Five Free Apps » ipad

How To Kill iPad And iPhone Apps Running In The Background

Brian Mongold — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:23:56 +0000

Since iOS 4 introduced multitasking, you may or may not know that each iPad or iPhone app you launch (quietly) runs in the background. This occurs when you jump to another application, hit the home button, etc. The purpose is to enable you to quickly jump back and forth between apps.

The iPad will close apps as memory is needed, but certain apps (GPS apps in particular) can still nibble away at your battery. Being a hardcore user of my iPad 2 and iPhone 4, I have a habit of running 30 or more apps in the multitask bar before I start killing apps. I don’t typically run into battery issues since I have made it a habit to kill my GPS app once I no longer need it.

Whether you want to kill a battery-hogging GPS app, need to kill an app that isn’t behaving properly, or just would like to clean out all the apps running in the background, you’ll find these steps helpful.

Step 1: Double Tap the Home button to bring up the multitasking bar. All apps running in the background will appear via their icon in this section. Swipe to the left to scroll and reveal each.

Step 2: Press and hold the app you want to kill

Step 3: Tap the red minus sign that appears to successfully kill the app

Unfortunately, unlike Android, I haven’t found any apps (other than a jailbreak app) that kills all background apps so you’ll need to kill one app at a time. Let me know if you have any problems or if you’ve found an app that can automate this process.

Control And Rule Your Remote With iRule

Brian Mongold — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:29:19 +0000

Today’s post is a guest article written by Genna from The Neat Geek.

Universal remote controls have become increasingly popular. Sure they take a bit of time to setup and learn to use, but not having 17 remotes on your coffee table makes it worth it. And in keeping with the tradition of combining gadgets, now you can use your smartphone or tablet to control your entertainment system.

iRule works with multiple devices in your home and gives you the ability to control them all with your iOS device – Android coming soon. Connect your stereo and AV equipment, home theater system, lights, fireplaces, thermostats and more. Simply purchase the correct gateways and licenses and iRule will control it all over your WiFi connection.

To create your own remote control interface you will use the iRule Builder website. Everyone in the house will be able to set up their own custom interface, which includes favorite channels, and your own buttons and images. After you’ve customized your remote exactly how you want it, download the free app from the App Store or Android Market. Assign devices to their gateways and you should be all set.

The iRule gateways start at $95, but since you already own the smartphone or tablet, the price is comparable to other universal remotes.

And if you’re anything like me, you probably have your phone or tablet with you at all times, so there won’t be those where is that darn remote moments.

The Neat Geek Because There Is A Place – And An App – For Everything

“From the moment I got my first PalmPilot, I was in love. And some form of digital organizer has not left my hand since. Technology is in our lives every day and if we use it in the correct capacity, it can actually make our lives a little easier. And it can also make our lives a little complicated.
I am here to help. I believe that if you own a computer, you should know how to use it. I also believe that there are many websites out there that can confuse you more, so I want to provide easy to understand tips, so you don’t actually throw that laptop or cell phone out the window like you’ve threatened to do.”

Boxee For iPad Enhances Your Boxee Box Experience

Brian Mongold — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:24:56 +0000

Today’s article is a guest post by William Taylor. William is interested in mobile tricks, latest hacking tips, ubuntu and internet. You can check out his site at ” simonly.

Ready to cut your cable? There’s plenty of video content available on a variety of websites, mobile apps and other sources that can potentially save you a ton of money wrapped up in your cable bill. Finding content by using the countless sites is simple, but keeping track of all the sources is an absolute pain.

With Boxee, we have an ideal solution. Boxee for iPad (available from the iTunes App Store) can keep all your videos in one secure place. The software was created for iPad users, with an added benefit of sending videos directly to your television screen. In the near future, Boxee will also offer desktop applications for both Mac and PC users. Here’s a few features Boxee currently offers;

5 Functions: iPad to TV, PC to iPad, Friends, Watch Later and Featured

You will find the new iPad application pairs with Boxee Media Manager enabling you to stream videos from your PC to iPad. This feature provides “Watch Later” bookmarklets and new firmware for the Boxee Box 1.2.

iPad to TV
Have you ever been watching videos on your iPad, but wish you could view them on a larger screen? Now you can send videos to your TV via a Boxee Box so everyone in the living room can enjoy the videos. You can even play games on your iPad simultaneously while watching videos. This goes over well with parties.

