6 Killer Apps For iPad

Sure, Apple’s iPad isn’t even out yet, but with the recent announcement that you’ll be able to pre-order your iPad in the US at the end of this week and it’ll be available on April 3rd, this seems like as good a time as any to point out a few apps (and their genres) that are going to make the iPad itself a killer app (app as in appliance). There’s a lot of speculation at this point about whether or not the iPad is going to be a success, but at this point, it almost seems like an absolutely lock thanks to the App Store at iTunes. While the iBookstore and App Store are going to be big reasons why the iPad cleans up in the e-reader market (never mind it’s a lot more than an e-reader), it’s important not to overlook one company that knows the device better than anyone else and also understands how people do work: Apple So, without further ado, let’s start the list of things you’ll be wanting for your Apple iPad.

1. Safari

This has to be the absolute obvious pick, and yet I’d be remiss if I didn’t say a word or two about it.

So, if you’ve used an iPhone or an iPod touch (and at this point, who hasn’t?), then you know that Safari is actually not only a usable web browser, but a pretty damn good one at that. Unlike other mobile browsers up to Safari’s release, you don’t have to have mobile versions of websites to actually view the website, although the irony is that a lot of websites have made mobile versions specifically for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Why? It’s because Safari allows them to make mobile sites that are essentially applications (and some are — Google Voice, anyone?) and look clean, are quick and efficient, and pleasant to use.

But, if you’ve used Safari, then you also know that sometimes you just need a bigger screen, and unfortunately, you’re stuck at 3.5″. Well, the damn near 10″ the iPad offers is going to change that. Aside from the lack of Flash support (a good thing, assuming the rest of the world can figure out how to properly implement video via HTML5 (i.e. good quality and CPU usage)), this is going to be your browsing device of choice.

Of course, for the people who have 45 tabs open at once and working, Safari on iPad may not be the ideal device for them, but for the rest of us who are doing our daily web browsing and hitting the same dozen or so sites? Hello couch, hello iPad, hello Safari.

2. Google Maps

Once again we hit an obvious app, but an important one just the same.

While Safari is definitely going to be an app that gets used every day, and perhaps gets more use than any other on the iPad, Google Maps has to be another one that’s going to see a lot of use.

Even though it’s certainly a more niche product that Safari, Google Maps sees a ton of traffic every day as people look up their neighborhood, search for directions to their vacation getaway, or just plain poke around on street view to see if there’s anything neat or weird they can uncover.

Once again, Apple understands how people do things on their computers, and if you’ve used Maps on the iPhone, then you know that using your finger to move the map around and using gestures to zoom and focus on what you want is not only effective, but intuitive. On a bigger screen? Glorious.

3. Google Earth

Google Earth is the much flashier sibling of Google Maps, and while it may not have the same ease-of-use utility for just looking up your neighborhood or figuring out how to get to Las Vegas, Google Earth has a massive cult of users that are constantly poking around to see what mysteries they can uncover.

Unfortunately, Google Earth on the iPhone (the original one or 3G) is a bit of a miserable experience because Google Earth is actually a fairly demanding application. While it is still very usable and fun, it suffers from the iPhone’s underpowered CPU and it just isn’t as an enjoyable experience as you might otherwise expect. The iPhone 3GS addressed some of this by introducing a faster CPU, but the problem that all three versions share is something that’s becoming a bit of a running theme if you haven’t already picked up on it: screen size.

Once again, going to a ~10″ screen (and a fast custom CPU) is going to make Google Earth on the iPad not only a good experience, but a damn good one. Being able to see more than a tiny bit of landscape (or sky or ocean) at a time, as well as having a responsive interface, may just convert the casual Google Earth users to dump their mice and keyboards in favor of the iPad.

So we’re looking at some apps that are going to make believers out of the non-believers once Apple’s iPad hits the streets on April 3rd. Thus far, we’ve looked at Safari, Google Maps, and Google Earth. There’s one more productivity app to list, and then it’s game time.

4. Pages

Now I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this is the app I’m probably the most excited about. My personal use case is likely quite different from the average person looking to use Pages, but it’s a valid one just the same.

