iPhone and iPad Apps for New Users
A great app for dining when you don't have a preference, looking for a new restaurant, or are traveling and need recommendations. Be sure to shake the iPhone or iPad to get the slot-machine like options to scroll.
Dragon Dictation - Nuance Communications
A voice to text app, this app will transcribe your voice and create the text. Then the text can be copied, emailed, or used in a Facebook post or a Tweet.
Documents to Go™ – Office Suite
This is my personal favorite for using Microsoft Office documents on the iPad and iPhone. It syncs documents between your mobile device and your computer and the Premier version allows you to edit documents on your mobile device. Other people also recommend Quickoffice Connect for Microsoft Office document sync.
PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The app version of Peter Rabbit, this one reads to you and has animated rabbits that have pop-up movements when you tap them. Great for kids but also for adults who have kids.
Many people don't know that a Netflix subscription allows them to stream movies and TV Shows from Netflix on Demand right to their iPad and iPhone. TV shows are great on the iPhone but the iPad makes watching movies.
Amazon's book app lets you read your Kindle purchases on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Kindle's app lets you buy the book once, and read everywhere.
An easy to use app that lets you take notes, photos, and voice notes and sync them across all of your devices. Use Evernote on your computer and your mobile device and keep all kinds of things in sync. For Microsoft Office users, Microsoft now has a app for their Notes application.
What Evernote is to notes, photos, and voice notes, Dropbox is to files of all types. Dropbox works with so many other apps like Documents to Go™ that it's one of the best ways to keep files in sync while connected to a network and not worry about syncing with a cable. Dropbox also lets you send a link to a file to anyone for file sharing.
I like this newspaper better than many of the other apps of news. Good layout, easy to navigate and it looks great on the larger screen of the iPad.
An iPad specific version of Amazon's store, this version makes navigating Amazon more fun than using the Web.
Great for a dramatic image quality of fish swimming in the pond inside your iPad screen.
While the iPhone comes with Yahoo! weather, The Weather Channel on the iPad gives you the full 5 day forecast. I often wake up and miss the "local on the 8's" and instead of waiting I go get my iPad and use this app.
In my opinion the best note taking app for the iPad. Use your finger or a stylus to take notes as naturally as you would when writing with a pen or pencil. Email and print your notes. This will make you appreciate your touch screen and makes the iPad a tactile experience.
Apple's word and document creating app for the iPad. Keynote and
Shows the Periodic Table of the Elements looks like with a rich graphical and 3D view.
For the iPhone and iPod Touch (since a camera is needed). Use this to scan UPC bar codes and do price comparisons on the spot. See where better prices are offered and how far away. Lots of people use this to bargain for a price while in a store.
Download iBooks from the app store on your mobile device (not from the iTunes App store) and get access to Apple's bookstore and read Adobe PDF files on your mobile device.
I shared my iPad with a 4th grader today while in a meeting and she was entertained for over an hour. In case you forget crayons, this is a good alternative.