My 5 Favorite iPad Apps

It’s now been one week since the iPad arrived at my doorstep. I’ ve tried countless free apps, paid for more than I should have and have found some apps that have pushed my iPad experience to the next level.

My biggest disappointment thus far is with the Magazine Apps. Most are overpriced, charging up to $5 per issues and many require a Wifi connection to read. When Hopefully one day, the magazines will be priced more reasonably, not require an internet connection to read (even after purchasing and downloading) and I can switch to the electronic version of my favorites.

Enough with my disappointments, I wanted to focus on my 5 favorite apps thus far. While this list is subjective, I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t love all these apps below. So far, the iPad is better than I anticipated. I love most of the default apps, such as YouTube, Maps, Photos, Calendar and Mail. On my iPod Touch, I rarely utilized these apps, but on the iPad these apps are bigger and seem much better. Let’s jump into my list.

iBooks (FREE) 4 Stars, 1400+ ratings

“iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books, designed exclusively for iPad. iBooks includes the iBookstore, where you can download the latest best-selling books or your favorite classics – day or night. Browse your library on a beautiful bookshelf, tap a book to open it, flip through pages with a swipe or a tap, and bookmark your favorite passages.”

What I like about iBooks – The bookshelf provides an easy and slick way to organize your books. When opening a book, you can easily adjust the brightness, choose between 5 fonts and pick your font size. As you drag your finger to the left to turn the page, the page curls. I also love the ability to highlight a word and have it defined or bookmark words or phrases. This app is on point. My only complaint is with some of the expensive book prices. Luckily there are 30,000 or so free books and books that will cost you an opportunity to first sample them before purchasing.

In A World…Drama ($1.99) 4.5 Stars, 23 ratings

“Create your own movie trailer for any situation. Choose from a countless combination of scenarios to tell most any kind of story. You create the script, add your own images, choose the music, etc… You can also share your trailer with other users via email.  A free (player only) version of InAWorld can be downloaded for any iPhone and iPod Touch user. We are currently developing a sharing website that will allow anyone to see your creations.”

My Take – I just discovered this app yesterday and have already created 5 trailers. It’s very well integrated with the iPad. You choose your title, typeface, choose from over 47 “In a world” lines, from 55 characters, 43 situations, 9 different switches, and 21 plot twists with more characters and 35 lessons. Then you pick from 32 different ways to wrap up the story, a tag (i.e. “Now in 3D. For an extra 4 bucks”), a soundtrack and a rating. You can even choose from your own music library. The trailers are fun to make and watch. I’m waiting for a comedy and horror version and would love to see more sharing options added, such as Facebook.

10 PinShuffle ($3.99) 4.5 Stars, 35 ratings

“10 Pin Shuffle™ contains three great games in one, played in a realistic 3D environment! [1] SHUFFLEBOARD the game you’ve enjoyed in your local bar. Play against a friend or a computer opponent trying to out-shuffle each other’s weights or blast them off the table. [2] BOWLING with real 3D pin physics! Similar to 10 Pin Bowling except played on a shuffleboard table using weights/pucks instead of a bowling ball. If you liked Wii Sports Bowling then you’re going to love your 10 Pin Shuffle™ bowling experience. [3] 10 PIN POKER is a combination of Shuffleboard, Bowling and Five Card Draw Poker. Earn playing cards for Strikes and Spares. Draw new cards when you have five. The player with the best five card poker hand after 10 frames wins.”

My Take – This game is addictive. I’m a big fan of both the shuffle board and bowling aspects of this game. It’s fun to play 1 player and even more fun playing against another person. The touch technology and integration with the iPad is well done.

Netflix (FREE)4 Stars, 1600+ ratings

“Get Netflix on your iPad. Just download this free app and you can instantly watch TV shows & movies streaming from Netflix. It’s part of your Netflix unlimited membership. Not a Netflix member? Start your FREE trial today. Watch as often as you want. Resume watching where you left off on your TV or computer. Browse movies and manage your Queue right from your iPad.

My Take – Having the ability to update your Netflix Queue, add instant watch movies, the jump in and start watching these movies on the same device is very cool. The resolution and big iPad screen make this app a must have.

Sketchbook Pro ($7.99) 4.5 Stars, 219 ratings

“Autodesk SketchBook® Pro for iPad is a professional-grade paint and drawing application. Using the same paint engine as its desktop counterpart, SketchBook Pro delivers a complete set of sketching & painting tools through a streamlined and intuitive user interface designed exclusively for the iPad experience. Whether you are an occasional doodler or a professional illustrator, SketchBook Pro transforms your iPad into the ultimate digital SketchBook.

My Take – This app is one of the best designed apps I’ve seen. This app is great for the pros and casual doodlers. I’ve used it to help me plan out a t-shirt design, to doodle, etc. It features multi-touch to pinch and zoom, high quality brushes and tools (75 preset brushes), layers and much more.

What’s your favorite iPad apps so far? Are there any you are anticipating? How about disappointments?