iPad Apps

[stephengilbert]

I thought it might be worth a new thread limited to iPad apps. I periodically browse around the 'net looking for good ones, but find that the advice is hit or miss. I'd rather hear from people whose sense (for better or worse ) I think I can judge.

One that I think is pretty good is GoodReader. It allows you to transfer documents to your iPad using iTunes. I've only imported a few things to check it out, and it worked well. Now I've got the C1 user's manual, a Ross MacDonald novel, and a few miscellaneous Word docs. Easy to use, and only $.99.

[Terry]

my list:

Best photo editing i've found is: Photgene
Most fun game with friends around the country: Words with Friends (Scrabble derivative)
Great interface for financial data: Bloomberg
If you like prime time TV ABC did a good job on their app

subscriptions:
Netflix

[shadzee]

- GoodReader
- DropBox
- Instapaper
- AirVideo
- 1Password
- PenUltimate
- Kindle
- Adobe Ideas

[stephengilbert]

I was going to ask if anyone used Instapaper, and saw that Sam recommends it.

Any comments?

[shadzee]

Instapaper is fantastic. I have the pro version on both my iPod Touch and iPad. Indeed, it was the first App I purchased for my iPad.

I use it, and it's part of my every day work flow! It allows you to bookmark any site to read "later", AND off-line.

[DougDolde]

I have insta-paper. It's a notepad I can write on with a pen or pencil and toss it in the trash when its all over.

[Terry]

Originally Posted by DougDolde

I have insta-paper. It's a notepad I can write on with a pen or pencil and toss it in the trash when its all over.

Nice sarcasm but Instapaper is a news App where you can save web content to read it later. They also have a very interesting Editors Chiice section of articles from all over that you can read. It is a good App.

[stephengilbert]

Thanks Terry.

[Diane B]

I agree. I have it for the Touch and will add it for the Ipad. For those that like to listen to or watch podcasts you can bypass Itunes by using RSS Reader. You can dl and listen or watch offline if you are wifi only or listen live. A similar one is Stitcher but you can't dl for offline listening (and it's audio only). .

[stephengilbert]

Just tried Barnes & Noble's eBook Reader app, and found it to be noticeably slower and clearly clunkier than the iBook and Kindle apps. It offers the ability to lend a book to a friend, which is nice, but other than that, I think it blows. (Tech talk for "comes in third in a three horse race.")

[jonoslack]

Having used the Kindle book reader app for over a month (no iBooks in the UK until Friday). I reckon ibooks simply blows it away - the ability to add all the Gutenberg books, and any old epub books one might already have, together with the simple connection to itunes (I'm not syncing, just manually managing).

Our most used apps:
Air Sharing - wonderful - great application.
Omnigraffle - takes 5 minutes to learn, but really good for knocking about ideas, and also at meetings.

But the killer app has been . . . . . well, not an app at all!

The Keyboard dock . . .
I wasn't expecting to use it, but it's just great, it charges the ipad, but the real deal is that it takes up very little room on the desk next to your 'real' computer, and it's great for banging off quick emails (or quick posts like this one). Definitely a winner

[Diane B]

Jono how do you DL the epub books without syncing? Yours is JB so is that the answer?

[jonoslack]

Originally Posted by Diane B

Jono how do you DL the epub books without syncing? Yours is JB so is that the answer?

HI Diane
The new one isn't jailbroken (yet anyway). You just add them to your itunes library (just like a song or anything) then you can simply copy them to the ipad in itunes. Simple as that.

[stephengilbert]

Diane,

You can go to Files, Add to Library, and choose them, or just drag the eBook file to your iTunes Library. A nice program for converting various formats to ePub is Calibre: http://calibre-ebook.com/. Free, but worth a donation.

Steve

[Diane B]

So you are syncing in Itunes or what I call syncing LOL. I manually manage everything too.

Thanks Stephen. I'd read about Calibre. Have to try it

[jonoslack]

Originally Posted by Diane B

So you are syncing in Itunes or what I call syncing LOL. I manually manage everything too.

Thanks Stephen. I'd read about Calibre. Have to try it

Stephen put it so much better than I did . . . I think I need to go on a communication course

Calibre is really good for changing things from one format to another.

[Diane B]

Ah, it's just that Brit/US English thing LOL.

[Diane B]

For anyone that likes tabbed browsing ala Firefox, try the new browser app, A1 Perfect. I replaced Safari in the dock with this one. So far so good.

[Diane B]

And a new one for Jono. Frypaper-Stephen Fry's blog and nicely done.

[Terry]

Pulse -
Added to the App store yesterday. Highlighted by Steve in the Keynote. Highlighted by the NYT in an article. Taken down from app store after NYT complained about copyright problem. Back in the App store with NYT content. A lot for one day.

Seriously, I'm not generally an RRS fan but this is really nicely done.

[simonclivehughes]

Originally Posted by Diane B

For anyone that likes tabbed browsing ala Firefox, try the new browser app, A1 Perfect. I replaced Safari in the dock with this one. So far so good.

