In my previous article I provided a quick overall review of the iPad and its functionality. This article continues the review by exploring the wonderful world of apps that can be used with the iPad.

An app for the iPad is an application that can be purchased from the App Store and downloaded to the iPad. The prices for apps run from free to pretty cheap – the most expensive app that I have purchased to date was $20 and that was a productivity app. The fact that the apps are so inexpensive is both good and bad – good that you don’t have to pay a lot but bad because they are so cheap you want to keep trying new apps!

I always knew there were a lot of apps available but I had no idea of the sheer number of apps until I started to browse the app store. There are apps for games, editing documents, tracking fitness levels – there is even an app for crime scene investigators!

Listed below is a short list of apps that I have used and found beneficial or just plain fun. This is a short list – there are many other apps that I have used and enjoyed that I will add to the list later. I purchased all apps that are being reviewed.

Business Apps:

MobileNoter

MobileNoter is an app that can be used to sync your OneNote notebooks with your iPad. OneNote is a Microsoft product that is used for note taking, data collection and collaboration. I use it to keep track of my client notes, receipts and website credentials in separate OneNote notebooks.

By using MobileNoter with the iPad to synch my OneNote notebooks I have all of my important information with me without having to lug around my laptop. In addition, I can use the iPad to take notes directly into MobilerNoter and have it synch back to my laptop. This is so much better than taking handwritten notes that I need to later type into my computer.

SharePlus

The SharePlus app is an application that allows me to access my various SharePoint sites. SharePoint is a Microsoft product that is used for document management and collaboration via a web browser. Not only do I support clients that use SharePoint, I also use it myself for document management.

SharePlus allows me to access all of my SharePoint sites on my iPad. Using a third party app for this instead of the Safari web browser allows for easier access, updates and editing. This is due to the fact the SharePoint is tailored to be used in Internet Explorer.

Entertainment:

Netflix

Love this app! I can access my Netflix account on my iPad to stream videos from my Netflix account. I can access my queue or I can browse available movies and TV shows.

What I find amazing is the video quality on the playback – it looks great!

Words with Friends

This app is just plain addicting. Words with Friends in a scrabble like game where each player takes their turn when they have the time. It is very fun and relaxing and I like that I only have to play when I have a change instead of having to play an entire game at one.