75 Best iPad Apps -1

 Considering its impact on the portable computing space, it's amazing to think that the iPad platform has only been around for a little more than a year. Still, in its relatively brief existence, the iPad and iPad 2 have revolutionized the tablet market—not only for its sleek form factor and ease of use, but for the wide variety of appsthat are available for it.

The Apple App Store lets users expand their iPad's abilities with new software that ranges from the business-centric to the highly entertaining. The sheer number of apps, unfortunately, can make it difficult for someone to find the ones worth downloading. Consider this: As of January 2011, there were over 350,000 apps available for download. As a result, it may prove challenging to figure out which iPad apps are the best. So let us provide a helping hand.

In compiling this list of the 75 best iPad and iPad 2 apps, we focused mainly on the ones that aren't just larger versions of iPhone and iPod touch apps, but deliver unique and compelling tablet-based experiences all their own. And to make finding apps even easier, we've broken them down by category: Social networking, Business, Communication, Games, Entertainment, Creativity, and News, Reference, and Information. Unless stated, all of the apps are compatible with the iPad and iPad 2.

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It should be noted that iPad and iPad 2 apps tend to carry a higher price than their iPhone counterparts. Still, many of the apps listed here are free, or cost less than $10. That's may be pricey by iPhone standards where .99 cents rules the roost, but compared to desktop software it's a bargain—and there isn't a dud in the bunch. Install them all, and you'll be well on the way to an excellent tablet computer experience. You can either navigate our list via the 75 Best iPad Apps slideshow above or via the pages that follow. If a particular application catches your eye, click through to the full review to learn more.

Got a beef with an app we liked, or an app you'd like to suggest for the next version of this story? Let us know in the comments. And don't forget to check out our roundup of the best iPad business apps, and the best iPad games.

Social Networking Apps
AIM for iPad to Yelp

AIM for iPad

Free
AIM for iPad has some social networking issues—namely, you can't retweet or direct message friends when using the built-in Facebook and Twitter clients—but it's a solid app for those with contacts that primarily use AOL's messaging service.

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Friendly

$0.99
Facebook still hasn't released an official iPad app, but Oecoway's Friendly app, which features an excellent layout reminiscent of the Facebook Web site, is a fine substitute for the social networker who doesn't want to upload tons of photo or video.

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Hootsuite
Free
HootSuite allow users to create numerous social network streams and view them in a clean, friendly interface, dispatching messages to multiple networks simultaneously.

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Twitter for iPad
 
Free
Crafting new tweets may prove irritating due to an overcrowded screen, but the Editors' Choice award-winning Twitter for iPad is the best mobile Twitter client around, hands-down.

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TweetDeck for iPad

Free
It may not support social networks such as Facebook or location-based services such as Foursquare, but TweetDeck for iPad is a respectable Twitter reader with an intuitive interface and accurate geo-tagging.

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Yelp

FreeYelp's iOS app brings the Web site's reviews and recommendations to the iPad, but diehard Yelpers will miss a handful of features that didn't get ported to Apple's tablet.

Business and Productivity Apps
AirDisplay to Save2PDF

AirDisplay 1.2 for iPad

$9.99
A second monitor can be a boon to productivity, as you can keep Outlook, Twitter, or other potentially distracting work element on a second screen. That's where Avatron's Air Display comes in: It turns your iPad into a wireless second LCD monitor for your Mac or PC.

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Bento

$4.99
Bento is an extremely flexible organizational app that can get your business or your everyday life in order courtesy of 25 ready-to-use database templates.

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Citrix Go To My PC

Free
GoToMyPC for iPad makes it simple to control your computer while away from your work area, but the lack of multitasking support, and latency issues, may dampen the experience.

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Dragon Dictation

Free
Featuring very accurate voice transcription and the ability to share messages via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, Naunce's dictation app is both fun to use and immensely helpful—as long as you're connected to the Web.

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Dropbox for iPad

Free
Simple to use and extremely useful, this file synchronization app will keep all of your files in step, but the lack of built in file editing, and other limitations, may prove irritating.

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FileMaker Go

$39.99
FileMaker Go is a well-designed iPad app that lets you access database information from the palm of your hand. It lacks synchronization and the ability to create files, but it's yet another solid iPad business app.

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GoodReader
 
$4.99
When it comes to reviewing, editing, archiving, and sharing text, it's difficult to top this excellent iPad app.

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iWork for iPad
 
$9.99 each for Keynote for iPad, Numbers for iPad, and Pages for iPad
iWork is an impressive debut for a tablet-based application suite, and one of the best arguments for getting an iPad.

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Monster.com Jobs

Free
Monster.com, one of the leading online employment services, makes job-hunting couch-compatible with its fun, free iPad app.

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Power.ME HD

$29.99
Chock full of task- and project-management tools, this iPad app will find favor with most mobile professionals.

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Save2PDF

$9.99
This feature-rich PDF creation app will appeal to mobile professionals who want to edit documents and create PDFs while on the go.