PC to iPad
You can literally waste hours syncing and converting videos for your iPad. Boxee streams videos from your PC/Mac to your iPad via a Wi-Fi connection. You can choose your video (Boxee supports a variety of formats) and play it directly on your iPad. Boxee Media Manager makes this capability possible. The “manager” is a lightweight utility for your PC/MAC, and it works magically on video files.

Friends
The Friends feature delivers new videos from friends on Twitter, Tumblr and Twitter to your iPad. This task is quite simple, letting you administer with just two taps.

Watch Later
Watch Later is a bookmarking option for internet videos. You can have them conveniently waiting for you on your iPad. Gone are the days of searching endlessly for videos or shows. Now, you can create playlists for your viewing pleasure.

Featured
This feature contains useful, entertaining and innovative videos shared by the Boxee editorial staff. You can keep yourself up-to-date on the best material available on the Internet through these helpful recommendations.

Boxee 1.2 version
This update includes the following:
• Ability to receive “Beta Releases” of firmware
• AFP and NFS support
• Updated software categories
• “Featured software” section
• Filter of premium sources in library
• OS X Lion will be supported as a source for video files
• Improvement with HTML5 browser support

Boxee Labs
The company has been experimenting with AirPlay, which is now included in the Beta phase of the release. Simply click on AirPlay located on your iPod Touch, iPad or iPhone and you will see your Boxee Box.

Boxee for iPad is loaded with features. Let’s recap a few good reasons you should check out Boxee!

• Boxee provides bookmarking from your computer at home/work
• You can watch whatever you bookmarked on the bus or subway going home
• You can send content to your Boxee Box, so it’s ready for you to watch when you get home
• Boxee lets you use your iPhone to control your Boxee Box

The article is contributed by William Taylor. William is interested in mobile tricks, latest hacking tips, ubuntu and internet. Visit his site for ” simonly.

My Jailbroken iPhone Displays Apps In A Small Screen! Here’s How You Can Fix It

Brian Mongold — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:08:17 +0000

I’ve jailbroken every iOS device I have. The collection consists of an iPhone 4, iPad 2 and an Apple TV. The pros for jailbreaking far outweigh the few negatives. However, occasionally you may install a jailbreak app that can cause your device to go a little haywire.

For me, problems began when I installed a series of iPhone 4 Jailbreak Apps. When restarting my device, all my apps displayed in a tiny little screen in the left hand corner of my phone.

My immediate thought was for me to restart the device, which didn’t help. Next, I tried to uninstall the apps I downloaded from Cydia. Problem is the screen is too small to perform even the simplest tasks.

After trying everything I could think of, I wanted to see if I could still launch SBSettings with a swipe. Sure enough, I could. Here’s how I resolved my issue with apps displaying in a small screen on my iPhone.

Swipe the top of the screen to access SBSettings
Tap the “Power” button
Tap the “Safe Mode” tab
Once the device restarts, click the “Restart” tab

Once it finishes Respringing, launch an App and it should display in the full screen. I’ve narrowed down the offending app and believe it’s InfiniFolders, but am not yet 100% sure.

SBSettings is a life saver and saved me restoring my iPhone, which would have broken the jailbreak. SBSettings is the best jailbreak app you’ll find and it’s free. Do yourself a favor and install SBSettings.

Top 10 Funded iOS Products On KickStarter

Brian Mongold — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:42:11 +0000

KickStarter is arguably the best crowd sourcing site on the net. Several new projects are launched each day looking with innovators looking for your help to bring their

10 Innovative iPad Accessories Hitting The Market Soon (Or Already Available)

Brian Mongold — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:20:02 +0000

I love my iPad 2. Not only is it my favorite device, but it’s the gadget that stands out among my collection. It’s transformed the way I browse the net, study, listen to music, catch my news and just about every other aspect of computing. The device is amazing already, but some of the accessories that are starting to hit the market are designed to greatly enhance the iPad.

I’ve been on a Kickstarter kick, so many of the projects below are either currently on Kickstarter fighting for funding or have previously been funded and looking to launch soon. While you wait for all the CES 2012 gadgets and accessories to be presented, take a look at these innovative items below.

