Apple iPad 3G — best apps to download
At the rate iPad apps are being released, we’ll have 10,000 to pick from within the next week or so, but which ones make best use of the 3G iPad’s capabilties? Here are our top picks.
Atomic Web browser (£0.59)
This custom web browser is a fab download for all you Apple iPad web browsing fans. It offers better pop-up protection than Safari, a handful of multitouch gestural shortcuts and a full screen mode that gets rid of all toolbars, to dedicate all 9.7 inches of the iPad’s screen to browsing. You can also save web pages easily for offline viewing, and Atomic Web browser’s interface can be customised — it comes with 14 colour themes.
Pulse News reader (£2.39)
This app is just for iPad, and it shows. Pulse News Reader uses every bit of your iPad’s screen to transmit news, attractively and quickly. You can input up to 20 different news sources. It’s designed to be even simpler than a normal RSS reader too — you don’t have to type in the RSS, just a keyword or two. It also integrates with your Google Reader account. We think it looks great, so if you want news on-the-go… snap this mobile reader up.
Air video (£1.79)
Do you get miffed that your iPad can’t play Divx files, that you can’t shove a memory card into it? Air Wave should put a smile on your face. It’s an app that lets you stream your computer’s media library from your iPad over 3G or Wi-Fi. It converts video to a compatible format on-the-fly, so it’ll be able to handle almost anything your computer has to offer. You need to install some software on your Mac or PC to turn it into an Air Video server, but it’s otherwise simple to use.
World Atlas HD (£1.19)
Published by Narional Geographic, the maps of World Atlas HD are much prettier than the ones you’ll find in a Bing or Google maps app. If you zoom right in, to a local level, World Atlas HD will revert to Bing maps, but for brushing up on your geography, you can’t beat the maps supplied here. With a 3G iPad, you can track your own location within the app too using GPS.
ActionRadio (Free)
The 3G iPad is a fantastic gadget to turn into an internet radio, and you can do it for free with this app. ActionRadio gives you access to over 10,000 radio stations from across the world. You can search through them by category or keyword, and the neat cover flow-style main display shows you what’s currently being played. It features some small ads within its interface, but as ActionRadio is a freebie, we’re not complaining.
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June 3rd, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Great article and have downloaded the atomic web browser on the basis of the recommendations here. Atomic is fast, has a clean look, and as the article says can be opened full screen to lose toolbars etc. It also supports tabs which is one thing that is irritating about Sahara.
By the way, the Boom cartoon looks really cool as a wallpaper for the iPad – where can you get this please?
June 3rd, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Thanks NJDavies. The Boom graphic was found on the web, but unfortunately the original’s not high res enough to make a decent wallpaper. You might want to check out Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art for something with a similar feel.