words, and a link to the Everything (voidtools.com) http server running on my PC <-works brilliantly


Twitbird Pro (I like it for the search/filtering feature)
Flickr Studio
Photogene (photo editing)
ArtStudio (drawing)
Wordbook XL (The go-to dictionary because it's quick)
Goodreader
iBooks
Soundhound
Movie Guide (Reviews by Leonard Maltin a.k.a God)
IMDB
Flickster
AirVideo (stream movies from wifi, you'll need a PC client running)
FileBrowser (browse files on wifi - mostly used for images)
Wunderlist (To Do app that syncs across devices)
iTap VNC (remote control PC, works great with a multi-mon setup and doesn't log u out like an RDP client would)


Categories...

News & Radio
CNN
BBC News
Al Jazeera
ActionRadio
Your favorite news channel probably has an app too (most have live streaming video so it's more convenient having an app, than hitting the site using your browser.)

"Social" apps & site specific apps
Yahoo Messenger
Facebook
Target, eBay have apps

Office
Numbers, Pages (official Apple apps, good for editing, creating)
Quickoffice (I've found it to be the fastest app for viewing Office docs)
Merriam Webster Dictionary (the 2nd choice, it has word pronunciations and voice recognition <- (not very reliable))

Games & Entertainment
iChess Pack HD (fantastic FICS client)
Draw Some
I had Angry Birds HD but got rid of it coz I realized I was wasting way too much time on it :)
Shazam (sometimes recognizes songs that SoundHound doesn't)

Reference & Misc.
Google Earth
Weather HD (fantastic interface)
FlightTrack
Epicurious
Convert
Clinometer (handy level app if you want to use your iPad as a cheap spirit level meter)
WebMD
Star Walk
The Elements
Drink-a-Dex (mixology)
Clock Pro
World Clock

Final thoughts:
There are exceptions but for the most part site-specific apps are not worth it, so try the site in your browser before you consider installing an app for it.

For RSS feeds I've found using Google Reader from the browser (rather than getting an RSS app) most convenient. Try this route, unless you have a loathing for Google.

The same applies for ReadItLater, once you have the right bookmarklets installed.