The Best 50 iPad Apps for Productivity & Living Better

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Tarah

Inspired by my mom getting an iPad, I put together this list of my top apps for the beloved device. It doesn’t include all my apps and doesn’t include any games (a whole separate project) or location-based services (Mom’s not really into that), but I think this is a useful foundation for anyone looking to boost productivity and general life improvement via the iPad.

Also, check out my previous post: Top 48 iPhone App Recommendations (by category) and see all my app posts here.

What great apps did I miss? Let me know in the comments.

 

The first section are the Must-Have apps. I’ve also inserted *** before the Must-Have apps (first on lists), then others below, by category. All links go to the iTunes App Store webpage for the app.

Must-Have Apps

  • Flipboard – #1 must-have app, which organizes all the content that you want in a clean, brilliant layout, like a magazine – watch videos in place, read articles without leaving, respond to Facebook posts right there, etc. You can pull in any feed from news sites (e.g. NY Times), blogs, etc. The easiest way to do this is to add them to Google Reader and add your Google Reader account to Flipboard. I also HIGHLY encourage you to add your Facebook account here, as it’s a beautiful, enjoyable way to look at what your connections are posting. http://bit.ly/kfShGU
  • Evernote – 1 of my absolute favorite apps, which I keep in my iPad’s dock so I always have it at my fingertips. Save notes, clip parts/all of webpages, make text in photos searchable, record audio notes, etc. You can email them all out to yourself or others. It’s a digital notebook that is accessible through your browser, an app you can install on your computer and mobile devices, like the iPad. I couldn’t live without it. http://bit.ly/l5XjoN
  • TripIt – forward your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. and this app organizes everything into a wonderful itinerary with weather, maps, reminders, etc. It also adds each part of your itinerary to your Google Calendar, if you let it. It has social features, too, if you want, so you can see when/where your friends are traveling and let them know about yours, but you can turn that off if you want. http://bit.ly/krc1rZ
  • HBO Go – watch the entire HBO library on your iPad. Oh yeah! http://bit.ly/mMjOSf
  • Netflix: http://bit.ly/lA2ziZ
  • Friendly for Facebook – best way to view Facebook on the iPad (other than Flipboard, of course!) http://bit.ly/lkZmU1
  • GetGlue – It’s a fun social network, completely centered around entertainment (film, TV, music, books, topics, etc.). You can “check-in” to, “like” and review the content that you’re consuming, chat with other people passionate about it, earn virtual rewards (stickers), real world rewards (discounts) and get recommendations for other related content. There’s also a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome, which allows you to perform all these actions around the web and see what your friends from Facebook and GetGlue have liked. You can also post your activity to Facebook and Twitter, which does the work of including information about the TV show/film/etc. for you. http://bit.ly/j1YW2j
  • PerfectBrowser – full-featured browser, like you would have on your computer. The default, Safari, is fine for most things, but this is well worth the price when you want a deeper browsing experience. http://bit.ly/kvVSmG
  • Yelp – has never failed me when searching for restaurants, even when in strange cities. http://bit.ly/iH3HN2
  • Epicurious – find recipes and create shopping lists http://bit.ly/ldARux
  • Pandora – stream music that learns your preferences from the brilliant Music Genome Project. http://bit.ly/k0DEny
  • Dropbox – it’s a hard drive on a server, meaning you can access your files from any computer or mobile device that you authorize. You can share folders with people also, if you wish. It’s a lifesaver. http://bit.ly/ldHGrC 
  • Fring – allows you to chat with AIM, Google Chat, etc. friends all in one place. You can also video and audio chat if you have wifi. http://bit.ly/ihLYre
  • Skype – excellent way to chat and video chat with people around the world, for free. You can also get unlimited domestic voice calling for about $30/year through your computer and it’s amazing. I use it almost every day to make phone calls. http://bit.ly/ma5j8
  • TripAdvisor – best reviews on anything travel-related. http://bit.ly/mC091d
  • DragonSearch – amazing. Just speak into it and it’ll search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and your iTunes library, all at once. It’s so good. http://bit.ly/jjOrvF
  • Dragon Dictation – who wants to type? This app does an incredible job of transcribing your voice to text. You can them email, post to social networks, etc. http://bit.ly/kmhvLM
  • FlightCaster – predicts flight delays 6 hours before the airlines, based on historical data and monitoring of traffic info. Pulls your flight info in from TripIt. (They’re going to start charging soon, so just download it, even if you’re not sure you want it.) http://bit.ly/ifE8vd
  • GateGuru – info on which gate flights are leaving/arriving, security wait times, services, food, maps, reviews and more. Pulls in info from TripIt. http://bit.ly/jmMd4c
  • Appzilla – every other function you might need on your iPad. http://bit.ly/iHla0W
  • Instagram – simple, lovely app that lets you apply filters to photos and post to social networks. http://bit.ly/jSX5E9
  • Pano – helps you take several photos to stitch into a panoramic shot. Works really well – created some beautiful ones in Thailand. http://bit.ly/jK9Tza
  • Photofeed for Facebook – pulls in photos from Facebook. http://bit.ly/jMu9hq
  • Adobe Photoshop Express – Photoshop’s app, which lets you easily make edits and improve your photos. http://bit.ly/lQnH3b
  • Goodreader – great way to view and organize PDF, Word and other docs. http://bit.ly/jXzPE5
  • Simplenote – basic text app that syncs with a server so you can access them anywhere. http://bit.ly/j3CxX8

