Jetshing's Blog

Got a shiny new iPad? Now you have to fill it with apps. But how do you know which to select?

There are myriad apps available for Apple’s iPad, but many are just iPhone apps that have been stretched to fit the iPad screen. Luckily, more and more apps are popping up specifically for the iPad, despite the fact that Apple restricted pre-release access to the tablet device.

To help users sort through them, Computer World recently went through and chose eight that are worth trying out. And best of all, some are free.

1Password for iPad
This app is already similar to the versions available for the Mac and iPhone in that it stores users’ personal information on everything from online passwords to credit card info. All the data is encrypted and can be organized into folders. The app costs $6.99, but is free as an upgrade for anyone who already has it for the iPhone. It’s also available for $14.99 for both versions.

Instapaper Pro
This app is for anyone who finds articles online but doesnt always have the time to read them. It allows users to store up to 250 articles that can be accessed through the site later. Previously an iPhone app, Instapaper benefits from the larger iPad screen. It’s available as a free upgrade to existing users. Otherwise it’s $4.99.

Kindle
Different from Apple’s iBooks app, Amazon’s Kindle allows people to use ebooks on any device. Better yet, it keeps their place in the book from device to device. Both apps are free, and books purchased through them have Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection on them.

Netflix
A free app available to anyone with an unlimited Netflix membership (which retails at $8.99 a month), Netflix allows users to watch films and television programs from their Netflix queue on the iPad. Its will keep track of where you left off when watching a show as well.

Pages
Apples Pages is a word processing app capable of importing and exporting documents to a Mac and Microsoft Word (version 97 and later). It has all the features one would expect on a word processor, though users should take note it cuts out some of the formatting of documents when importing. Pages is available for $8.99 as part of the iWork package for the iPad.

TweetDeck
TweetDeck for the iPad is a free Twitter app similar to its desktop version in that it utilizes customizable columns and shortens links in tweets. However, users should note that links cannot be clicked from columns; the tweet has to be separately opened first.

Things
Things is a control panel application that keeps track of to-do lists. The lists can then be organized into projects with start and due dates. Its also available for the iPhone and Mac and can synchronize projects between the three. Things for the iPad is $19.99 or $80 for a package deal with the Mac, iPhone and iPad.

The Weather Channel Max for iPad
The iPad doesnt come with a weather widget, so this free app from the Weather Channel is worth looking into. It features interactive maps as well as the local forecast
-BY Amanda Mastrull