Tag Archives: ipad apps

Appy New Year: 10 Indispensable iPad apps you should be using this year (Part II)

30 Jan
Soundnote

More indespensable iPad apps

Here it is part dos…featuring some great productivity choices.  It really was hard to limit the list to just 10 favorites.

6.  Instapaper (Free)

What it does: Allows you to save interesting web pages you find for reading at a later point when you have time.

Why it’s great: Every day I find interesting web pages, people forward me interesting web pages, and I stumble on interesting web pages.  I don’t have time to read all of the “interesting” stuff I find during the day.  All I do is click on the “read later” button in my browser, and it is saved to my Instapaper account.  When I go to my iPad, click on Instapaper, I can then read the article at my leisure.  You don’t need an internet connection to read the article, but you do to sync your iPad to the web.

Worth noting: You are basically creating your own paper populated with the stories you want to read…how cool!

7. ReaddleDocs ($4.99)

What it does: A repository on your iPad for reading all of your downloaded   PDF documents.

Why it’s great: There are other PDF readers available, but none that do it so well.  It truly has become indispensible for me. When I want to have access to documents I have created, I save them as a PDF and store them on ReaddleDocs.  Bottom line, there are so many useful features to this product; I don’t have space to describe them all.  A must for anyone who downloads white papers, saves PDF documents, or receives PDF docs.

Worth noting: The key benefit to this product is how it connects your iPad to so many document sources such as Googledocs, Gmail, and even as a virtual drive on your PC.

8.  Teamviewer (Free)

What it does: Remote access and desktop sharing from your iPad

Why it’s great: When you need a quick and dirty way to logon to your computer at home or work remotely, it works seamlessly to give you access to your system.  I have gotten use to using my finger to replicate a mouse on my home PC…it really is great to email files you need when you are away from your computer.

Worth noting: There have been some discussion about security issues with remote access, but these are very rare.

9. Soundnote ($4.99)

What it does: This is a great app for taking notes on your iPad

Why it’s great: Soundnote allows you to both type your notes into your iPad while it records the information.  If you don’t get it all down, don’t sweat it.  Just tap on your text and the player skips to the audio portion that corresponds to your notes.  WOW…I could have really used that in college.

Worth noting: When you are done taking your notes, it is easy to share by emailing the audio and your notes as one document.

10. Quickoffice ($14.99) +GoogleDocs

What it does: Gives you MS Office capabilities on your iPad

Why it’s great: It is cheaper and in some ways more robust that the Apple offerings in this category.  Whenever you need to view or edit an Office doc you get as an email attachment, you can easily work in this program.  It certainly doesn’t replace you computer version, but it is very functional.  As well, it connects seamlessly to GoogleDocs for editing and sharing documents.  A great team!

Worth noting: If you want to use your iPad to do PowerPoints, you need this app to be able to project your presentations.

So here it is…my top ten.  I will add 10.5 by saying that Pinball HD app is worth every penny.  It really is like playing pinball…I love it!  Let me know what you think and if I missed a really special app.

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Appy New Year: 10 Indispensable iPad apps you should be using this year (Part 1)

16 Jan


top ten best ipad applications

Happy New Year!  It is the time of year where I often like to take stock of my personal and business life.  I want to ensure that I am going in the right direction, changing things up, and hopefully, doing a few things better.  I also like to challenge the way I have done things in the past and begin incorporating new ways to work smarter, get more information, and enjoy my downtime.  So, it is with my good wishes (and a bit of bias) that I offer up my list of those apps that are indispensable and you should start using, if you aren’t already, on your iPad.

One quick caveat….I am an Apple guy and, in fact, am writing this on my iPad.  So these suggestions are for iPad users.  Many of these apps are also available for Android tablets, iPhones, etc., but this list will be focused in the Apple apps for the iPad.

1.  Spring pad (Free)

What it does: Creates a single point of contact for all the information you want to remember including bookmarked pages, movie recommendations, products you want to purchase, and tasks you want to complete.

Why it’s great: First, it organizes information into a searchable database where you can easily locate it.  Second, it enhances the information with prices, pictures, reviews, etc.  Finally, it syncs everywhere from your browsers tool bar, to your iPhone, and to your iPad.  It’s literally like your second brain…only with better memory than your firstJ

Worth noting: I love all the apps mentioned in this blog, but this is, hands down, my favorite.  You must try it out!

2.  Flipboard (Free)

What it does: Creates a customized magazine of news on the topics you think are important such as business, technology, green, etc. and turns your social media feeds like Twitter and Facebook into a vibrant magazine.

Why it’s great: Flipboard is a truly innovative interface that turns news from the web into “pages” that you can “flip” through.  But, the feature that I love is how each Twitter feed of only 140 characters is transformed into a full featured article complete with pictures, video, and full text.

Worth noting: OK…I didn’t get it for this reason, but it was named Apple’s iPad App of the Year, so that must mean something.

3.  Friendly Plus (99 cents)

What it does: It’s Facebook for the iPad

Why it’s great: If only Facebook could figure out how to create an interface that is so logical and intuitive.  I guess it took a third party to figure that out.

Worth noting: Can’t understand why Facebook hasn’t come out with its own iPad app.  In the mean time, I am not waiting and certainly am not missing it.

4.  Wall Street Journal (Free- but requires online WSJ subscription)

What it does: Provides the full daily issue of the newspaper in an intuitive digital interface.

Why it’s great: When a publication is designed from the bottom up to work on the iPad, it shows.  It is quicker to get through the digital version that the traditional paper.  I love the ability to easily forward articles to people and file articles in categories, so I can refer to them later.  Finally, the integration of video is excellent.  Many times I will listen to the video instead of reading the article.

Worth noting: Since downloading this application, I no longer look at my print version.  It is everything that the iPad hopes to achieve in delivering a better experience than the traditional medium.

5.  Netflix (Free-but requires a subscription to Netflix)

What it does: Streams movies and videos from the massive Netflix library

Why it’s great: As long as you have a Wi-Fi connection it is easy to catch up on all of the movies and TV shows Netflix has available to view.  I am blown away by the quality of the videos.  While dependant on the Wi-Fi connection, the images are generally un-pixilated and clear.  If you need to stop viewing, you can always resume where you left off…of course!

Worth noting: Netflix has become the source for every device/service looking to provide video on demand on the web.  After using this app, I am convinced this is the future and the cable companies should be scared.

Hope you enjoy the list…stay tuned for part 2 next week!

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