The Koala Mount - Mounting solution for your iPad

The Koala Mount is a wall mount that is designed for both the iPad and the iPad 2. The designers promise a 2 minute setup with damage free removal. This mount will be handy to use in the kitchen, bathroom or to save space in your office. The Koala Mount is currently obtaining financing on Kickstarter, but they’ve already exceeded their goal and will be funded on January 29th. You can get a Koala Mount by pledging as little as $10 at Kickstarter.

LunaTik Touch Pen: The Evolution of the Stylus - Combines an ink pen and stylus into one.

This stylus is a hybrid between paper and touch, letting you use it as both an ink pen and a digital stylus. I’m a fan of the design and like having the ability to having the ability to easily transition to writing in ink and using it as a stylus. My only fear is forgetting to switch from ink. This product is awaiting funding on Kickstarter, but has already surpassed their funding goal. It will be funded on February 10th. You can pledge a minimum of $30 to get a set of two on Kickstarter.

TouchFire: The Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad - Gives the feel of actual keys, rather than just the touch

TouchFire is ultra-thin keyboard that you place over your iPad to give you the feel of actual keys. It is magnetized to stay in place, but also comes with clips to help secure it. It’s lightweight, weighing in at less than an ounce and attaches to the inside of the iPad cover, folding with the cover. It works with most cases and covers. If this keyboard provides the ability for us to type without looking, which I’m hoping, this will increase my iPad typing speed tremendously. They are currently sold out, but by depositing $10, you can sign up for their waiting list ($44.95 total).

LilyPad - Solar iPad case/charging solution, extending your batter life significantly

Touted as a “swiss Army Knife for iPad,” this case is packed with goodies. In addition to protecting your iPad, it uses indoor and outdoor light to continually charge your device. According to the designers, LilyPad provides the average user 12 to 13 days of iPad life or 24 hours of continuous use. Plus, the LilyPad comes with an HDMI output, USB power-out and a free travel bag. Something else that is cool is the Whistle Locator, so if you lose the case you can whistle and your LilyPad will beep. They’ve had a successful pre-sale, but are currently out of stock. You can sign up to get notified when they are back in stock.

CableKeeps - organizes your iPad, iPhone & iPod charging cables

Keeping your iPad charging cable organized is a challenge, unless you have a handy utility like CableKeeps. CableKeeps secures your USB docking cable to 5W and 10W Apple power adapters that are used for your iPads, iPhones and iPods keeping your cable and charger together. In addition to traveling, these utilities can better organize your cable by shortening it when plugged into the wall. They also have a colorful and unique design. You can purchase them at Nice, for $16 each.

Hanfree - a hands free solution for your iPad

I’ve previously professed my love for the iProp, which is currently my favorite overall iPad accessory. However, there will be a sexy new competitor in Hanfree. Hanfree looks like a more elegant version of the iProp, but the project is currently in the design and manufacturing stage. Once launched, this product will be perfect by the couch and in bed to read a book, surf the net, etc. You can preorder yours at Hanfree for $80.

Sensu - an authentic way to paint on your iPad

The Sensu is an authentic brush and stylus to use with various drawing and painting apps on both the iPhone and iPad. The brush is not yet available, but keep tabs on their site for updates.

INFINITE Loop - an iPad stand that can bend into any shape to adjust to any environment

The Infinite Loop is a patented co-molded metal and plastic iPad stand that you can easily bend and shape to attach or stand your iPad. You can use suction caps and adjustable side clips to fit any iPad or tablet. The Infinite Loop is available in black and white. They are currently sold out, but will be available for $44.99.

iVisor For iPad 2 - protect your iPad with this air bubble free easy installation screen protector

iVisor for iPad 2 is an advanced screen protector designed to protect your screen and for an easy, bubble free application. It’s absolutely the easiest screen protector I’ve ever applied and lives up to its’ promise to be bubble free. I applied it in about 5 seconds and no bubbles. It provides clarity and a significantly reduced smudging. iVisor for iPad 2 is currently $29.95 at Amazon.

Bubcaps - Covers your home button to keep kids from switching apps and deleting your stuff

Bubcaps keeps your kids from switching apps and deleting stuff they shouldn’t. You can apply these stickers to your iPad or iPhone home button. Best of all, they are cheap. You can grab a 4 pack for $5 at BubCaps.

