IPad: Best Free Apps

If you have spent your entire budget on getting your iPad, but still you want to have the latest, super-advanced apps on your 9.7" LED-backlit display, there is nothing to worry about. In Apple's App Store you can download thousands of free iPad apps designed specifically for your iPad. All it will cost you is time to sort out which apps you would like to install and use. Here are the top five free iPad apps to help you get started.

a) iBooks

If you are an avid reader and you want to be able to download and read books 24/7, iBooks is the #1 app for your iPad. Unless you are more into Kindle and you prefer downloading Kindle for the iPad (which is an excellent app as well, but with less searching features), iBooks is an impressive app that can make you feel like reading a paper book. Featuring the iBookstore for flipping through pages, reading free samples, bookmarking, adding notes or downloading the latest best-selling books or favorite classics, iBooks can be your book-reading companion all year long. You can also create separate book collections; highlight favorite passages; look for words or phrases in the book; sync your bookmarks wirelessly; add and print PDF documents using AirPrint; and so many more. Also, by downloading iBooks on your iPad you get a complimentary copy of A. A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" with excellent illustration.

b) NPR

If you want to get the news stories on your iPad, NPR is a great app. By running on OS 4.2., NPR features News, Arts & Life and Music in a magazine style that offers a unique experience. On its optimized, easy to navigate interface you can read and save your favorites you stories; listen and bookmark your favorite stations; access on-demand streams; find your favorite stations en route; share your playlists; and many more. The app integrates Twitter and Facebook as well.

c) Movies by Flixter

Movies by Flixster bring the Flixster experience to your iPad. Offering over 50,000 DVD titles and more than 10,000 blockbuster trailers, Movies is the #1 movie app that allows you to search for any movie by title, actors or director; check the Box Office for movies that are currently in theaters and those that are coming out; read the most accurate movie reviews from Rotten Tomatoes; get your tickets online from MovieTickets.com; use iTunes to rent or buy your favorite movies; use Yelp to find the nearest restaurants to the theaters of your preference; and so many more.

What you cannot do on your iPad using Movies app is create a "want to see" list, review movies, play movie trivia or connect to Facebook. These extra features are currently available on iPhone and iPod Touch only. Also, some users have criticized the large number of ads that bombards a lot of iPad's viewable area. However, in the era of hyper advertising, ads pay for the service we get and - unfortunately? - the merrier the ads, the better the service.

d) TweetDeck

TweetDeck is the #1 app to stay in touch with your Twitter followers on your iPad. Featuring an optimized, user-friendly interface, TweetDeck allows you to segment your Twitter followers into distinct groups and manage your conversations with them. You can add search columns, Twitter list columns, Mentions columns and so on. You can also follow topics in real-time, tweet and re-tweet links, send direct messages, view user profiles, follow and unfollow / block and unblock users, share photos and web links and manage multiple Twitter accounts. Also, TweetDeck features multiple URL shorteners, enables geotagging, and is regularly updated.

e) EverNote

Evernote is a great app if you want to have your personal agenda on your iPad. With Evernote, you can keep notes, write down your ideas, save images, create web clips and take snapshots. You can also favorite your notes, create PDF and MS office files (Excel, Word and PPT), share your files with your contacts, record voice memos, search text within snapshots, and design your labels. Besides, Evernote allows you to sync everything wirelessly with your Mac or PC and Web and it also features geotagging.

Of course, this list is not complete or comprehensive. For instance, there are so many news apps for the iPad besides NPR, including AP News, BBC News and USA Today. Or if you like specifically comics books you may want to try Archie Comics or Marvel Comics instead of iBooks, or even both apps. To get an idea of what free apps are available for the iPad, visit http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/top-40-best-free-ipad-apps-692418, or http://technologytosoftware.com/must-have-free-apps-for-ipad.html. These webistes will guide you through.

Sources:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8#
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/npr-for-ipad/id364183644?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/movies/id284235722?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tweetdeck-for-ipad/id364153769?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/evernote/id281796108?mt=8