Diane,

Did you by chance figure out how to migrate your bookmarks from Safari to it? I have it too but I really hate having to re-input all my bookmarks.

Cheers,

[Diane B]

Simon, I read the FAQs and thought maybe if launched from Safari it would add the bookmarks but no........ I googled and found a review on Ilounge that says you have to rebuild your bookmarks so.....so much for that.

[stephengilbert]

Star Walk, a really beautiful astronomy app. I have no need for this at all, but I don't need a Leica either: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-...363486802?mt=8

Only $4.99.

[bensonga]

Originally Posted by stephengilbert

Star Walk, a really beautiful astronomy app. I have no need for this at all, but I don't need a Leica either: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-...363486802?mt=8

Only $4.99.

As an avid amateur astronomer....this might be reason enough for me to get an iPad....or at least, be able to justify it to my wife.

Thanks Steve!

Gary

[Diane B]

Has anyone mentioned Google Earth? And I debated Pulse but went with Reeder and like it a lot.

[Scargos2]

an app for traviling over seas . A talking translator, type in your message and the app speaks to you. I have not purchased one , but can come in handy come day. Only problem is that you have to be connected to a service .
I just down loaded Google earth, but have not tried it. Going to do it now!

[simonclivehughes]

I'm really disappointed with the Office apps on iPad so far. I have both the latest Docs to Go and QuickOffice but neither are really ready for prime time. QuickOffice is the prettiest but is fails to load even moderate Excel files and graphics don't show up in Word docs. They all seem to loose formatting too, which is a pain.

I'm most impressed with the iWork suite but again, it has some limitations and downright silly omissions. In Keynote, for example, you can't switch themes, nor can you do any hyperlinking.

I can't understand why Microsoft doesn't step up and code some apps themselves. After all there is an Office for Mac.

Ah well, wishful thinking, I suppose.

Ciao,

[Terry]

Two new Apps.....
Photo Transfer - seems fast and very good. essentially can move photos between iPad/iPhone and computer very easily. I uploaded a shot from my laptop to my iPad without the camera connection kit or synching. I also went in the other direction moving multiple photos at once. Dropped them into a folder on my laptop. I will play around with this more but looks promising and very easy.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo...pp/id365152940

a review:

http://www.padgadget.com/2010/06/16/...ad-app-review/

Also, used the new find my iPhone app. I guess the new news here is if you have multiple devices or you are out with friends that have Apple devices you can use this App to find a lost device without having to find a computer. So, I loaded it on my iPad and signed in and it found my devices. It will find whosever devices that logs in to their account. You still need a mobile me account to use this but if anything Apple could take out of the mobile me and make free this seems like it could be pretty easy to link to your iTunes account.

[Diane B]

http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=38

DSLR remote for Canon and Nikon

[MoJo]

IPad photo apps..... taking this in a slightly different slant.... I am one of the few in the world (at this point) to have made a Photo App for the IPad.... to showcase our wonderful photos...... Like a photo book, the IPad is a great vehicle for us to display and distribute our work.....My new Photo App, "Magical Celtic Lands HD," for IPad, IPhone, and IPod Touch, is now available on ITunes!
You can preview it here....... http://tiny.cc/ilfqd
I am going to publish more of my series on the Apple Store, (next one will be about the Connemara Pony Shows and Fairs in Ireland) and also will create apps for other photographers.....
Let's use the IPad and ITunes to get our best work around the world!

oh, and Terry, those photos of the Pride Parade were some of the best i have seen you post, very nice portraits of interesting folks! really well done!

[Terry]

Thanks Joseph. I just downloaded the app. It looks fantastic on my iPad. I've only gone through the shots with a quick glance but wall with those clouds in the background behind the house is amazing.

Well done!

[MoJo]

thanks terry for the kind words..... if you get a chance, please write me a good review on Itunes..... and pass the word on. I'd love to see more fine-art photo apps out there, i am going to write to steve jobs, (not that he will answer.... ha) asking him to create a "Fine-Art category".

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by MoJo

My new Photo App, "Magical Celtic Lands HD," for IPad, IPhone, and IPod Touch, is now available on ITunes!
You can preview it here....... http://tiny.cc/ilfqd
I am going to publish more of my series on the Apple Store, (next one will be about the Connemara Pony Shows and Fairs in Ireland) and also will create apps for other photographers.....
Let's use the IPad and ITunes to get our best work around the world

Josef,

I downloaded your app yesterday for my iPad. The photos are wonderful. I sat with my wife, and we slowly paged through the entire series. The Aran islands seem to be much the same as they were when Robert Flaherty visited them in the early 1930s.

Also, the presentation is excellent -- just enough text to provide the necessary information without getting in the way of the images.

One question: Why did you decide to place it in the entertainment section rather than the photography section?