Have you seen any great iPad accessories that deserve a mention? Let me know what you think of those mentioned above.

Oceanhouse Media Releases “Dr. Seuss – If I Ran The Zoo” Digital Book For iOS & Android

Brian Mongold — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:37:19 +0000

Great news! Oceanhouse Media, a leading publisher of over 285 apps, has just released Dr. Seuss – If I Ran The Zoo omBook. This digital book is now available on both iOS and Android devices for a special introductory price of $2.99. Information below provided by Oceanhouse Media.

“It’s a pretty good zoo,”
said young Gerald McGrew,
“and the fellow who runs it seems proud of it, too.”
“But if I ran the zoo,”
said young Gerald McGrew,
“I’d make a few changes.

That’s just what I’d do . . . ”
Young Gerald, not impressed by the animals at the zoo, conjures up plans for “New Zoo, McGrew Zoo.” Join him on an exciting globe-trotting safari in search of the world’s most unusual creatures (with equally unusual habits). A wonderful tribute to a child’s imagination, this parade of creatures begins with a ten-footed lion and escalates to more and more imaginative (and bizarre) creatures, such as the Fizza-ma-Wizza-ma-Dill, “the world’s biggest bird from the island of Gwark who eats only pine trees and spits out the bark.” Come along and discover a zoo like you’ve never imagined, through the eyes of Gerald McGrew and the great Dr. Seuss!

About Oceanhouse Media

Oceanhouse Media, Inc. is a leading publisher of more than 285 apps for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch), Android, NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet, Kindle Fire and HP TouchPad devices. The company’s mantra is “Creativity with Purpose,” developing apps that uplift, educate and inspire.

Based in Encinitas, California, Oceanhouse Media was founded in January 2009 by Michel Kripalani, a veteran of the video gaming industry. Kripalani gained notoriety as a founder and the CEO of Presto Studios, creators of The Journeyman Projectseries and Myst III: Exile.

I actually bought a brand new Tom Tom GPS unit for my vehicle. Looking back, that $150+ purchase was a little ridiculous. The unit takes up room in my vehicle, requires a manual map upgrade every quarter, etc. With my Android device, I have the solid Google Navigation app that’s 100% free and always up-to-date and includes the free voice guidance. While that’s a great GPS navigation app, my favorite is MotionX GPS Drive HD. The app is dirt cheap at $2.99 (compared to GPS units) and features a beautiful interface, iOS address book integration, an iPod to play and control your music from the interface and more. Live voice guidance will cost you an additional $9.99 per year, but includes live traffic data, details about traffic incidents, etc. ($2.99 at the App Store)

Spotify for Android, Mac and iOS changed the way I listen to and organize my music

I’ve been building up my music collection for the last few years. Though I have about 150GBs of music on my external hard drive, it took a lot of work downloading, converting and organizing the music. I would then overload my iPad and use the star ratings to help eliminate the music I didn’t like. Music for me became a chore. It took me a few stabs, but I’m finally a Spotify convert. The best mobile app is hands down on Android as the iPhone app is lacking. However, the best experience is on the desktop with the new upgrade. Now you can add the integrated apps like Fuse, Soundrop, Pitchfork and more to read reviews on the interface and star or add songs and albums to your playlists. What I like about Spotify is that I can focus on exploring new music and combine my local tracks with the streaming ones. It’s $9.99 for the unlimited service (to use mobile apps), but is completely worth the cost. What sucks is there is no iPad app yet and blowing up the subpar iPhone app isn’t too appealing. (Free, $4.99 or $9.99 for premium which includes use with mobile apps)

Dropbox for Desktop, iOS & Android became my new flash drive to store and share music, pics & files

Dropbox is simply awesome! I use it for work, as a flash drive and to store all the files and folders I use the most. It’s my very own webspace to store any file I want and access from my desktop or app. I’ve began using it more in 2011 for transferring music and pictures to my computer and devices. I’ve shared a file as big as 1GB with a friend by simply sending the public link for them. I took advantage of Box.net’s 50GB free for life opportunity, but the truth is that Dropbox is a much better service, despite only being free up to 2GBs. It’s my new flash drive. (Free on the desktop, Android Market, App Store, etc for up to 2GBs of storage)

The list above is a personal list that impacted me in 2011. A few other of my favorites include Roku, Apple TV, my iProp iPad stand, iMovie and Fantastical. Of course I have a ton of other Android and iPad apps that I have already covered that are absolutely fantastic. Now it’s your turn. Which gadgets, apps or techy things helped change your daily habits in 2011?

