Essential Apps For The New iPad Owner | Part 1

Did you just get an iPad but are not sure what apps are the best to start out with?  With nearly 70,000 (as of this writing) iPad apps to choose from it’s hard to know which ones are essential as a new iPad owner.  Here is a guide you can use to help you pick some of the best apps for your new iPad.  We even broke this down into various categories of users to make it even easier.  Enjoy and feel free to share this out via twitter (the little twitter button works great) so others might benefit.

Essential Apps For iPad Owner (Part 1)

There you are staring at your new iPad.  It’s thin. It’s shiny. It’s naked.  There are no apps on it and you gaze at the app store in a fog because you don’t know which ones are the best to start off with.  Since there is money to be spent here, you want to make the right choices.  That’s where we come in.  Here are some essential apps for ipad, you, the new iPad user can enjoy with just the tap of a finger.  This is part 1 of a 3 part series. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week.

Essential Apps For iPad Owner | Business Edition

If you are going to primarily use your iPad for business then this is the list for you.  If you will be using it for both business and personal (90% of you) then there is another list down below called “Essential Apps For The General User”.

1.  Evernote

Turns your iPad into an extension of your brain helping you remember anything and everything. Syncs with Evernote online and your Mac/PC.

This used to be my #1 five star app, but since last update I can no longer email a note out. Every time I hit send after selecting my contact, the app crashes. I’ve contacted customer support twice and they have responded back to me, but say they have no fix yet. UPDATE: Evernote just did update that fixed the email issue. Now it’s back to a 5 star app

2.  Splashtop Remote Desktop ($4.99)

Bring your entire computer right to your iPad with full video and audio support. Support Windows and Mac.

This is the ONLY remote desktop app that streams video and audio from your PC or Mac, allowing you to interact with your PowerPoint, Keynote, Word, Excel, Outlook, Quicken, IE, Firefox, Safari, World of Warcraft, and other PC / MAC applications.

3.  Save2PDF ($6.99)

Create professional, great looking PDFs simply and easily right on your iPad without having to go near a computer.

Create professional, great looking PDFs simply and easily right on your iPad without having to go near a computer! Save2PDF will convert most file formats into a PDF including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Photos, Web Pages, Contacts and many more formats.

4.  Documents To Go Premium ($14.99)

Essential if you will be editing and working with MS documents, Google docs, Pages, etc.

DocsToGo, now in its 11th year, is developed by DataViz, Inc., a producer of quality software for Macs & PCs for over 25 years. DocsToGo is currently preloaded on millions of devices around the world, including BlackBerry, Android & others.

5.  GoodReader ($2.99)

One of the best PDF Readers you can get.  It does everything PDF-related besides create them.

GoodReader is the super-robust PDF reader for iPad – the #1 selling non-Apple app for iPad in USA in 2010! Mashable describes it as “a Swiss Army knife of awesome!” Reviews worldwide hail it as “essential,” “the best,” “magnificent” and “the killer app”. With GoodReader on your iPad, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures. Use it once and you’ll be hooked. Soon you’ll be wondering how you ever managed to use your iPad without GoodReader.

6.  Dropbox (Free)

Pretty much an essential if you will be storing files offline and using cloud storage services. Also, there over 50 apps which work with Dropbox.

7.  Print n’ Share ($8.99)

One of the best iPad printing apps that works with AirPrint and allows you to print to non-AirPrint devices as well

8.  Agendas ($9.99)

One of the best ways to create beautiful agendas for meetings or training. Plus, you can broadcast them to other iPads.

9.  2Screens Presentation Expert ($4.99)

An incredible app that helps you not only present your keynote presentations but it also has a handy app that turns your iPhone into a remote.

10.  Capturenotes ($4.99)

Perfect tool for capturing notes both written and audio and in fact you can capture audio while writing notes!

11.  Pages ($9.99)

If you are going to get a word processor then start with Pages. It creates great looking documents and has some stunning templates.

Essential Apps For The New iPad Owner (Multi-Purpose)

So maybe you just want to use your new iPad for general use and you don’t what apps are good to start with.  Here are some essential apps for the new iPad owner that will be using it mainly for general purpose use.

1.  CNN (Free)

If you are going to get a great news app, then start with this one. It’s done extremely well and offers up a visually stunning way to read the news.

2.  Angry Birds ($4.99)

You would be remiss to go without Angry Birds.  An addictive game played by millions around the world.  Yeah, I play it daily.

3.  Penultimate ($1.99)

My defacto standard for making sketches and drawings.  It’s like having a fresh sheet of ideas right there in front of you.

4.  Pages ($9.99)

If you are going to get a word processor then start with Pages. It creates great looking documents and has some stunning templates.

5.  GoodReader ($2.99)

One of the best PDF Readers you can get.  It does everything PDF-related besides create them.

6.  Skyfire ($4.99)

This is the app that lets you view Flash right on your iPad!

7.  Friendly Plus For Facebook ($0.99)

Since there is no official Facebook App for the iPad this is the closest you will get.

8.  Osfoora HD ($4.99)

Blazing fast and full features Twitter client for the iPad that is updated often and generally crash-free.

9.  Print N Share ($8.99)

One of the best iPad printing apps that works with AirPrint and allows you to print to non-AirPrint devices as well

10.  Weather+ ($1.99)

The perfect weather app to start off with.  It is accurate and visually appealing to look at as well.

11. Clock Pro HD (Free)

Just as good as the paid version this is an amazing alarm clock for your iPad that does everything but dress you in the morning.

12.  CalenGoo ($6.99)

If you use Google Calendars and want to access them on your iPad then this is the perfect app for that.

There are some essential apps for iPad owners.  There are, of course many more apps that you can and probably will get.  These ones represent what we believe are some of the best to start with and explore.  In part 2 of this series we will look at essential iPad apps for school and IT administrators.

See another Navy Federal Credit Union Apps For iPhone / iPad

Subscribe to our Rss Feed

We’ll send you updates and tutorials.