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The iPad may be the device of the rich, but no matter what your socioeconomic status, it’s never fun to shell out for an app and end up disappointed in your purchase. Considering that the iPhone’s strong gaming heritage has carried over to Apple’s tablet device, the danger of picking up a sub-par paid title is arguably high.

With iPad app counterparts running significantly higher in cost than their tinier mobile cousins, it’s more useful than ever to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. We went hands-on with a number of popular paid titles in the Games category of the App Store to cull the following list for you, which represents some of the best that the still-early days of iPad gaming has to offer.

Still, there are sure to be great paid iPad games we’ve missed in this list, so please do share your favorites in the comments.

1. Civilization Revolution

If you’ve played any version of Sid Meier’s award-winning Civilization franchise, you’ll be instantly familiar with the iPad app. It compares very favorably with the versions of Civilization Revolution that brought the original PC strategy series to consoles, and will have a very small learning curve for anyone who has played the title on other platforms.

If you’re not already familiar with the franchise, it may be easier to think of Civilization as a modern-day version of Risk, in which you choose a historical figure to lead your civilization in a turn-based scaled progression of time. As you turn your tiny village into a thriving metropolis, animated advisers help guide you through the finer points of diplomacy with your adversaries and scientific advancement through research. Unlike Risk, however, there is more than one path to victory — in addition to world domination, you can also win a match by technological advancement, cultural growth, or economic achievement.

Several difficulty levels allow you to scale up as you master the various aspects of the game. If you’re already a fan of Civilization or the strategy and management genre in general, our only caveat is the many hours you may lose to this $12.99 title.

Get it: Civilization Revolution for $12.99

Read more at: mashable.com

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By Peter Cohen

30 Must Have Games for the iPhone and iPod touch. That garnered your attention and plenty of comments, so we’re happy to present its natural sequel, 15 Must Have Games for the iPad.

As with the first feature, let us underscore that we do not consider this to be a list of the best games for the iPad, or superlative games in any specific category. Instead, this is a collection of games vetted by The Loop as being fun to play and standouts for one reason or another. So please don’t take umbrage if you don’t see your favorite game listed. But by all means use the comment section below to share with other readers your thoughts on this list and any other iPad games you think are excellent.

Flight Control HD

Firemint wasted no time, hitting launch day for the iPad with a release of Flight Control HD, an updated version of its eminently popular iPhone air traffic control game. You rack up points by safely landing a variety of airplanes and helicopters onto their runways and landing pads. If any of them collide, the game is over. Firemint did more than just scale up the graphics to work on the iPad, however – Flight Control HD also adds new maps and a fun, quirky “3D” mode that provides the illusion of depth if you wear a pair of red/blue “anaglyph” glasses (not included, of course, but available in online, novelty shops and elsewhere).

Warpgate HD

Freeverse had been working on its ambitious action/RPG game Warpgate initially as an iPhone game, but the iPad caused them to pause the iPhone version and rework it initially as an iPad release. Envisioned as a touch-based variant on Elite or as a latter-day Escape Velocity for you Mac game enthusiasts, Warpgate puts you in the pilot’s chair of an interstellar spacecraft as you seek your fortune. You can deliver cargo, become a pirate, participate in missions that move a storyline along and more. The game’s graphics are exquisite, its scale is immense – three dozen star systems, each chock-full of planets and space stations to interact with, tons of different starships to control and lots more.

Read more: jkontherun.com

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Your iPad decisions don’t stop once you’ve settled on either the 3G iPad or the Wi-Fi-only model. There’s also the not-insignificant question of what apps deserve a space on your brand new mobile device.

App developers haven’t made that the decision easy for you. The number of choices in the App Store continues to climb upward, with developers now producing apps optimized to take advantage of the iPad’s features. Shortly after the iPad’s launch, Apple said that there were 3,500 iPad-optimized offerings in the App Store, and that number has only grown between then and now.

But not to worry. Over the past month, we’ve kept a close eye on the iPad-centric additions to the App Store–both iPhone apps updated specifically to add iPad features or standalone offerings designed solely for use on Apple’s new device. We searched across a wide spectrum of categories, from apps that help you get things done to offerings that keep you entertained. We paid special attention to apps that took advantage of the iPad’s unique features, most notably its expansive screen real estate.

