Last week we tried to help answer the question of if you should buy Apple’s latest creation in the iPad 2. Even though I am a tad bit skeptical of the iPad 2 being such a great upgrade from the first gen model, I can in no way say that it isn’t the best tablet on the market at this very moment, especially for the price. And with the long lines and sell outs of iPad 2 on Friday, it appears that many consumers think it’s the best too.
We have also discussed several weeks ago how tablets can actually be decent productivity devices, even with their lack of fast input with a full, physical keyboard. I have been using my iPad 1 since its release and have to admit that it is my go to device for keeping my action lists, reviewing and adding to my calendar, and reviewing documents and documentation.
So, with new iPad in hand, let’s find some of the best productivity apps for iPad and iPad 2 to get you started.
Action Lists and GTD
Toodledo
Toodledo for iPad literally feels like an extension of the web app that many GTD fans have deemed as the center of their system. The sync is fast and the ways that you can manipulate your lists is top notch.
Things
Considered to be one of the best GTD apps by many Mac-heads, Things is a streamlined, easy to use actions and projects app for the iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It is on the pricey side, but many users say that it is totally worth it for the workflow.
Omnifocus
Considered by this Mac-head to be the best GTD application in the Apple realm for iOS and Mac OS X. Omnifocus has got some David Allen backing and is definitely a premium app for iOS which you can tell by the pricing. One of the best functions that I have found is location aware contexts. On a side note, if you want full desktop sync on OS X, you are going to have to pay another $79.99.
Todo
Todo is a beautiful list application that syncs with the Todo web app or with Toodledo online. Todo does a good job of using the iPad’s screen real estate by giving the user the feeling of using a paper planner. You can also change the look and feel of the theme of your planner which gives this app a nice touch.
Pocket Informant HD
Pocket Informant has been around for a while, with its start coming from Windows Mobile. PI has done a good job of allowing you to hash your action lists and calendars in any way that you like. PI also syncs with Toodledo or even with Outlook with the download of a desktop app.
Notes and Document Creation
iWork Suite
We couldn’t forget the iWork suite that Apple created for the launch of the iPad last year. I have to say that Pages, Numbers, and Keynote for iPad show me what developers can actually do when developing for these tablet devices. If you have to create or edit documents that contain tables, formulas, etc. then the iWork suite is the best on iPad.
No universal app: $9.99 each Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
Evernote
Evernote is the most ubiquitous digital note-taking tool. Period. I am not exactly sure how any of my projects would get done without this awesome tool.
Simplenote
Simplenote is just that; a simple way to take notes. Simplenote allows you to take as many plain text notes as you want and then can sync them to the cloud via their web app. If you are one of those minimalist productivity types, then Simplenote is the way to take notes on your iPad.
Catch Notes
Catch Notes (used to be 3Banana Notes) reminds one of Simplenote with some added features like tagging and “hash-linking” your notes together. I used Catch Notes a lot back on Android, but decided to consolidate everything into Evernote to simplify.
Documents To Go
If you don’t want to give all of your money to Apple by buying their iWork suite but still need a way to edit Office documents, then your next best bet will be Documents To Go. Docs To Go has been around for a while now and has created a decent productivity suite on iOS at a decent price.
Universal App: Documents to Go $9.99 | Documents To Go Premium (includes Dropbox sync, Google Docs sync, email attachments, etc.) $14.99
Miscellaneous
Stock Calendar and Contacts
I have yet to find better contact and calendar management than the stock apps provided by Apple. Also, they are deeply integrated into iOS. This means that other apps will use them to add items to your calendar or use contact information. Apple has done a great job of using the size of the iPad’s screen to give you more information and better navigation while browsing.
Free, comes with your iPad!
Dropbox
I and many others consider Dropbox to completely change the way that you store your files, especially if you work cross-platform. Dropbox for iPad takes advantage of the screen and also gives you previews of your documents, photos, and media. You can open your documents in whatever app you have installed that supports that type of media.
Mindnode
If you are like me, then you think in mindmaps. If that is the case then the best mindmapping software for iOS for the price is Mindnode. There is something visceral about creating mindmaps on a large touchscreen device; it feels much more natural than point and clicking with a mouse, often resulting in more dynamic and free-flowing brainstorm sessions.
Goodreader
This is the first app that I purchased for my iPad to read and review documents and PDFs and can’t say that I have spent a better five bucks in my life. Goodreader syncs with just about any cloud-based document service you can think of (Dropbox, Sugarsync, Box.net, Google Docs, etc).
Great list of productivity apps for the iPad. I’d recommend adding Pages, Keynote & Numbers, and Adobe Ideas.
Thanks Again!
Oh man, I can’t believe you didn’t include AwesomeNote! it is hands down my favorite app! If they’d add Google Calendar to it, it’d be perfect, but it’s pretty close even without it!
I love Mindmaps, and I love my iPad. And Mindmaps work beautifully on a real tablet pc, but on these tablet-lite devices like an iPad, I can’t see using mindmaps. They want to benefit from my finger touching and grabbing, but then switching contexts to a keyboard is just too awkward. It made sense on a tablet pc, because you had a pen and it did a great job of recognizing what I wrote. Pens on an ipad never work well because the device wasn’t really meant for that type of input. That said, thanks for the pointer to it….loaded it up on my mbp.
