My Favorite iPad Apps!

With the recent release of the 3rd gen iPad, selling over three million devices in less than a week, I thought I would share my favorite iPad apps. These aren’t life changing applications, just the ones I use the most and think are worth sharing.

#5 - Tiny Village - Free

So this isn’t something that simplified or improved my life or daily activities, but it is addicting. This is an RPG where you are a prehistoric gent who must build a village from scratch. It’s one of those free games where they offer a lot of in-app purchases (like the “Everest of Crystals” for a mere $159.99), I don’t agree with that philosophy. I know they’ll get more money that way because people will play and want to skip ahead in the game (crystals are used to speed up processes, and build things quicker, gold coins buy things) but I think they should just charge for the game and include everything or keep in-app purchases < $5. Aside from that, it is fun to play throughout the day. You can earn crystals and gold throughout the game (which is what I do because I’m not buying them) so it’s not like you can’t play without making purchases.

#4 - Geek News - $0.99

This is an app that displays popular tech blogs. I’m aware you could just add these particular blogs (Engadget, Gizmodo, Boy Genius Report, Life Hacker, etc.) to Flipboard or Zite, but I’ve had this one on my iPhone since way before I discovered those, so I still check it and it deserves a spot on my list. Besides I have a lot of sections on Flipboard and Zite, so I like that this one is just my tech stuff.

#3 - Zite - Free

Zite sets up your favorite topics and articles as a magazine. This one has probably the most options for personalization among this type of app, but I like the set-up in Flipboard a little bit more. I still use Zite a lot, thus why it is on this list, but I’m just saying cosmetically, I enjoy Flipboard more.

#2 - Snapseed - $4.99

Snapseed is probably the best app for photography editing I’ve come across, aside from iPhoto, I can’t decide which one is better because I use both, but Snapseed more (unless I’m on my computer, then it’s always iPhoto.) I’ve had it on my iPhone for awhile, and I love it. Of course the set up for iPad is much more glorious, but I use it on both devices. You can do basic editing, like brightness, contrast, saturation, and cropping, but you can also do things like center focus, add cool filters, and spot edit (change qualities in only a specific area of the photo). Over all, I am quite pleased.

#1 - Flipboard - Free

Oh my God, I love Flipboard! You can view Facebook, Twitter, and all of your favorite blogs like a book. I really enjoy the UI because it’s so simple and user-friendly. Love, love, love!