So I’ve managed to borrow an iPad for a few months. Exciting…well that’s what I thought but I’m not so sure anymore. My problem is I don’t know what to use it for.
Let me first set the scene. I have a laptop which I haul into work everyday and home again in the evening. At home we have a PC in the kitchen which is always on and connected to the internet. In my pocket I have an iPhone.
When I took charge of this iPad I was really excited about using it and to see how my wife and kids were going to use it. Straight away I installed the Twitter (for the iPad) app. So far so good. The app definitely provides a better user experience above that of the iPhone version. I can, for example, see shared links inline rather than having to open them in Safari. Next I downloaded the iPads’ Facebook app…. hang on, there isn’t one. Can you believe that? Disappointment starts to set in. Undeterred I go searching for ePaper apps. I decided to download the The Irish Times or The Irish Independents ePaper app so that I could purchase and peruse the paper while eating my Cheerios. Mmmm, not so fast. If you are to believe the customer reviews on the App Store, and I have no reason not to, they are rubbish. Ok, so forget about an ePaper app. What else can I get? AccuWeather, we love AccuWeather in our house (typically Irish, constantly wanting to know when the sun is going to come out). Alas, AccuWeather don’t have an iPad app. Sure, I can install their iPhone app on the iPad and double it’s size so that it takes up most of my nice new big iPad screen but hey, I want to move forwards not backwards. Forget AccuWeather. Let’s see, anything else? Found it. A few free games for the kids, which take good advantage of the accelerometer, and some stories from StoryChimes.
Maybe, I thought, I am trying to hard to find that “killer” app. Why not just use what is on it …. Safari and YouTube. All very nice, but I have a PC in the kitchen and a laptop at my desk. So, I pondered, when am I going to use it? So far it’s been on the couch while “watching” the box. There is no doubt that I am consuming more information now than before, I spend more time reading work related articles and it’s great for lying back and watching some Adobe TV clips. My wife occasionally uses it to check up on the latest fashion or dream about holiday destinations we probably wont ever get to.
The funny thing is, if you were to say “give it to me so, I’ll use it”, I’d reply “no way, it’s mine”. I live in hope.
Hay john,
Ipad is great for looking up content. You will love some of the RSS readers. I highly recommend flipboard(free) to turn your facebook and twitter into a magazine which brings in the links people post.. just lately i started making a list on twitter of my favorite people to follow so my flipboard has that list.. it really is a top app.
Other apps i really love are;
sky news(live tv)
logmein (see and control your desktop from anywhere with a wifi/3g connection)
TED(ted talks)
Wordpress
IM+ pro
Dropbox
Pages+keynote
Smartpad(one of the best calendar/to do list apps around)
iCabMobile(out of all the browsers ive used and paid for this is tops, with its tabs that you can flip through by sliding your finger as well as other guesters, dropbox support and loads of in built plug ins give you a lot of power)
Oh and yes facebook officially isnt on ipad so get MyPad+
I’m a dj so i use Djay as well as sample player apps as back up at gigs
Painters use conductive styluses and brushes with painting apps and create amazing art.
Follow http://www.ipadcreative.com/ and all there tips on how to be creative on the iPad
Don’t get plants vs zombies…. ever!! no one will see you for months
lol
Most of all enjoy
Thanks Brian. I have installed flipboard and am loving it (similar to pulse). I’ll be checking out the others as soon as I get a chance.
John