Applications are really good.. Pocket informant gives more way whatever like we can use it.. User friendly features.. I love this ipad.. Thanks for sharing this..
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This is self-promotion (not posing as a fake user), but we request you to consider LifeTopix – it is the most complete productivity and life organization app for the iPad. It too is a universal app that offers so much more than the list above for only $3.99. Here’s a promo code for the first person to get it: JH3RYE9TLKPP Enjoy! Give us feedback, and congrats on that new iPad!
This is self-promotion (not posing as a fake user), but we request you to consider LifeTopix – it is the most complete productivity and life organization app for the iPad. It too is a universal app that offers so much more than the list above for only $3.99. Here’s a promo code for the first person to get it: JH3RYE9TLKPP Enjoy! Give us feedback, and congrats on that new iPad!
[...] The Best Productivity Apps For Your Shiny, New iPad [...]
From your mini bio: “…and how to utilized technology…”
Should be: “…and how to utilize technology…”
A question: What are more and better things?
I used to be a Things user, but now I’m a big fan of Wunderlist for my iPhone and Mac. You should consider it in your GTD list. It’s a very minimalistic to-do app, but it gets the job done.
It’s free and is available for many platforms (iPhone, iPad, android, win, mac).
The two key things that made me switch:
1. Internet syncing. Unlike Things you can sync your to-do’s anytime, anywhere.
2. Collaborative to-do list. I can share a grocery list with my GF and it will sync to all our devices over the web.
3. It’s simple and looks good.
The biggest con, but it’s not a deal breaker for me, there are no tags.
http://www.6wunderkinder.com/wunderlist/
How about put things off… That is one of the simplest and best apps around. With very smart idea behind it.
I question the veracity of anyone who says the they’ve never found a better calendar app than Apple’s. The writer clearly hasn’t looked very far.
Shazzer, I have looked very hard for a good calendar replacement for iPad and have found none that are as full featured and integrated as Apple’s offering. If I was speaking of iPhone then I have found many that are better. Do you have any examples of better calendar apps for iPad?
Try Week Cal HD. I think it is better than the standard Apple Calendar on IPAD
I recommend Instatodo!
Is there an application for an online timesheet? I hope it does since having an iPad is way better if I can use it for my work.
thank you for this list of great apps. some are quite expensive though…
to manage tasks (my own and my colleagues’) – I recommend Facetasks
http://itunes.com/apps/mobilissimo/facetasks
Nice suggestions. I’ll be checking these out.
I think above all, one must have willingness to do the task.
The above apps are merely tools to keep you on track or reflect your work.
gee, ya think? thanks for stating the bloody obvious. I’m sure that what you said would be considered a given fact by everyone or we wouldn’t be looking into organizing apps in the first place.
Really nice list of IPad applications and i will definitely download these applications.
great post.. good to see some real good apps here.. let me try them out :)
fantastic list – thank you.
would also add two apps:
- PlainText, to write simple notes with smooth Dropbox integration
- Facetasks, to manage tasks / todos with your contacts.
http://itunes.com/apps/mobilissimo/facetasks
Great List, I would like to add another app named ccToDo- a cloud based, synchronized to do list and task manager that helps you stay on top of your schedule. It travels with you wherever you go and on whatever device you’re using – Windows, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Android, web, and email. Free to download from http://www.cctodo.com/download
just found this post…helped me a lot
as a reminder app, I use Call Reminder Notes….is a bit too simple…but useful, pops up reminders when contacts call me. check it out on Android Market.
Chris, I’d love for you to take a look at magicalpad http://www.magicalpad.com and tell us what you think. It is a very interesting concept, freeform notes, outlines and checklists. Kind of like mind maps merged with lists.
Thanks,
i will recommend : CloudWord .
Its Brilliant
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cloud-word/id457832169?mt=8
I took the advice of the Lifetopix recommendation from an earlier post and I have been very pleased. It really is the only app I need to keep track of all the stuff I want to track, and it does it in a super intelligent way. It even has a free Mac client. It’s one of the few apps I bought that I consider to be worth way more than the purchase price.
What a wonderful collection of information. Really its very interesting and worth because now a day, ipad is very much famous among people. Good to be here…
Let try CalPad and CalPhone, they are great calendar+task+note apps.
These kind of posts are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I am happy to find out many good point here in the post, fabulous list you guys are sharing here ….
Appreciate it. I think be prepared is the best of all the tips you provided. We need to be prepared for everything and only then whatever we do will be successful…
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In my opinion the best todo application is Goal Todo it integrated the Remind and things, Todo, quit good for using
Ok so I was hopeful that i would find some useful stuff in this article. With respect you talk about all these apps as if I already know about them and the ones they are like rather then giving a good brief description of how they can help me.. Please consider your reader when writing.. thanks
Another great app for collaborative brainstorming : BrainSqueezer.