Choosing the top free iPad apps is a tough task. There are over a hundred thousand apps today, many with very narrow target audiences and many that would interest a wide variety of iPad and mobile broadband users.
The user and developer communities have quickly found many uses for the iPad. From movie watching and book reading to face-to-face communications and social networking, new applications are popping up every day. If you’re still recovering from the iPad sticker shock, you may be looking for some economical apps to run. We’ve poured through the free ones, and here is our report for the very best must-have apps that will have you using your iPad every day and keeping your wallet free from yet more wear and tear.
Skype
The popular computer program is reproduced for the iPad. Full-screen video calling is essential for keeping in touch with distant loved ones. Parents of kids away in college will love this one. Voice-only calls and instant messaging are also included in the free iPad app.
Flipboard
Flipboard is your personal digital magazine. Taking information from your favorite websites and links from your Facebook and Twitter friends and followers, it displays up-to-date reading material that will be of most interest to you.
Twitter
The Twitter app was so successful and elegantly designed that it was the basis for Twitter’s online redesign for computers, as well. This app is slick and quick and arguably the best way to Tweet.
Windowshop
Windowshop is Amazon’s entry into the iPad arena, and it’s a good one. Effectively using the touch screen touches and swipes, it features larger pictures and a fast interface. This is a great way to shop from your favorite easy chair.
Google Earth
Although it lacks some of the features found in the computer version, like street views, this app is a gem when it comes to touch screen ease. You’ll be zooming around the world with the greatest of ease.
123D Sculpt
Here’s an app for the artist in you. Using the touch screen capabilities, touch, push and squeeze virtual clay into your own aesthetic masterpieces. Be creative. Children love it too.
Wired Magazine
This application is a natural for touch screen use. The U.S. app was among the first to use video and animation interactively, and the UK edition soon followed. If you like the magazine, you’ll love the app!
Vevo
Don’t miss any new music videos, and keep your favorite oldies right at hand with this great way to browse a great variety of videos.
Kindle
Use your iPad like a Kindle. It will sync your reading position across different devices. It has fewer visual distractions than Apple’s iBooks. It also sports the largest collection of ebooks available that can be downloaded to the device or to a computer and iPad via mobile broadband connection.
Zinio
This is a reader app with a huge collection of serial publications available. You can read single issues or subscribe and get every issue of your favorite titles. From sports to politics to popular culture, many types of publications are available.
AccuWeather
Here is a useful and entertaining app. Not only can you get your local weather reports, but there’s a lifestyle page that determines how that weather may affect your activities, like walking your dog or gazing at the stars with your amour.
Adobe Ideas 1.0
This digital sketchpad allows you to create your own simple vector-based drawings. You can even trace over photos or drawings which can have some interesting uses. Turn your drawings into PDF files and email them. A fifty-level undo feature keeps mistake anxiety at a minimum.
Dictionary.com – Dictionary and Thesaurus
Unlike some dictionary apps, this one is pretty fast because it works offline. Over a million words are included and about 90,000 thesaurus entries.
PCalc Lite
One thing critics have noted is the iPad’s lack of an internal calculator. PCalc Lite fills this hole. It is an excellent app full of features we wish were on the iPhone Calculator app.
When you first got your iPad, you may have noticed a similarity between the available apps and those made for the iPhone. There’s one noticeable difference; the iPad apps are almost always more expensive. With these free apps to start you out, you’ll be using your new iPad like a pro in no time without spending a bit.
With a strong background in technical information, Blake Sanders writes on behalf of broadband comparison site Broadband Expert. Blake’s specialties are mobile phones, internet provider news, and mobile broadband.
Note: Photo courtesy of yensid1998 via FlickR Creative Commons.
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