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Main Area and Open Discussion => Living Room => Topic started by: phitsc on April 10, 2012, 03:37 PM

Title: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: phitsc on April 10, 2012, 03:37 PM
Because of frustration about decent Android alternatives I got myself an iPad (assuming the Transformer Infinity will be available around next Christmas  >:()

So my question for existing iPad owners: which Apps do you consider worth installing / buying?

Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: wraith808 on April 10, 2012, 05:13 PM
The ones I use all the time:

Productivity
1. Pocket Informant HD (http://appshopper.com/productivity/pocket-informant-hd-calendar-tasks)
2. CarbonFin Outliner (http://appshopper.com/productivity/outliner-for-ipad)
3. SimpleNote (http://appshopper.com/productivity/simplenote)
4. QuickOffice (http://appshopper.com/business/quickoffice-connect-mobile-suite-for-ipad)
5. Evernote (http://appshopper.com/productivity/evernote)
6. GoodReader (http://appshopper.com/productivity/goodreader-tablet-edition)
7. OneNote (http://appshopper.com/productivity/microsoft-onenote-for-ipad)

Utilities
1. Save2PDF (http://appshopper.com/productivity/save2pdf-for-ipad)
2. 1Password (http://appshopper.com/utilities/1password-pro)
3. iCabMobile (http://appshopper.com/utilities/icab-mobile-web-browser)
4. Splashtop (http://appshopper.com/business/splashtop-remote-desktop) (LogMeIn is better... but more pricey)
5. XMarks (http://appshopper.com/productivity/xmarks-for-premium-customers)
6. ReadItLater (http://appshopper.com/news/read-it-later-pro)
7. InstaPaper (http://appshopper.com/news/instapaper-pro)
8. Dropbox (http://appshopper.com/productivity/dropbox)
9. XDisplay (http://appshopper.com/utilities/splashtop-xdisplay) (MaxiVista is better... but more pricey.  I haven't tried AirDisplay)
10. KeyPad Plus Pro (http://appshopper.com/utilities/keypad-plus-pro)
11. Reeder (http://appshopper.com/news/reeder)

Writing
1. Index Card (http://appshopper.com/productivity/index-card)
2. Storyist (http://appshopper.com/productivity/storyist)
3. iA Writer (http://appshopper.com/productivity/ia-writer)

Books
1. Stanza (http://appshopper.com/books/stanza)
2. Nook (http://appshopper.com/books/bn-ereader-for-ipad)
3. Kindle (http://appshopper.com/books/kindle-for-iphone)
4. OliveTree BibleReader (http://appshopper.com/reference/biblereader)
5. MegaReader (http://appshopper.com/books/megareader-%E2%80%93-18-million-free-books)

Development
1. Textastic (http://appshopper.com/productivity/textastic-%E2%80%93-text-editor-with-syntax-highlighting)
2. Gusto (http://appshopper.com/productivity/gusto)
3. iLuaBox Pro (http://appshopper.com/education/iluabox-pro)
4. NimbusPlus (http://appshopper.com/utilities/code-monkey-source-editor-ftp)

Board Games
1. Samurai (http://appshopper.com/games/reiner-knizias-samurai)
2. Carcassonne (http://appshopper.com/games/carcassonne)
3. High Society (http://appshopper.com/games/reiner-knizias-high-society)
4. Kingdoms (http://appshopper.com/games/reiner-knizias-kingdoms)
5. Money (http://appshopper.com/games/reiner-knizias-money)
6. Ticket to Ride (http://appshopper.com/games/ticket-to-ride)
7. Risk (http://appshopper.com/games/risk-the-official-game-for-ipad)
8. Gold! (http://appshopper.com/games/michael-schachts-gold)
9. Neuroshima Hex (http://appshopper.com/games/neuroshima-hex)
10. Tigris & Euphrates (http://appshopper.com/games/reiner-knizias-tigris-euphrates)
11. Medici (http://appshopper.com/games/medici)

