iPad Apps & Accessories (Part 2)

Do you have an iPad yet?  If you don’t, perhaps it is time to consider it, especially if you are looking at purchasing something new in the near future.

With the release of the iPad 2 in March reducing the price and availability of the original iPad, it is easy to see why more people are purchasing it.  While you may be tempted to go with an Android or Blackberry tablet, neither measure up to what the iPad can do.  Back in September, I shared my favorite applications for the iPad and since then I have added some more to the list, including some of my favorite accessories.

Please keep in mind that if you are in the market for a new piece of technology like the iPad, understand what it is and what it isn’t.  The iPad is a great tool for “Casual Productivity” (e.g. emails, any kind of media, social networking, basic editing of documents/spreadsheets).  It is still not great at accessing any flash-based web application or creating longer documents, presentations, or spreadsheets.  If you’re main need is the latter, then do not get the iPad, because you will quickly be disappointed.

Here are some of my latest recommendations:

Productivity Apps:
1. Pages or QuickOffice ($10/each) for word processing needs.  QuickOffice still holds a slight edge for me because if its ease of use with cloud based storage like DropBox.
2.  Numbers ($10) for editing spreadsheets.  Hands down, the best one out there.
3.  Keynote ($10) for creating and editing presentations.  If you already have the full version of Keynote on your Mac, this is a great compliment and a real tease for those of us who don’t.  This may be the straw that breaks my back to purchase a MacBook  Deep down, I wish Prezi’s app was better, but it simply isn’t.

Media Apps:
1.  Air Video: ($3) Great for streaming video files from a PC or MAC in most media formats.
2.  Instapaper Pro ($5) Save web pages for later offline reading, optimized for readability.  Great way to save and organize web content for future reading.
3.  Tune In Radio: ($5) Listen to and record over 40,000 radio stations including thousands of AM/FM local stations.  You can even set a morning alarm and wake up to your favorite station.

Social Networking Apps:
1.  Hootsuite (FREE): Besides Osfoora HD, this is a great app to manage multiple social networking accounts.
2.  Gowalla for iPad (FREE): While I am typically a Foursquare user, Gowalla is starting to give them a run for their money when it comes to Location Based social networking.  Checking-In on Gowalla for iPad is fun and the badges are bigger and better. Give it a shot.
3.   GetGlue (FREE): Speaking of “checking-in”, you now can share your favorite books, TV shows, films, sporting events and much more by checking into them as you watch! GetGlue gives some great badges as well.

Utility Apps:
1.  Calculator HD ($1): Very cool calculator app, with a scrolling tape function.
2.  PhatPad ($8): This app combines free-form drawing, handwriting recognition, voice recording, and limited keyboard entry to create richer notes than the iPad Notes app
3.  Notability ($1):  Awesome app for those who take notes while recording lectures, presentations, and the like. Afterward, if you tap any text you entered, Notability will play back the audio recording from that point in time, so you can hear what was being said as you were typing.
4.  WaveRecorder ($2):  This is a simple audio-recording app for note-taking, which has a really important capability not found widely: It continues to record when you switch to other apps!

iPad Accessories:
1.  Apple Keyboard Dock ($69): We have used this to create a satellite work station anywhere in our facility.  Its light, portable and great for working at events as well.
2.  Apple Digital AV Adapter ($39): If you use the iPad to present, this is a must have.
3.  Sena iPad Leather Folio Case ($99):  This is the case I have for my original iPad. I like it because it reminds me of the old folios with paper inside of them I used to have.  This one has business card holders as well.  If you have an iPad2 and want this style of case, Sena makes those also!
4.  iPad Styluses:  Capacitive iPad Styra ($23) or Griffin’s Stylus ($20): Both are great stylus to use for handwriting on the iPad.  The Styra is very cool because the other end is an ink pen as well, but once the ink is out, it can’t be refilled.
5.  PropUp ($25): Very cool accessory for casual, professional, educational, or recreational iPad use!
6.  Snugg iPad 2 Car Headrest Mount Holder + Snugg iPad2 Leather Case ($50): Very cool if you have kids in the car that want to watch iPad movies on the go!

At work, I use the iPad with the idea of moving completely away from paper.  If there are meetings where I know handouts will be given out, I email the organizer ahead of time and ask him/her to email me a copy so I can have save it to DropBox and access/edit/annotate it anywhere.  Sharing meeting notes is easy via Evernote and I can always access additional meeting information online to make our meetings more efficient.  I love being able to multi-task as well.

Over the last year, the iPad has been a fantastic professional and personal device for me.  Whether you have the iPad or iPad2, I hope some of these apps will help you get more out of the device and move beyond using it for games or watching media!

What are your favorite iPad apps and do you still use your iPad the way you originally intended?