Five Kick-Ass Kickstarter Projects Worth Backing

Brian Mongold — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:07:49 +0000

One of my favorite sites to keep tabs on is Kickstarter, a great place for project developers and us all to discover some cool stuff from a variety of developers, artists, etc. You can use Kickstarter to help fund projects from the creative fields of Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater, so you’ll find a wide range of great projects on the site.

I’ve recently backed a few projects, to include the Wishbhone listed below, which I can’t wait to get my hands on.

Through browsing countless projects, here are the ones that caught my eye. Though each developer of the projects below appreciate even $1 to back their project, I specified the level of rewards that will let you be among the first to get your hands on them by backing a minimum of the amount specified. I tried to choose those that are both useful and affordable. Each have also met and exceeded their funding request.

Hidden Radio & BlueTooth Speaker by John VDN & Vitor Santa Maria

Stats: 2747 backers, $488K raised (390% funded), will be funded on January 18th

The HiddenRadio & Bluetooth Speaker is a 80dB capable speaker that wirelessly supports iPhone, iPad, Android and all other Bluetooth capable devices. It sports a minimal design, utilizing a simple twisting motion to turn on or off the speaker. Upon twisting and lifting the cap, your device will connect and volume will be gradually increased the further you turn it. My favorite part is the ability to switch between multiple speakers through your home (think Sonos).

Rewards: Backing this product for $119 or more will give you one metallic silver speaker with free shipping (retails for $175). Pledging $229 or more gets you two speakers in metallic silver or graphite black with free shipping. $449 or more will give you 5 speakers in your choice of color.

Elevation Dock: The Best Dock for iPhone by Casey Hopkins

Stats: 4141 backers, $395K raised (527% funded), will be funded on February 11th.

Elevation Dock is an iPhone dock built to work with or without your iPhone in its’ case. Another feature with the dock is the ease of undocking. In addition to the Elevation Dock, the creator also offers the Elevation Dock+ that comes with a shielded line level audio out and USB power adapter. The Dock+ is available in the Apple bead finish or matte black. Additional green or sun orange multi-shades are available exclusively to Kickstarter backers.

Rewards: Pledging rewards starts at $59, giving you one glass beaded finish dock (retails at $90) and has various tiers of rewards up to $500.

LunaTik Touch Pen: The Evolution of the Stylus by Scott Wilson & MINIMAL

Stats: 1615 backers, $120K raised (159% funded), will be funded February 10th.

The LunaTik Touch Pen is a stylus combines an ink pen and digital pen into one to let you seamlessly transition from writing notes on paper to your iPad or touch device. The pen is quite elegant and is made of aircraft grade aluminum barrel, with a die cast clip hard coated with PVD plating and a high grade silicone rubber grip. Their patent-pending dual mode tip lets you transition between paper and the touch screen.

Rewards start at $30, giving you a 2-pack of LunaTik pens (arctic white and pitch black) and has tiered rewards all the way up to $500.

The SLUG – Portable keychain that saves streaming audio by Kenny Gibbs

Stats: 337 backers, $13.6K raised (137% funded), will be funded December 24th.

The SLUG, is a portable keychain that records audio streamed on your computer, MP3 player, mobile phone, etc. The SLUG comes with software that automatically splits up tracks based on the silence and organizes tracks into folders of separated MP3 and WAV files. The software records at a seemingly loss level of sound. It’s compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux.

Rewards begin at $25, with the soundslug software suite and a high quality bendable keychain (retails at $30). Tiered rewards go up to $250.

Wishbhone – the new clever earphone cord manager by Jarkko Tiainen+Tappi Honkavaara+Markus L

Stats: 683 backers, $14K raised (143% funded), will be funded on January 15th.

Wishbhone lets you coil your earphones for storage, keeping them locked into the holder. The patent-pending holder channel lets you integrate it into your earphones to keep it with you while on the go. It’s also useful for shortening your earphones. The design is simple, functional and looks great.

