It’s only been a few weeks with the iPad 2, but here’s my take on what productivity apps are my favorite.
1) iThoughts HD [iTunes]
Great mind-mapping app on iPad. Easy to use and auto-align has to be one of the most gratifying features to use after you’ve plotted out a giant mind map. I use it to organize all my client work, projects, statuses, etc. Great for seeing your life at a glance.
2) Flipboard [iTunes]
Presents your social media and selected websites in a magazine format. Great way to visually browse links that pop up on your twitter, Facebook or Google Reader feeds. Awesome for sharing, liking, browsing.
3) Kayak HD [iTunes]
Every few weeks I find myself scanning hipmunk.com, expedia.ca or any number of other travel sites, booking a business trip. Kayak HD is the iPad app for Kayak (aka Sidestep.com) - it does a great job of search flights, packages, showing off deals from selected airports, etc. I still like hipmunk.com for its ease of use though.
4) Evernote [iTunes]
Centralized note-taking. I have the Evernote client on my iPad, iPhone, and MacBook Pro. Returned to using it only recently, so still trying to integrate it into my workflow.
5) Reeder for iPad [iTunes]
As much as I fail to keep up with all my RSS feeds, when I do get around to reading them, Reeder for iPad is an excellent interface. The iPad’s strength is really consumption and sharing (not creating, for the most part) and Reeder is the perfect app for that.
6) Air Display [iTunes]
If I’m honest with myself, I like Air Display more conceptually than in practice. It allows your iPad to be used as a second monitor for your laptop or desktop, wirelessly. Sounds great, but the low res (1024x768) coupled with the latency wifi introduces means it’s not super practical. Maybe it will get better one day.
7) Dropbox [iTunes]
Who hasn’t heard of the king of file sharing, Dropbox. I store nothing on my laptop alone, so all my files are on Dropbox (and backed up by another service as well). So by using the Dropbox iPad app, I have access to all my files on the go.
8) Instapaper [iTunes]
I am sure everyone’s familiar with Instapaper (save articles for later offline reading). I only have the wifi iPad, so there are plenty of times where I am connection-less (i.e. on an old plane) and want to plow through my reading backlog. Instapaper can serve up those articles I had marked as “Read Later.”
9) Twitter [iTunes]
The official Twitter app for iPad is nothing remarkable and is probably in need of a makeover, but it’s pretty indispensable as far as iPad twitter clients go. I’ve also started evaluating Hootsuite’s iPad app, so we’ll see if that’s any better.
10) Kindle [iTunes]
When I got my iPad, I could sense my Kindle’s days were numbered. I still like the Kindle, but the sexiness of the iPad has me using it more than my 2nd gen Kindle. By getting the Kindle app on iPad I get all the books I already owned and colour/photos for the ones that support that. Pretty cool.
One more thing…
If you’re looking for the best app for Gmail or Facebook, your choices are somewhat limited on iPad.
The native email app, when configured via Exchange, facilitates push Gmail the same way it has for ages on iOS devices. But all of Gmail’s features are not supported (stars, labels, etc). Accessing Gmail via Safari on iPad is an experience many times more satisfying.
For Facebook addicts, Friendly is a decent (somewhat slow to load and rough around the edges), third party app that gives you access to most Facebook features. You can also use Flipbook, as mentioned above, but that doesn’t give you access to your inbox and all the nooks and crannies of FB. I’ve fallen back on Safari again for FB access, which defaults to the www site (not the mobile site, which might be better). So right now my Facebook iPad experience is suboptimal.
Anyone out there got apps (not games) they could recommend?
