iPad Apps I Use Most Often

By Gee Ekachai

When people asked me what iPad apps I’d recommend, it’s hard to come up with a short list. I have more than 100 apps on my iPad, many are free, but here are 20 apps I use most often (but not in a particular order). Some of them were included in Mashable’s 10 must-have iPad apps for new users.

Dropbox is a must for transporting files from my laptop to iPad. Cannot function without it!

Flipboard is a great way to read your tweet feeds and Facebook updates. You can also subscribe to a few websites and my favorites are Smitten Kitchen, Wired, and Bon Appetit. Gorgeous pictures. Read Engadget’s review here.

Talking about pictures, NY Post Pix shows what great photojournalism is all about. Captivating photos that tell stories (although its captions are quite non-traditional). You can “favorite” and/or save the photos you like on your iPad.

Friendly app came out at the right time when I started to get tired of reading Facebook updates via a tiny Facebook iPhone app.

Weather+ is similar to the Apple iPhone Weather app, but the free version allows only two cities. I still don’t know why Apple does not install its Weather app on the iPad, like they did with its iPhone.

PS Express, like its iPhone counterpart, is great for simple photo editing and a quick share on your Facebook wall. (But not on Twitter like the iPhone version.)

Boxcar alerts keeps me on top when Tweeps mentioned @fvrythingPR, my silly Twitter handle.

GoodReader, Documents to Go, and Evernote keep my document files in place, ready to share with others.

As a Twitter nut as I am, I’ve tried many Twitter apps.  When iPad was released almost a year ago, I had to give props to Twitterific that put out its free iPad version ahead of other vendors. It was good and functional at the time, but my favorites now are Osfoora HD and TwitRocker.  Each has a different interface, but overall I like Osfoora’s bigger font and TwitRocker’s handy tabs (Home, mentions, Mine, DM inbox, DM sent, and Favorites).

For e-readers, I have Apple’s iBook, Barnes and Nobles’ Nook, but I access ebooks via Amazon’s Kindle most often because that’s where I bought my ebooks. I wish though that these e-readers would allow “copy and paste” function. Note: iBook allows this with some of its free books.

Mashable app. My daily acumen. ‘Nuff said.

I use Apple’s factory installed Maps mainly to check on traffic. And why spending $200 for a Garmin when you can get GPS Drive HD for $2.99 with an optional package of 30-day voice guidance for $2.99 or $19.99 for a year.

OK, what about news apps, you ask? I am still in love with NPR and USA Today, both are free.  I’ve spent my hard earned money on Times, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and a few others, and I am not sure I would be willing to shell out $4.99 for a single issue. I also tried The Daily, recently launched by Rupert Murdoch’s camp. The jury is still out, as far as I am concerned. Some bugs need to be fixed but it is worth 99 cents a week if all the bells and whistles work.

For photos, since I am not a fan of computer-to-device sync, Transfer app really came to my rescue. Via WIFI you can transfer photos from your computer or iPhone to your iPad in seconds.

Last but not least, for an avid Delicious social bookmarking user like myself, DBD gives me a quick access to my Delicious account whenever I want.

Now I’d like to hear what your favorite iPad apps are.

Gee Ekachai is an Associate Professor and Major Representative for the Public Relations in the Diederich College of Communication.