Rewards begin at $10, giving you one white Wishbhone, a thanks on their website and a thank you tweet. Tiered rewards go up to $130.

Have you started or backed any projects on Kickstarter? Let me know what you think of the projects above.

Wake Up With Bongiorno – Good Morning! for iPad

Brian Mongold — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:20:16 +0000

Faqden Labs, developers of notable apps such as IntelliVocab, Trailhead and PowerVocab, just launched a brand new free iPad app.

Bongiorno – Good Morning! is a Free iPad news reader app that integrates Twitter, weather and alarm functionality into its’ interface. To make for a more visually satisfying wakeup, the app lets you choose from a variety of background images based on the weather and time. The intent of the app is to better organize your mornings, giving you a centralized interface to give you your early morning needs.

Let’s first examine the home screen, which is ultimately your control panel for the app. A high resolution image that correlates to the time and weather serves as the background. A navigation bar along the top of the screen has buttons that consist of home, news, weather and sleep mode. Additionally, a settings button provides configuration options for each component. Directly below the settings wheel, you’ll find a Twitter button to tap and reveal Tweets from your timeline. Though the app icon shows a Facebook icon, this functionality isn’t currently available but I’d guess it will be included in the one of the next updates.

The app currently only displays in portrait mode, but hopefully the developer will add landscape mode in the future.

The bottom of the screen has an off-white shelf with a small weather/date block, time, coffee icon linking to the developer’s site and an annoying animated banner that stretches across the very bottom of the screen.

The heart of the app is the news section, which I unfortunately had some issues with crashing after customizing the categories and sources. You can read news with a simple tap of the news icon from home screen.

Customizing the news section is made through settings. You can add/delete categories and manually add new sources by typing the name and RSS URL of your favorite sites.When I was able to work within the app, it had a bit of a Pulse type display of sources/content. Upon tapping to open the full articles, the article expanded but only partially as a portion by other article cover flow. I’d personally prefer the ability to launch an article to full screen or access the original source.

The news section consists of popular sources such as TechCrunch, Engadget, BBC, CNN, Time, CNET, ESPN and Forbes organized into the default categories Tech, Business, Politics and Entertainment. As you delete categories, new ones are displayed.

Managing categories and sources could use an improvement since you can’t really browse the additional categories without first deleting one of those displayed. Hopefully the developer also considers adding more sources or a button to search for sources rather than manually typing a URL for every source. Another shortfall is the inability to remove the default sources from the list.

Another key component of the app is the alarm section. You can add multiple alarms, selecting the time and date, choice of seven tones and an option to have the alarm recur weekly or daily. This section, coupled with the sleep mode button worked well in my tests. My only fear was that the app would crash and I’d miss the alarm. However, it’s important to note the only crashes I observed were due to tapping the news icon.

The Weather component is nice, but for some reason I can’t get it to retain the city I saved so after relaunching the app I see Cupertino, CA each time. The strange thing is the display shows Cupertino, CA with my current time (Eastern Standard).

The Twitter drop down window is very nice, displaying the 8 latest Tweets. However, you can currently only read Tweets as there is no functionality to reply, retweet, etc. The annoyance with Twitter occurs when relaunching the app, which forced me to login again each time.

Overall, I really appreciate all the included components this app provides. I would personally categorize it more as a utility rather than a news app. It’s a bit like Nightstand Central, but falls a bit short. The bugs I found in the app, particularly with the crashes and my customizations failing to save after relaunch, prevents me from recommending a download. Bongiorno does have solid potential with the great development team behind the app. Keep an eye on this app. Once the quirks are worked out and the developer offers an ad-free version of the app, I can see it being competition for my Nightstand Central app.