 

News

  • ***Flipboard – #1 must-have app, which organizes all the content that you want in a clean, brilliant layout, like a magazine – watch videos in place, read articles without leaving, respond to Facebook posts right there, etc. You can pull in any feed from news sites (e.g. NY Times), blogs, etc. The easiest way to do this is to add them to Google Reader and add your Google Reader account to Flipboard. I also HIGHLY encourage you to add your Facebook account here, as it’s a beautiful, enjoyable way to look at what your connections are posting. http://bit.ly/kfShGU
  • *Guardian Eyewitness – gorgeous, daily, visual representation of the news from the Guardian (UK). http://bit.ly/loXE1h
  • *NPR – read news, watch videos, listen to podcasts or any of their stations, etc. http://bit.ly/mB8tRP
  • NYTimes: http://bit.ly/lbZxuY
  • Slate – read, watch, listen to news from the great, liberal & culturally rich news service, Slate.com. http://bit.ly/mhrOSO
  • This American Life – one of my favorite radio shows of all time, hosted by Ira Glass, which I think you’d love. It’s a paid app, but has every episode ever. Otherwise, you can always go to iTunes and download the episodes they have available there for free. http://bit.ly/kful0N
  • CNN: http://bit.ly/jToSGs
  • BBC News: http://bit.ly/k6ciNC
  • The Weather Channel: http://bit.ly/jWWEu0
  • Pulse – visual way to look at news headlines before digging deeper: http://bit.ly/kD7eA9
  • Blancspot – visual way to look at news headlines before digging deeper: http://bit.ly/lwSq1b

 

Social Media & Chat

  • ***Friendly for Facebook – best way to view Facebook on the iPad (other than Flipboard, of course!). http://bit.ly/lkZmU1
  • **GetGlue – It’s a fun social network, completely centered around entertainment (film, TV, music, books, topics, etc.). You can “check-in” to, “like” and review the content that you’re consuming, chat with other people passionate about it, earn virtual rewards (stickers), real world rewards (discounts) and get recommendations for other related content. There’s also a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome, which allows you to perform all these actions around the web and see what your friends from Facebook and GetGlue have liked. You can also post your activity to Facebook and Twitter, which does the work of including information about the TV show/film/etc. for you. http://bit.ly/j1YW2j
  • **Fring – allows you to chat with AIM, Google Chat, etc. friends all in one place. You can also video and audio chat if you have wifi. http://bit.ly/ihLYre
  • *Skype – excellent way to chat and video chat with people around the world, for free. You can also get unlimited domestic voice calling for about $30/year through your computer and it’s amazing. I use it almost every day to make phone calls. http://bit.ly/ma5j8f
  • Twitter – dive in, it’s very useful if you learn how to filter all the noise. http://bit.ly/kceQlP

 

Search/Browsing

  • ***PerfectBrowser – full-featured browser, like you would have on your computer. The default, Safari, is fine for most things, but this is well worth the price when you want a deeper browsing experience. http://bit.ly/kvVSmG
  • ***DragonSearch – amazing. Just speak into it and it’ll search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and your iTunes library, all at once. It’s so good. http://bit.ly/jjOrvF
  • Discover – beautiful, visual way to browse Wikipedia like a magazine. http://bit.ly/lT6KFE

 

Entertainment, Music & Video

 

Going Out, Food, Reviews

 

Travel

  • ***TripIt – forward your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. and this app organizes everything into a wonderful itinerary with weather, maps, reminders, etc. It also adds each part of your itinerary to your Google Calendar, if you let it. It has social features, too, if you want, so you can see when/where your friends are traveling and let them know about yours, but you can turn that off if you want. http://bit.ly/krc1rZ
  • **TripAdvisor – best reviews on anything travel-related. http://bit.ly/mC091d
  • *FlighCaster – predicts flight delays 6 hours before the airlines, based on historical data and monitoring of traffic info. Pulls your flight info in from TripIt. (They’re going to start charging soon, so just download it, even if you’re not sure you want it.) http://bit.ly/ifE8vd
  • *GateGuru – info on which gate flights are leaving/arriving, security wait times, services, food, maps, reviews and more. Pulls in info from TripIt. http://bit.ly/jmMd4c