Other Games
1. Ascendancy (http://appshopper.com/games/ascendancy)
2. Mirror's Edge (http://appshopper.com/games/mirrors-edge-for-ipad)
3. Dungeon Solitaire (http://appshopper.com/games/dungeon-solitaire)
4. Anomaly Warzone Earth HD (http://appshopper.com/games/anomaly-warzone-earth-hd)
5. PuzzleQuest 2 (http://appshopper.com/games/puzzle-quest-2)

Music
1. OnSong (http://appshopper.com/music/onsong)
2. Rebirth (http://appshopper.com/music/rebirth-for-ipad)
3. Amplitube (http://appshopper.com/music/amplitube-for-ipad)
4. Etude (http://appshopper.com/music/steinway-etude)
5. FL Studio HD (http://appshopper.com/music/fl-studio-mobile-hd)
6. djay (http://appshopper.com/music/djay)
7. Guitar Pro (http://appshopper.com/music/guitar-pro-2)
9. TabToolkit (http://appshopper.com/music/tabtoolkit)
10. Guitarist's Reference (http://appshopper.com/music/guitarists-reference)
11. Mixr DJ (http://appshopper.com/music/mixr)

Reference
1. Articles (http://appshopper.com/reference/articles-for-ipad)
2. Terminology (http://appshopper.com/reference/terminology)
3. Imdb (http://appshopper.com/entertainment/imdb)

Entertainment
1. HBOGo (http://appshopper.com/entertainment/hbo-go)
2. Netflix (http://appshopper.com/entertainment/netflix)
3. Pandora (http://appshopper.com/music/pandora-radio)
4. Spotify (http://appshopper.com/music/spotify)
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on April 11, 2012, 12:17 AM
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.




Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: lotusrootstarch on April 11, 2012, 12:32 AM
phitsc welcome to the apple club :D

I use a number of apps listed above by nosh. One, in particular, that i highly recommend is AirVideo... in addition to streaming videos *from* your Mac/PC to your iPad, the recents version can also stream the output *to* any Apple TV that connects to the TV.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Renegade on April 11, 2012, 12:48 AM
Does anyone know of an app that will allow an iPad to maintain a wireless connection with some kind of reliability? I'd pay for that. (My wife is constantly battling with her iPad there - no other device in the house has that problem - 6 other devices regularly connect.)
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on April 11, 2012, 01:01 AM
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.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Renegade on April 11, 2012, 01:16 AM
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.

My iMac has the same problem -- slow & unreliable wireless. The Dell, HTC, Galaxy Tab, and HP never have problems. Don't know why... But I could really care less about my iMac. If it ticks me off too much, I can just wire it with an ethernet cable.

The range on the router is like 100 m or something. In reality, it's more like 30 m though.

She did the delete and redo thing, and that seemed to sort it... but that was this morning, and not sure if that will last... We'll see.

Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on April 11, 2012, 01:28 AM
I reserve IP addresses for specific MAC addresses in the router settings, BTW.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Renegade on April 11, 2012, 01:32 AM
I reserve IP addresses for specific MAC addresses in the router settings, BTW.

Is there an app for that? :P

Just joking! ;D I'll give that a spin & see if it works. But from the sounds of it, my guess is that it will. The iMac always likes to try to take IP addresses that have already been assigned for some reason, so that's likely the same issue for the iPad.

Thanks for the tip~!
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: lotusrootstarch on April 11, 2012, 01:35 AM
yet another reason to get airport extreme! :D jk. Something to do with your AP or iOS i guess.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: TaoPhoenix on April 11, 2012, 06:00 AM
The 25 hour clock!
I saw one once 15 years ago in a gift shop and harped on myself ever since for not getting it. Now there's an app for it! Try searching the App store for 25h.

The theory is that 2.5 minutes per day you burn a bit of time, maybe fiddling with a soda can or a pencil. So the 25 hour clock slices off 2.5 minutes per hour and eventually creates an entire new "hour" with it! I've already gotten threeish more things done at work with it!