[MoJo]

David: thanks for the kind words. you know, the landscape is the same, and inishman is still sort of remote-feeling. but folks don't wear the traditional dress anymore, they have tv's, a few even ride scooters around. it is a unique place. Inisheer is a party island on the weekends now for the teenagers, coming over from the mainland. don't visit in august!

as for the categories, i will change the category every month or so, shuffle it around. from what i have heard, it doesn't seem to make a difference in actuality.

and if you could paste those kind words in as a review on itunes, that would help my sales efforts ;-)

-Josef

[Diane B]

Has anyone tried the Goodreader app? I kept reading about it but felt I didn't need it since I can read pdfs in Ibook. I found there is quite a bit more you can do with it so decided to try it---cheap enough right now. I found I can just dl a pdf from the web directly (dled my 5D manual as demo) and really easily. That's worth it just for that but its much nicer to use than Ibooks IMO.

I need to read the help carefully and then work with it for awhile but it certainly seems worth recommending from just what I know so far.

[Diane B]

Another interesrting app. For anyone that does a lot of notetaking in various genres, so to speak (math, music, graphic, etc) or just simple notetaking or writing this one holds a lot of promise. It shouod be terrific for anyone in school. It offers text, handwritten, audio, save to pdfs and more, email. Many papers to choose that are very specific to needs and a lot of widgets
http://mysmartnote.net/

[MoJo]

Originally Posted by Diane B

Has anyone tried the Goodreader app? I kept reading about it but felt I didn't need it since I can read pdfs in Ibook. I found there is quite a bit more you can do with it so decided to try it---cheap enough right now. I found I can just dl a pdf from the web directly (dled my 5D manual as demo) and really easily. That's worth it just for that but its much nicer to use than Ibooks IMO.

I need to read the help carefully and then work with it for awhile but it certainly seems worth recommending from just what I know so far.

I have this app, and it works really well for pdf's. easy to synch with, no complaints so far....

[meilicke]

Has anyone found a good way to organize photos after importing them with the camera kit? I am thinking of the case when you are traveling with just the pad and cameras, and want to organize on the road. I can import photos into goodreader and do it there, but then I have double up on the photos.

-Scott

[Scargos2]

I think we are all waiting for a great app to edit and organize our pictures. Come on Adobe or Google we need it.

[ustein]

Our new free application "finePhotoShow" just showed up in the app store (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch).

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/finep...80678475?mt=8#

http://finephotoshow.outbackphoto.com/

More later :-)

[Mark Gowin]

A simple, elegant app with some great photography. Thank you Uwe. It looks great on my iPad. I look forward to showing off your work to friends.

[ustein]

Originally Posted by Mark Gowin

A simple, elegant app with some great photography. Thank you Uwe. It looks great on my iPad. I look forward to showing off your work to friends.

Thanks.

>A simple, elegant app

This was the main design goal.

[Diane B]

Uwe, I agree. I downloaded it also Very nice and lovely photos as always

[Terry]

Uwe,
I downloaded it as well. Very nicely done and of course gorgeous photos.

[MoJo]

Nice job Uwe.....the white background works well with your images.......
-Josef

[scatesmd]

I may have missed it, but Evernote is also a great app that goes well with Dropbox.

Steve

[Diane B]

Someone asked about organizing photos on the Ipad. I read about this today and it might be worth a look.

http://appshopper.com/photography/photo-sort-for-ipad

[meilicke]

Thanks Diane, it looks promising I think, but based on the reviews seems a bit unstable.

One of the weaknesses that all of these apps seem to suffer from is what to do with the imported photos in Apple's Photos app once the photos have been imported into a third party app. Currently you can delete them one by one, but that grows old in a hurry.

Another app in the store, Sort Shots, looks OK too. It does not use folders/albums, but relies upon keywords exclusively. I am good with that, but I suspect a lot of people like the whole folder/album design.

Scott

[DavidE]

LightTrac for the iPad is currently available for free on iTunes. The price is normally $5.99.

Since it's described as a "free limited time offer," you may want to download it as soon as possible. I've used it on my 3G version of the iPad. I don't know if it requires the 3G version, but at this price, it might be worth trying on a Wi-Fi iPad.

Here's a link to load the app page in iTunes: http://appadvice.com/link/363963108.

[apicius9]

Does anybody have a recommendation for a nice progranm to take notes with a stylus? I have tried the following:

- Notepad pro: Very slow and very edgy writing, not many options.

- Penultimate: Good if you 'just' want to take notes, best and smoothest capture of the handwriting but very few options (e.g. no audio). Best feature: recognizes the palm on the glass.

- Smartnote: Has tons of options, some of them actually useful, writing is o.k. but it can't handle the palm on the screen very well. Drives me mad because stylus sometimes moves page around instead of writing, much less sensitive than Penultimate. But: basic recognition of handwriting as a bonus.

Any alternatives that I should look at? Oh, and any experiences with a stylus for te Ipad? I have a Pogo Sketch and find the tip annoyingly thick.

Thanks,

Stefan