21 Best iPad Apps in 2011 – One App Selected For Each Category (Part 3)

Brian Mongold — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:52:18 +0000

Part 1 (1 – 7) | Part 2 (8 – 14) | Part 3 (15 – 21)

15. Evernote (Productivity) is rated 4.5 stars with 2938 ratings. The app has won plenty of awards & was even inducted into the Apple “App Hall of Fame.” Evernote calls itself “an extension of your brain,” by providing the best note and idea platform/database. Create text, photo and audio notes and sync them across just about every platform. It’s quick and easy to search and find notes you need. I have almost 100 notes that consist of study material, manufacturer information for appliances, vehicle information like my vin number, passwords and plenty others. Dropbox is a close 2nd for me in this category. (Free)

16. WolframAlpha (Reference) is rated 4.5 stars out of 361 ratings. This app specializes in computation, using algorithms and data to compute answers and generate reports. WolframAlpha is also integrated into Siri provides solutions and a reference for math problems, statistics, physics, chemistry, materials, engineering, astronomy and more. ($2.99)

17. MyPad+ (Social Networking) is 4 stars out of 1053 ratings. It’s the 5th highest grossing Social Networking app. You’d think this category would be loaded with quality apps with the big three in Facebook, Twitter, Skype and Google+. However, this isn’t the case as the official apps have both issues and limitations. MyPad+ has a nice user interface and does best with Facebook, but also integrates Twitter. It sports a similar panel view to that of Twitter’s official app, displaying multiple window panes on the same screen.

18. College Bowl Guide 2011-2012 (Sports) is rated 5 stars out of 31 ratings. The app was just released this month, but bests a weak class of Sports applications. The interactive app will look familiar as it’s from the makers of The Daily. You’ll get the latest news, full pages for each Bowl game, videos and more. (Free)

19. TripIt – Travel Organizer – FREE (Travel) is rated 4.5 stars with 590 ratings. This app does all the work for you scanning your email for hotel, airfare and rental car confirmations and automagically builds your itinerary so it’s ready when you need it. It takes all your trip details and organizes it into one useful itinerary, syncing with your iPad calendar. TripIt is my go-to app when I’m on the road. (Free)

20. Air Video (Utilities) is rated 4.5 stars out of 49 ratings. This app lets you stream your video collection on your iPad with live conversion. The app works over your WiFi connection and 3G. You’ll need to install the free desktop software for your PC or Mac to stream and convert the videos. Either stream videos from your computer or let the app convert and store it for you. ($2.99)

21. Fahrenheit – Weather and Temperature on your Home Screen (Weather) is rated 4.5 stars out of 447 ratings. It’s the 4th highest grossing Weather app for iPad. There are some other great weather apps available, but I personally prefer a more feature-based app, than visual. What I like about this app is that it displays the current temperature on the app icon and notifies you when there is a change in the weather. The app has a ton of other features such as feels like temperature, 10-day forecast, sunrise/sunset, wind direction and more. ($0.99)

Choosing one app per category sure was tough to do, but I had to mention a few other favorite apps that are worthy of being among the Top Apps in 2011.

Dropbox (Productivity) is 4 stars, 648 ratings. Save files, pics, videos & more on Dropbox and access them from anywhere. (Free)

AppAdvice (News) is 4.5 stars, 531 ratings. All the best app news & reviews. They are also giving away some great prizes for the holidays. (Free)

Spotify iPhone App (Music) 3 stars, 92 ratings. The app is just ok, but the service is amazing letting you stream music you want.

Did I miss any of your favorite apps? Surprised to not see any apps in particular? Let me know what you think of the apps listed.

Five Free Apps » ipad

How To Kill iPad And iPhone Apps Running In The Background

Control And Rule Your Remote With iRule

Boxee For iPad Enhances Your Boxee Box Experience

My Jailbroken iPhone Displays Apps In A Small Screen! Here’s How You Can Fix It

Top 10 Funded iOS Products On KickStarter

10 Innovative iPad Accessories Hitting The Market Soon (Or Already Available)

Oceanhouse Media Releases “Dr. Seuss – If I Ran The Zoo” Digital Book For iOS & Android

About Oceanhouse Media

Top 10 Five Free Apps Posts Of 2011 – Android “Makes It Rain” Page Views

Top 10 Five Free Apps Posts Of 2011

Gadgets, Software & App Goodies That Enhanced My Tech Life In 2011

Five Kick-Ass Kickstarter Projects Worth Backing

Wake Up With Bongiorno – Good Morning! for iPad

21 Best iPad Apps in 2011 – One App Selected For Each Category (Part 3)

Part 1 (1 – 7) | Part 2 (8 – 14) | Part 3 (15 – 21)

Part 1 (1 – 7) | Part 2 (8 – 14) | Part 3 (15 – 21)