 

Photos

  • *Instagram – simple, lovely app that lets you apply filters to photos and post to social networks http://bit.ly/jSX5E9
  • *Pano – helps you take several photos to stitch into a panoramic shot. Works really well – created some beautiful ones in Thailand. http://bit.ly/jK9Tza
  • *Photofeed for Facebook – pulls in photos from Facebook http://bit.ly/jMu9hq
  • *Adobe Photoshop Express – Photoshop’s app, which lets you easily make edits and improve your photos. http://bit.ly/lQnH3b
  • Precorder – starts recording video a few seconds before you press the record button, so you don’t miss what you actually wanted. http://bit.ly/jwXINc

 

Documents & Utilities

  • ***Evernote – 1 of my absolute favorite apps, which I keep in my iPad’s dock so I always have it at my fingertips. Save notes, clip parts/all of webpages, make text in photos searchable, record audio notes, etc. You can email them all out to yourself or others. It’s a digital notebook that is accessible through your browser, an app you can install on your computer and mobile devices, like the iPad. I couldn’t live without it. http://bit.ly/l5XjoN
  • ***Dropbox – it’s a hard drive on a server, meaning you can access your files from any computer or mobile device that you authorize. You can share folders with people also, if you wish. It’s a lifesaver. http://bit.ly/ldHGrC
  • ***Dragon Dictation – who wants to type? This app does an incredible job of transcribing your voice to text. You can them email, post to social networks, etc. http://bit.ly/kmhvLM
  • **Appzilla – every other function you might need on your iPad. http://bit.ly/iHla0W
  • *Goodreader – great way to view and organize PDF, Word and other docs. http://bit.ly/jXzPE5
  • *Simplenote – basic text app that syncs with a server so you can access them anywhere. http://bit.ly/j3CxX8
  • GeniusScan – use your camera as a scanner. http://bit.ly/kScbLu
  • Kindle – download and read eBooks from Amazon’s Kindle store. http://bit.ly/jNGl0l

 

About Tarah

Ever since I founded my college TV station, I’ve aspired to tell relevant, engaging stories. Seeing digital platforms as a powerful tool with which to facilitate interactive conversations, rather than passive entertainment, I have worked throughout my career to merge my entertainment sensibilities with the combined needs of advertisers and audiences to create inspiring content experiences. As Digital Innovations Specialist & Chair of the Social Media Council at Real Branding (recently merged with Schawk/Anthem! & Brand New World), I drive creative direction and strategy, working directly with brands to develop engaging consumer experiences across the entertainment, advertising and digital media industries. As a strategic partner of NBTV Studios, I work with the management team to help them find new clients, develop and produce industry-leading film, video and entertainment products. Before joining Real Branding, I held the position of VP, Creative & Digital Strategy on the executive team at Big Fuel Communications, where I crafted innovative distribution strategies and producing award-winning branded entertainment, interactive and other campaigns for partners such as Neutrogena, AOL and Fox Interactive Media. From 2005-07, I was a founding member of the NBC Universal Digital Studio, as Manager of Program Development, where I created, developed and oversaw the production of series and entertainment products for digital and traditional platforms. Prior to NBCU, I worked in Marketing and Original Programming at HBO, as well as running my own independent production company, producing and directing a number of short films, documentaries, music videos and other entertainment products. As a member of the Producer's Guild of America, NATAS, NAMAS, IFP and other associations, I maintain regular involvement with industry organizations and have enjoyed speaking on panels for the Producer’s Guild, IFP, NYU, NALIP and others. Additionally, for several years, I served as the Executive Producer of the website and managed the marketing efforts for Stellar Network, a trans-Atlantic organization for professionals in film, television and theater. I grew up in the green mountains of Vermont and graduated from Brandeis University, while pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Film Studies. When I’m not working, I’m sharing my life with my wife Anjali, a brilliant foodie, and our dog, Taj, in Brooklyn. For my full professional details and to connect professionally, please join me on LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/tarahf
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to The Best 50 iPad Apps for Productivity & Living Better

  1. Katy says:
    May 25, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    Thanks for this selection!! I like testing new productivity apps!!For the iPad, I’d like to recommend as professional note taking/ToDo/Project management application "Beesy". A month ago, i discovered this app and now I often use it for my meetings.With Beesy , you can find many features to accomodate tasks, generate automatically a ToDo list from your notes, make monitoring and send easily minutes by email. This app is great; you save a lot of time at work, and you start appreciating meeting again.If you are interested, you can google Beesy or go the application’s website for detailed information http://www.beesapps.com/beesy-ipad-to-do/

    Reply

Leave a comment