Price: $1
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: phitsc on April 11, 2012, 02:53 PM
Thanks guys for the extensive list of suggestions! I guess I'll check them all out  :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Carol Haynes on April 11, 2012, 03:34 PM
My iMac has the same problem -- slow & unreliable wireless

Well documented issue is some Apple products
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: phitsc on April 15, 2012, 04:10 PM
Some Apps I bought which are not mentioned above (but some I found because of apps mentioned above ;) ):

- Byword (like iA Writer but has Markdown preview)
- Calengoo (Google Calendars. I'm using it already on my Android Phone)
- FiftyThree Paper (It might be over-hyped, but I kind of like it. Well, it needs PDF export, but I'm sure that'll come.)
- Flipboard (might be over-hyped as well, but it sure does look cool)
- Fing (discover what's on your network. I know it from Android)
- BUZZ Viewer HD (file browser / viewer with SMB capability). If someone knows FileBrowser and this one, which one do you like better? (i.e. should I buy FileBrowser as well?)

I'm still undecided on a Notes app. I'm currently trying UPAD Lite (which work quite well, so I'm thinking about buying the full version). But I think Noteshelf could work just as well. I really wish I could compare paid apps like I can on Android (i.e. if you uninstall within 15 minutes after buying you get a refund).
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Renegade on April 15, 2012, 05:04 PM
- Strategery - http://strategerygame.com/ - Very fun short game.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on April 16, 2012, 09:11 AM
iTransmission 2 BitTorrent Client For iPhone / iPad [TorrentFreak]
http://torrentfreak.com/itransmission-2-bittorrent-client-for-iphone-ipad-120416/

Needless to mention, for jailbroken devices only.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: ecaradec on April 16, 2012, 03:09 PM
Tweetbot for tweeting is awesome
Casts for podcasts (it's iphone only ) icatcher is good too but I find it a bit less ergonomic
Wildcords is fun to learn guitar it's a game that detects your chords with the mic
Crimson is a good game that uses a kind of turn by turn play
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on May 17, 2012, 01:55 PM
I tried Reddit Pics HD and sprung for the Pro version 3-4 days back. I'm hopelessly addicted to it. There's also Alien Blue for iPad, which is a more comprehensive (and extremely polished) Reddit client but Reddit Pics HD makes is so damn easy to wade through content... I haven't been this hooked on an app for... I don't even know....
MAKE - IT - STOP!!!
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: techidave on May 18, 2012, 05:55 AM
I use:

CloudOn (free MS Office)
Dropbox
Intellicast HD (weather)
TED
TV Guide
PocketSword (free Bible program)
OmniCalc (Calculator)
Remoter VNC
Intel (has quite a few apps and they are free)
GasCubby
MPG
NASA (free apps pertaining to space)
Mactracker
Newegg
Fing
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: mouser on June 12, 2012, 02:15 AM
I was just gifted an iPad to use on the treadmill; while I generally have very negative feelings about Apple, it is a cool little gadget, and

I'm even contemplating writing a small little app for it, just to get my hands dirty (any tiny app idea suggestions? maybe that's better for another thread).

I can recommend: Zyte (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zite-personalized-magazine/id419752338?mt=8)  (at least for now I can, i suspect like everything else it will soon be filled with ads or cost money; it's currently free); its a very clean customizable "newspaper".
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: phitsc on June 12, 2012, 02:33 AM
And no one suggested AppShopper (http://appshopper.com/) yet. It lets you put together a wish list of apps, and whenever one of these apps is discounted (or updated), you get an email notification. I typically put apps (and games) which I think might be useful or interesting, but not something I think I need right away, on my AppShopper wish list. AppShopper also shows you the history of changes which can give a hint of when an app might be discounted the next time (or if it most likely never will be).
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on June 12, 2012, 03:52 AM
mouser, off the top of my head: A photo frame app. You can distinguish it from others by making it highly customizable with regards to where it sources the images from. Images stored on the device, specific tags or users on flickr and other photo sharing sites, specific subreddits, Facebook users & albums, ftp directories, a google search... whatever image sources you can think of - a combination of one of more sources should be possible.

