Ten Great Apps for the iPad

Stumble It! | Delicious | Digg | Print |

During Wednesday's iPad announcement, Steve Jobs, the Apple chief executive talked a lot about apps for the iPad.

In his presentation, Jobs talked about apps developed specifically for the iPad including a The New York Times app, for example, an app called Brushes that lets you draw and paint digitally, a first-person shooter called Nova, and the iBooks bookstore app and so on. But the really exciting thing is that the App Store's 140,000 apps will virtually all work on the iPad by running them with pixel-for-pixel accuracy in a large black box or run them in full-screen mode.

You might be wondering what current apps for the iPhone and iPod touch would be great on the iPad. Since the iPad has a much larger 9.7-inch capacitive screen and multitouch capabilities, it could add a lot to some of the most popular apps and games in the App Store. We've collected 10 current iPhone apps that we think will especially look better on the iPad.

1) AP Mobile - If you want to take a break from the New York Times iPad app, then check out AP Mobile. This comprehensive app offers stories, photos, videos, and more. With the larger screen of the iPad, videos and photos from around the globe are bound to pop more.

2) Epicurious - Ever wanted a digital cookbook to replace all the tomes in your kitchen? Epicurious on the iPad might just do the trick. Right now, the iPhone/iPod touch version is good for looking up ingredients on the go, but the screen might be a tad small for those trying to cook. The bigger iPad screen makes it easier to read the recipes while you actually cook.

3) Facebook - Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iPhone software, mentioned in today's announcement that Facebook would be a great addition to the iPad. He wasn't kidding. Considering that anyone with a decent amount of Facebook friends can access a wealth of profiles, updates, photos, and more, you can use it to be the hippest stalker ever.

4) Flickr - Flickr has always been a great resource for photographers and photography fans. With Flickr on the iPad, you'll be able to cycle through Flickr's amazing collection of photos with a much bigger screen.

5) Google Earth - So you thought taking a look around the world was fun on the iPhone? Think about messing with spinning the globe and taking a closer look into New Zealand or Italy with a larger screen? Google Earth for the iPad will let you explore the world with more ease.

6) Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – We already knew that this popular game plays well on the iPhone 3GS and the Nintendo DS. But imagine blowing it up to twice the size. Explosions, shootouts, and cutscenes will be much more epic on the iPad. The touchiest GTA installment just got more crazy.

7) Kindle - IPad will be a Kindle kill. If Apple plans to let Kindle stay on the iPhone/iPad platform, the Kindle app could be a good alternative to Apple's new iBooks bookstore. IPad will make use of the Kindle apps. All the Kindle users out there who want to give the iPad a spin but want access to all their Kindle-format ebooks might best appreciate this app.

8) Madden NFL 10 - Madden on the iPhone just isn't Madden. Those who have been playing Madden in their living rooms for years know that the mobile version of the iconic game is fun, but the screen's a tad small to really lay out those plays and see your receivers. If the Madden perform on the iPad, the Madden franchise will finally get a chance to play ball on the biggest portable screen yet.

9) The Sims 3 - If you've been looking to walk your Sim around with more precision and take in more details in this very successful adaptation, the iPad will be a good option. It can become a very useful app for iPad.

10) SimCity - The iPhone version of SimCity only had one glaring problem—the screen was a tad small to really do everything you wanted to do, especially if you had big fingers. The iPad's screen will probably do the game justice. Now you can build your city with the peace of mind that you'll be able to build roads precisely when that massive fire breaks out. It will be fit to iPad