OK, I’ll go first —
A little while ago, I was asked to put together my top five iPad apps.
So, here they are. Ready?
1. Chrome
I’m so late to the Chrome-across-multiple-devices party it’s ridiculous. I’ve used Chrome on the desktop for yonks, then I added it to my phone (at the moment: the Motorola RAZR i), and then I finally added it to my iPad. Sign-in sync is nothing short of a revelation.
Alright some of you are going to be reading this going ‘OH COME ON WHATLEY! HOW HAVE YOU NOT BEEN USING THIS?!’ – well, I haven’t. Deal with it.
But seriously, it’s ace. I’m on my MacBook Pro at work; I open up some tabs to read later and when I get on the tube on the way home? Boom, there’s my stuff waiting for me on my iPad. Brilliant.
2. Paper by Fifty-Three
I’ve been using Paper since March last year when I spotted an awesome write-up over on Read Write Web. Since downloading it I’ve used it for a TON of things. From sketching superheroes (and super villains) to inventing mind robots that know when you want a cup of tea.
Paper is magnificent. It’s not cheap (if you want all the bells and whistles) but it’s 100% worth the investment.
3. Spotify
When you absolutely positively gotta have music when you’re cooking in the kitchen: accept no substitute. My iPad is my portable stereo system when I’m around the house and Spotify, when linked with a fairly awesome bluetooth speaker (bought from Carphone Warehouse), follows me around the home everywhere. Winner.
4. Reeder
Geez, where do I start? Outside of browsing the web, I’d say this is probably my number one used app on my iPad. Pulling in the feeds from my Google Reader, Reeder is where I consume my web.
The best things about Reeder for iPad are as follows
- It’s my Google Reader, dammit!
- It downloads content to read offline (essential for commuting)
- Awesome sharing options (but no Tumblr – weird)
- Everyone I know swears by it
- I feel like it’s my friend – yes, that’s weird; and no, I don’t care.
5. Amazon Kindle
I use this app almost every day. Like Chrome, it’s mostly used on the commute to and from work; it’s the perfect accompaniment. And again like Chrome, I love the sync feature. I’ve got Kindle on all of my devices; I close the app on one device and when I open it on the next, it’s on the same page! It’s such a simple and easy thing but it makes ALL the difference.
And that’s that, in short: browsing, creating, listening, reading, and reading.
What’s on your iPad?