So you’ve got your brand new, name-challenged, third-generation iPad with its shmancy retina display. The only way you’re really going to appreciate it is with some apps that take full advantage of it. Here are 20 retina-ready apps that every iPad 3 owner should have.
Another Monster at the End of This Book
Kids will love this animated storybook starring Grover and Elmo from Sesame Street. Grover spends the entire book trying to prevent Elmo from turning pages, because he’s afraid of seeing the monster at the end. You can probably guess how it turns out, but it’s still adorable. $3.99
Barefoot World Atlas
A global map for kids of all ages, from Touch Press, the folks behind The Elements and The Solar System. Haven’t had a chance to try this one yet myself, but word has it that it looks amazing on the vibrant new retina display. If you’re looking for an app to show off what your third-gen iPad can do, this is the one. $7.99
The Daily
The first (and so far only) daily news magazine made exclusively for iPad. Despite what you may have heard, it’s quite good, providing coverage on a strong variety of topics every day of the week, with interactive features, video, and more. $.99/week.
Evernote
The standard for many when it comes to note-taking, because it has apps on every platform known to man — and they all sync. Free
Flight Control Rocket
A brand new game made specifically to take advantage of the retina display. It’s based on the classic game Flight Control, but it uses a retro “outer space” theme, reminiscent of The Jetsons. $.99
GarageBand
The ultimate in portable music-making just got better, with retina graphics and the ability to join up to four iOS devices together for a jam session. $4.99
Kindle
iBooks is great, but it doesn’t have the best catalog of ebooks to choose from. Amazon’s app lets you read any book from the Kindle store just like you would on a Kindle device. Free
iMovie
iMovie does one of the things that Apple does best: make complex tasks easy and user-friendly. As the name suggests, this one lets you edit your home videos with simple techniques for cutting and adding effects. It’s nifty. $4.99
iPhoto
At long last, Apple has brought its proprietary photo editing app to iOS. And it’s all optimized for the touchscreen interface. Loads of cool tools make the process simple and fun. $4.99
Infinity Blade II
There is no game that shows off the iPad’s true graphic capabilities better than Chair Entertainment’s bestselling RPG, Infinity Blade and its sequel. The second game, shown here, has been upgraded for the new retina display. $6.99
Mass Effect Infiltrator
The big console game of-the-moment, Mass Effect 3, can now be enjoyed on iOS devices. Well, sort of. This isn’t ME3, this is an entirely new storyline set in the console games’ universe, using similar role-playing/shooting gameplay. $6.99
Readability
There’s Read It Later, there’s Instapaper, and now there’s Readability. This article-saving app is by far my favorite, with its slick interface, perfect text formatting, and incredible ease of use. Free
Real Racing 2
One of the most realistic car racing games you’ll find for iOS, and a fan favorite. $2.99
Sketchbook Pro
AutoDesk has long set the standard for artists’ programs, and this touchscreen-optimized app for iOS is no exception. $4.99
Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy
This flight simulator/dog-fighting game from Namco was shown off at the iPad 3 event as an example of the kinds of “console quality” games the latest iPad is capable of running. $4.99
StockTouch
A mesmerizing visualizer for the stock market’s ups and downs. $4.99
Touchgrind BMX
Fluid controls highlight this clever bicycle stunt game that you manipulate with two fingers. $4.99
Tweetbot
We’re crazy about Tweetbot (our review), because it’s the ultimate Twitter client for iPad. Perfect for power-Twitterers, but easy-to-use enough for anyone. It’s attractive, too, and has lots of smart gesture controls. $2.99
Vimeo
Forget YouTube. Vimeo is where to find the best original videos on the Net. It’s populated almost entirely by original short films, indie concept music videos, and animated student films. And Vimeo’s new iPad app looks stellar. Free
WordPress
Bloggers of the world, unite! With most of the world’s blogs being run on WordPress software these days, WP’s proprietary app is a must-have for bloggers who have an iPad. What it lacks in gloss and glamor, it makes up for with power under the hood that lets you do almost anything you can do on your web-based WP client. Free
One thought on “20 Must Have Apps for Your New iPad”
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