I've had an iPad for almost a year, and I use it all the time. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
1.
AppStart for iPad: (free) Lots of information about using/finding apps, tips, etc.
2.
Pages, Numbers, Keynote: These are Apple's versions of Word, Excel Spreadsheet, & PowerPoint. I bought the QuickOffice HD app, only to find you can't sort spreadsheets in it. I use Office For Mac on my iMac and MacBook Pro (Word, Excel, etc.) and docs made with those programs can be opened in Pages or Numbers on your iPad. NOTE: The iPad apps for these programs don't offer all the functions of the desktop/laptop programs. The iPad versions are more basic, but I use them quite often despite their limitations.
3.
iBooks: a great way to store AW Ephemera documents as PDFs. When you purchase and download an Ephemera document, just touch the screen toward the upper right and a button will pop up that says "Open in iBooks". Touch that button and the doc will be housed in iBooks for future perusals.
4.
Pepperplate: An awesome cooking/recipe app. Allows you to type in your favorite recipes, or go to any of the 30-or-so online cooking sites which support it (allrecipes, foodnetwork, recipe.com, taste of home, and cooking channel are the ones I use the most) and recipes will automatically be copied into Pepperplate just by copying/pasting the URL. You need to sign up at the pepperplate.com website as well as purchasing the app. The two work in tandem. I use Pepperplate every single day.
5.
Verde: Helps you figure out how much electricity your appliances are using, and the cost of operating them.
6.
AppsGoneFree: You'll receive a list daily of apps that are free for the day. I've gotten many cool apps this way--free! The apps that say "iPhone" can also be used with an iPad. A similar app is called
AppShopper.
7.
ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR Hourly News: Watch episodes of your favorite programs. I love listening to NPR's Hourly News. All these apps are free.
8.
NOAA Radar and
My Radar: Weather/radar
9.
CoffeeTable: Many catalogs for online shopping. Updates itself regularly.
Have you figured out how to shut off apps? Someone had to tell me. I thought they shut off when you closed them, but they don't. Double click the "home button" and all the icons of active apps will appear at the bottom of the screen. Press and hold the first one and all the icons will begin to wiggle and a red dot will appear in the upper left corner of each. Touch the dot and the app will shut off.
Hope you come to love your iPad as much as I do. Also: get a keyboard. You'll hate typing on the screen. Do an online search and find one you like. Mine is a Zagg, and the iPad is stored inside it when not in use. There are many options out there. I also have one of the covers sold for iPads at apple.com.
[this post was last edited: 9/23/2012-05:49]
