So my husband discovered (stole) my android tablet and since he likes android he kept it. The gift for him stealing my tablet is the iPad3 for my birthday. I'm not exactly excited with it, I'm sure it will grow on me soon. I guess I'm so accustomed to my android tablet and how I can use it, the ipad3 doesn't function the same. Major complaint so far is the lack of bluetooth file transfer from pc to tablet, but I'm using Dropbox to overcome that problem. Now to research apps for my favorite games.

I guess the saying "what you grow up with is always best" is true... I started with iPad and tried my wifes android and hated it, lol... I absolutely love my iPad... congrats.

Magnum - what are, for you, the essential iPad apps?

Stephanie, get Battle Academy!

Our password is always SimHQ

Don

(Airdrop)

it all depends on WHAT you want to do with your iPad... use it for office stuff, then the office apps work great (under apple apps)

for the gamer... me... web site apps like IGN, gamespot, @gamer etc etc... thats gaming news and reviews... for games, theres plenty of good shooters out there, but i don't like them due to the lack of controller... so I mostly play classics like Battleship, risk, monopoly, and great games like Real racing 2 HD, Battle Academy and Combat Mission Touch...

if your into art and drawing, good apps for that... music too... it's all up to your intrest...

iBook, I keep all my manuals and game guides on the iPad easy to use and look up WHILE gaming... etc etc.

I posted some screens once of all my apps, can't find it now thou...

and now looks like M$ is introducing glass apps... they work in conjunction with your xbox 360 system and game, so you have the map on your ipad while playing on 360... coming Decemember.

etc
etc

Dude, the MS app thing would be AWESOME.

Thanks, Magnum. Big draw for me is the ability to have all my pdf manuals etc on a decent sized portable screen, accessible during computer use. Do you use any outside app for pdf display, or does the iPad have a good enough native display for them? Can you organize them by category or are they all listed together?

Flipboard is a very safe recommendation, and wonderfully leverages the good things about an iPad.
Good Reader would be the first recommendation for PDF viewing.

+1 for Goodreader

I keep all my pdf game manuals there, it's like iBook but also allows annotation and has dropbox, http, ftp to make it easy to get the pdf's on the iPad when iTunes is not available.

Flipboard to read news

Kindle App for reading ebooks

Splashtop Remote for playing games on the PC and streaming it to the iPad while on the couch

Thanks guys - very helpful advice. My new edition is expected to arrive beginning of next week. Courtesy of United Mileage Plus redemption. Some of those zillions of miles are paying off!

I use ezPDF for my PDFs. I think it's 2.99 in app store. Great program, I used it on my android and now on the iPad.

Dropbox is another highly recommended app... if you don't or can't open a pdf in the browser or import it via iTunes, you can put them all in dropbox on your PC, then anytime... connect to your free dropbox account and download what you want... not just pdf's but pictures, documents, other things.

BUT... dropbox has to be installed on PC too.

Just installed Dropbox too. Nice little app.

I'm really digging the Spashtop Remote. Now that is a really useful utility. Now I just need to hook up my webcam so I can turn on the video whenever I want and see what my 2 year old is up to at home. Maybe I should mount the camera in the eye of the teddy bear like Fokker's step-dad.. LOL..

* Received an iPad 3 for Father's Day about 5 hours ago and have already spent some money on apps. LOL..

So far:

Top Camera (HDR Photo app - I love HDR photos)
GoodReader (need something good to read those DCS PDFs) (I had EZPDF on my Android and liked it too..)
Splashtop

Free:

eTrade Mobile Pro
Kindle
Netflix
Dropbox


I'm looking at X-Plane (be nice if they could switch my license from the Android to iPad) and H-Elite. H-Elite says it doesn't quite work right with the latest iPad though..so I'll hold off.

Probably going to swallow the $79/year pill and buy Fore Flight. It is an app that downloads all of the terminal area charts, VFR charts, approach plates, etc..for flying. Our iPads in the airplane have the app installed, but it is good for personal reference at home.

As for games - I'd love to see something like Dangerous Waters or some other modern warfare application. I haven't looked much in the Apple store because I've always been an Android guy (HTC EVO phone).

Really nice stuff this iPad. I can see I'm going to like it a lot..

BeachAV8R