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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