Pages, for those not in the know, is part of Apple’s iWork productivity suite. While it’s most certainly a capable word processor (and my current WP of choice), it’s also something of a combination of word processor and layout tool. Imagine if Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher had a baby, and then a lot of the features that you never use were removed, and someone who understands how to make a good UI came in and gave it a facelift, and that’s a decent (but not wholly accurate) description.

While Pages is damn good on a Mac,  I believe it’s going to shine on the iPad (and iWork may even pick up some new buyers because of it). While it remains to be seen if the enlarged on-screen keyboard will be usable as an input device for typing 500 or 2000 word articles (or for writing manuscripts), the addition of the keyboard dock is going to make text input a breeze. Add to that Apple’s know-how where touch interfaces are concerned, and you’re looking at one hell of a powerful program to do anything from write a manuscript to whip up a fancy looking newsletter (presumably about the powder), all on your iPad.

5. Final Fantasy

Ok, so we’ve looked at things that involve work or goofing around, but let’s look at something that’s all about fun: games. Final Fantasy is the first one I’m going to list, but in fairness, this is more about a broad multi-genre of games.

If you’ve played Final Fantasy, Zenonia, iDracula, Alive 4 Ever, or any of a number of other games that involve overlaying a d-pad (or two) over the screen to move around, then you know that the small screen and a lack of tactile feedback makes it a frustrating experience.

Sure, with enough practice, it isn’t a big deal to play one of these games and you can even get quite good at them, but in the case of the more action-oriented games and less so of the RPGs, your thumbs get in the way.

Having a larger screen is going to enable developers to shove the d-pads much further off to the side where they’ll be usable and not in the way of the action transpiring on the screen. It’s also going to allow them to make the pad a little larger, if need be, to enhance accuracy. Assuming the previously listed apps have developers that all update their games to be iPad specific, you’re going to see a resurgence of RPGs and action-oriented games at the top of the app store because the rest of the populace will finally be able to play them.

6. Plants vs. Zombies

Last on the list is another game, but a different kind. Even though Plants vs. Zombies wasn’t made specifically for the iPhone/iPod Touch, it’s one that flat-out excels on it.

PvZ is basically a tower defense game, only with a fun twist involving, well, plants and zombies. What makes it so good on the iPhone/iPod Touch, however, is the interface.

The game involves “buying” plants to defend your yard via the sun you collect by touching as they pop up. Everything is a simple touch to interact with the game, and because you’re using your finger and not a mouse, speed and accuracy are limited solely by your reflexes, and not the bit of hair obscuring the laser, the grit on your mousepad, or just plain the somewhat finicky nature of mice (assuming you’re not a twitch gamer).

PvZ’s weakness is the same as Google Earth’s in that it’s very demanding app on the CPU and the 3G and original iPhone stutter under heavy zombie infestation. However, the iPad, once again with that fast custom CPU, should power right through the game. (A second complaint would be the low-res graphics on the iPhone version, which again, should be addressed with the more capable iPad.)

Looking beyond PvZ, tower defense games shine on touch platforms. It’s simply a genre that almost seems like it was made to be played on a touch screen because of the ease-of-use of using your finger to do everything quickly and efficiently.

However, if we look even further past the genre, other games that heavily rely on the user to directly interact with the screen (puzzlers, physics games, etc.) are going to benefit from the iPad’s much larger touch screen that’ll allow for larger, more vivid graphics and a higher leniency on the “hot zones” where one interacts with the games. Something like TanZen, a brilliant and deceptively simple puzzle game, is going to be magnificent to play on the large screen. Grabbing pieces, moving and rotating them, and placing them exactly where you want is going to be much easier since they won’t all be a half-inch in size.

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So there you go, six apps that’ll make your iPad into something you grab whenever you’re looking to anything from buy something off of Amazon to play a game. Sure, you may not carry the iPad with you wherever you go, but it may well turn into the first thing you grab when you get home from work and sit down on the couch to relax.

Have any other app suggestions that are going to make the iPad awesome? I know I haven’t covered them all, so share with others!