Useful iPad Apps

To complement my list of useless iPad apps, here's a list of useful iPad apps ... apps I use daily. The list is in no particular order:

• Google search for iPad. Love the hands-free voice search feature. Beyond search, this app also provides a portal to all of my Google App services. One negative is that the Google Search app does not afford easy switching between Google accounts.
• Safe Gmail for the iPad. This app provides for easy switching between multiple Google accounts. A real frustration reducer.
• Gmail for the iPad. If/when Google enables quick account switching, this will be my go-to app for email. On the margin, the archieve and trash icons are too close together. It is too easy to trash a message by mistake.
• MobileRSS for the iPad. I keep hoping that Google will publish a reader app that is as convenient as the Google Reader for Android. Until that happens, MobileRSS, is my go to feed reading app. MobileRSS integrates seamlessly with my Google Reader account. It also makes sharing posts via Twitter , email, Facebook, etc. a simple two-tap process.
• Safari. Safari is an OK browser. The recent addition of Chrome-like tabs is a mixed blessing. The tabs use precious screen real estate. I rather liked Safari's previous "view all open windows" navigation scheme.
• WSJ for the iPad. Because of this app, I now prefer to read the Wall Street Journal on my iPad, rather than the dead trees version. Dow Jones is to be commended for this!
• DrudgeReport for the iPad. What can I say?
• Facebook for iPad. This app is better than accessing FB via Safari, but that's not saying much.
• Twitter for the iPad. As with the FB app, the Twitter iPad app beats accessing Twitter via Safari. However it's annoying and confusing to use. Why, for example, is the compose new tweet button located at the bottom left of the window?
• WeatherBug for the iPad. My favorite weather app.
• Google Maps. Gmaps on the iPad is just as useful as it is on the Android platform. Endless fun.
• Google Earth. Ditto. Fun to pinch to zoom and swipe to relocate the earth.
• Netflix. Gotta have it.
• Kindle for the iPad. Essential for accessing and reading our household library of Kindle books.
• Kno Textbooks. Useful for organizing technical reports and other documents in PDF format.

The iPad's lack of Flash support means that I cannot access the vast media library that accompanies my Amazon Prime account and makes impossible use of the myriad websites that use Flash.

See my companion post: Useless iPad Apps.