The end result? A list of apps that we think are essential additions to any iPad. And after you’ve had a chance to look through our list over the next few days, we think you’ll agree.

In this installment, we’re focusing on paid apps–11 great applications in all. We’ll follow-up in part two with a list of essential iPad apps that won’t cost you a dime to download. Then, we’ll close out the week with a specific focus on iPad games. Let’s get things started.

1Password for iPad

1Password, which stores online passwords and other sensitive info, is a great addition to any Mac. The $7 iPad version from Agile Web Solutions is a worthwhile extension, syncing with your computer to let you take all that data with you–securely. As with the iPhone version, you can use the iPad app’s built-in browser to log in to secure Websites, or you can opt for a handy Safari bookmark that automatically switches to 1Password, finds the matching login info, and lets you switch back to Safari with the necessary password ready for pasting. But while the iPhone’s small screen makes browsing your confidential data less than ideal, the iPad version’s native interface is stellar–perhaps better even than the version for Mac. (The $15 version–1Password Pro–is a hybrid app that brings this functionality to all of Apple’s mobile handhelds at once.)–Dan Frakes

Air Video

Even with the highest capacity iPad, chances are you can’t load too much video into those 64GB of storage before you start running low on space. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just stream all those video files from your home Mac’s capacious hard drive? Air Video from InMethod lets you do exactly that. Install its server software on your Mac, enter the Server PIN in the $3 iPad app, and you’re ready to rock. (The hybrid app also works with the iPhone and iPod touch.) It doesn’t matter what format the original video is in: AirVideo can transcode it into an iPad-compatible file on the fly–or, if you prefer, you can queue a bunch of videos to be converted ahead of time. You can even choose which bitrates Air Video will use inside the application to optimize for slower connections, such as 3G.–Dan Moren

Read more: PCWorld.com

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Though there’s certainly much controversy about the iPad, there are many business professionals — perhaps like you — that have trooped out and bought one. Like the iPhone and iPod Touch, the real power is in the apps. This might be especially true for the iPad, where apps might be able to help make up for some of the lacking features: no multi-tasking, non-existent USB and SD, no phone or texting, and missing Flash support for the web browser.

Remember, all iPhone and iPod Touch apps should install and work on the iPad. However, given the bigger screen and feature differences, many developers are releasing another version specifically designed for the iPad. Most of the 21 apps you’re going to read about here are already adapted.

Sharing & Collaboration

1. Air Sharing HD

As you may know too well already, the iPad lacks a USB port, SD slot, or any removable storage support. Besides the $29 adapter kit, the Wi-Fi or 3G connection is pretty much all you have to transfer documents, photos, and other files in and out of the iPad. This $9.99 app leverages the Wi-Fi connectivity to make accessing and transferring files easy. It lets you mount the iPad as a drive on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer so you can drag and drop files. Additionally, its web-based interface lets you access the iPad from any web browser.

2. Skype

Though the iPad isn’t a phone, you can make and receive calls via the Internet phone provider Skype when connected to a Wi-Fi network. Remember, calls to or from other Skype users are free and unlimited landline/mobile calling is only a couple bucks a month. At the time of this writing, Skype is still working on 3G support and an app specifically designed for the iPad.

3. textPlus

Since the iPad isn’t a phone, you can’t send or receive SMS or MMS text messages, right? Wrong! You can email and participate in social networking with the iPad, so you shouldn’t have to pull out your phone just to text a colleague, friend, or family member. This free, AD supported, app lets you send and receive unlimited texts right on the iPad, without a phone number. Plus the app offers group texting features where you can join or start texting communities — its the new chatroom. To get rid of the ADs, purchase it for just $2.99.

4. Webex for iPad

If you ever participate in Webex meetings over the Internet, download this free app to attend or conduct meetings with your 3G or Wi-Fi iPad. You can see any shared documents, applications, or desktop. Plus you can collaborate with the other participants with voice and/or text chat. You don’t even need a WebEx account to attend, only to start meetings.

Read more: Datamation

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