Most iPad apps seem to be targeted towards idiots and aren't very customizable (...I wonder why  :P ), it would be easy to separate yourself from the herd.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Carol Haynes on June 18, 2012, 03:46 PM
Can you install Windows 8 on an iPad?
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: Cloq on July 15, 2012, 04:01 PM
Can you install Windows 8 on an iPad?
-Carol Haynes (June 18, 2012, 03:46 PM)

Probably...

Win95 runs.. sort of. Win95 on iPhone (http://gizmodo.com/5313615/windows-95-running-on-the-iphone-makes-me-nauseous)
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: robinsiebler on July 16, 2012, 05:32 PM
My favorite apps (in no particular order):
MotionX GPS (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motionx-gps-drive-hd/id367898276?mt=8)
MotionX Helpr (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mx-paste-n-go-easy-address/id453163382?mt=8)
AppShopper (http://itunes.apple.com/app/appshopper/id387037496?mt=8)
iMailG (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imailg-hd-for-gmail/id445285400?mt=8)
Mr. Reader (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mr.-reader/id412874834?mt=8)
Awesome Note (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/awesome-note-hd-to-do-diary/id406750496?mt=8)
Dilbert (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dilbert-mobile/id340606446?mt=8)
Where To? (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/where-to-discover-your-next/id314785156?mt=8)
Games
Kingdom Rush (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kingdom-rush-hd/id489265199?mt=8)
Fluke (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fluke-hd/id414174753?mt=8)
Elder Sign (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/elder-sign-omens-hd/id475401686?mt=8)
Yahtzee (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yahtzee-hd/id389191032?mt=8)
Puzzle Quest 2 (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puzzle-quest-2/id398687544?mt=8)
iBomber Defense (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibomber-defense/id400459168?mt=8)

(Cydia app - req Jailbreak)
Dock
Folder Enhancer

And since I hate iTunes - http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/

Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: hamradio on August 05, 2012, 05:01 PM
One I just found is called SkyGrid (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skygrid/id364187929?mt=8) for news, looks pretty good.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on August 12, 2012, 03:08 PM
I was looking for a way to upload an image here using iOS, there are some forum browsing apps but some (all?) of those require the forum admin to add custom support for the app before the forum can be accessed.

I found a more straightforward way to do this: Safari Upload Enabler (Jailbreak reqd.)
It's a plugin for Safari (won't work with 3rd party browsers) that lets you upload files from the device - it has a tab that lets you browse the file system and pick a file, another tab for images/video that displays your galleries in the usual thumbnail view, a third tab for Dropbox access and a bookmarks tab to store your favorite locations. It even lets you zip the file being uploaded with the tap of a button... I tried an image upload on DC and it worked as advertised. Pretty nifty interface and it gets rid of another iOS handicap.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on August 28, 2012, 11:52 AM
Just want to back ecaradec up on the Tweetbot recco. What an amazing app!  :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: f0dder on August 28, 2012, 12:08 PM
As wraith808 already mentioned, Stanza. It works wonderfully in tandem with Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) on the PC side, eradicating the need for the crappy iTunes crap - and without having to transfer your PDFs through DropBox (which is just stupid).

Other than that, I have a few games - Plants vs Zombies, Bejeweled HD, and Lena Games Taipei (http://www.lenagames.com/taipei-iphone.htm). I use the device almost exclusively for techy ebooks, casual surfing (which often means looking up stuff on google/wikipedia/imdb at night when my brain is following random chains of though), and the casual game while commuting (or not feeling quite like getting out of bed on a sunday morning).

PS: I hate crApple and how locked-down iOS is. If the Stanza+Calibre combo hadn't been available, I wouldn't have bought an iPad2. Back when I bought it, the available Android tablets were utter wank, but it seems this situation has improved quite a bit - I'd be a lot less inclined to go for an iPad today.
Title: Re: New iPad owner. Please suggest Apps.
Post by: nosh on September 07, 2012, 04:07 AM
A web service: Clueful (http://www.cluefulapp.com/#) informs you about app privacy and security, TOS for Dummies. :)

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