iPad Must-Have Apps

[FanIn80]

I know it's still early, but there are going to be some apps announced and more details revealed as we get closer to the March release date. So, in the spirit of the iPhone/iPod Touch app thread, here's one for the iPad.

I don't have any app news to kick this off with, per se, but I do have a pretty interesting blog post from the guy who wrote the Facebook app (he also did some work on Firefox back in the day). He had previously written a pretty lengthy post detailing his frustrations with the App Store approval process, but seems to be pretty excited about developing for the iPad...

I spent a year and a half attempting to reduce a massive, complex social networking website into a handheld, touch-screen form factor. My goal was initially just to make a mobile companion for the facebook.com mothership, but once I got comfortable with the platform I became convinced it was possible to create a version of Facebook that was actually better than the website! Of all the platforms I've developed on in my career, from the desktop to the web, iPhone OS gave me the greatest sense of empowerment, and had the highest ceiling for raising the art of UI design. Except there was one thing keeping me from reaching that ceiling: the screen was too small.

http://joehewitt.com/post/ipad/



The more I think about the possibilities of this thing, the more interested I get. So... let's see what apps come down the pipes!

Edit: I'm not sure if this should go in the iPhone thread or not. On one hand, there's a lot of apps mentioned in that thread, but on the other hand, quite a few of them are outdated and may or may not transfer well to the iPad. I just ended up deciding to make a new thread. If we wind up just wanting it merged, we can do that.

[photon]

I might buy an iPad just to play the version of Civilization they make for it . That'll be a must have.

[FanIn80]

Haha yes. I love the iPhone version, but the small screen really takes a bite out of it for me. I was looking through my apps, and Civ was one of the ones that jumped out right away as something I really hope gets reworked for the bigger screen.

[Yeah_Baby]

I'm going to suggest Pages.

[FanIn80]

Well you're in luck... all three iWork apps are already coming.

[photon]

A pass-around version of Scrabble would be really cool too. Heck a lot of board games would translate well.

[sureLoss]

engadget is reporting some nice new features in the new 3.2SDK
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/29/c...ling-file-dow/

We can also confirm that iPhone OS 3.2 supports file downloads and local storage in the browser, which means you'll be able to pull files off the web and use them in other apps, and there's at least the beginnings of SMS support buried within the code -- a fact we were able to verify with noted iPhone jailbreaker chpwn, who sent in the above screenshot from a hacked-up copy of the iPad simulator. (The simulator always says "iPhone simulator" in the menu bar, but that's the iPad.) chpwn also tells us he's found some inklings of actual phone support, there's a spellchecker, and that both the new landscape orientation for the homescreen and keyboard support appear to be destined for the iPhone itself when 3.2 comes out.

New features I've uncovered:
• CoreGraphics to PDF API for sure, printer API is being prototyped
• Spell checker in text fields and web views using AppleSpell
- multiple languages
- grammar checking (English-only so far)
- address book integration
- user added words
- SDK access
- Included dictionaries: Apple Dictionary, New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, Shogakukan Daijisen, Shogakukan Progressive English-Japanese Japanese-English Dictionary, and Shogakukan Ruigo Reikai Jiten (may also be used for a Dictionary app perhaps?)
• USB Host support or expanded Bluetooth support
- PTP support for transferring images
- MobileStorageMounter (perhaps used for PTP; perhaps used to mount external USB storage?)
- Hardware keyboard: USBKeyboardLayouts.plist
• Much richer text API including low-level access to font data and highlevel support for drawing formatted text
• Support for querying attached screens and choosing which screen a window draws on (App Store approved?)
• The beginnings of file upload in Safari
• Location-sensitive ads are being prototyped in integrated Maps application (and applications that use the maps framework)
• Ability for applications to modify the standard cut/copy/paste menu
• "Handwriting keyboard" is being prototyped.

[bluejays]

I was just thinking about this myself, and one thing that would help the product a ton would be if it had a GPS chip inside and a map app that would take advantage of that. A 10" screen running GPS without using data would be kinda cool.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

engadget is reporting some nice new features in the new 3.2SDK
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/29/c...ling-file-dow/

Awesome stuff!

[FurnaceFace]

Before they develop apps they should make it run more than one app at a time. People complained hard about the low end version of Win7 running a limited number of apps at a time so I'm surprised Stevie would allow it out with such a limiting feature....that or I (and others) don't "get" this piece of technology. To me that's really limiting.

I also can't believe he let that name slide.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

Before they develop apps they should make it run more than one app at a time.

Can we make the other iPad thread the official "iPad Sucks Thread" and leave all the nay-saying there?

Anyway, what I want is something like this:


A virtual whiteboard, where I can draw a system diagram. Though I would need more than 5 colours.

Right now, my team sit in a room and draw up our diagrams, notes and ideas on the white board in the conference room. At the end of our meeting, I take a picture of the whiteboard with the iPhone and mail it to the team for documentation purposes.

I realize we could use a Smartboard and save everything... the Smartboard does come with a virtual whiteboard program for this very purpose. However, diagraming was very hard on the Smartboard... and writing was near impossible.

Having a shared project over multiple pads, that we could take back to our desks and start programming would be better than printing out a iPhone picture.

[silentsim]

I will be buying Pages, Numbers, and probably Keynote.

[FanIn80]

Oh hey, a whiteboard app would be awesome. There's some mention about handwriting support in sureLoss's earlier post too.

Also, yes, please keep the "iPad sucks" stuff in the other thread.

[Russic]

I would like to be able to control GarageBand or logic from an interface on the ipad. I hate trying to use a mouse with a guitar strapped to me. If I could prop it up and tap away I'd giggle like a school girl.

I also want an overly basic graphing app. I want to have an x and y axis, plug in values and see the points plot on a graph.

[QuadCityImages]

Originally Posted by photon

A pass-around version of Scrabble would be really cool too. Heck a lot of board games would translate well.

I think it'd be cool to have the iPad be the board flat on a table, and have each person's "hand" of letters be on each person's iPod, iPhone, or even non-Apple handheld devices (probably not). They could all connect via bluetooth. You could select a letter on your iPhone, then press the square on the iPad where you wanted to put it, etc.

This could theoretically work on any tablet, of course.

[Russic]

^^ that's a cool idea.

[HotHotHeat]

it would be great if Apple released a special pen to use it as a tablet. With the quality of the touch screen, you might actually be able to write normally on it.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

it would be great if Apple released a special pen to use it as a tablet. With the quality of the touch screen, you might actually be able to write normally on it.

There already exists such a pen for POS iPod Touch systems.

[STeeLy]

I think the iPad should have 24 hour leak protection

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Russic

I also want an overly basic graphing app. I want to have an x and y axis, plug in values and see the points plot on a graph.

So not a single one of you is going to point out the fact that what I'm basically describing here is Numbers? For whatever reason it took me 4 days to figure this out.