My essential apps for iPad

On heartfullness and vulnerability Happy New!

My essential apps for iPad

Next up in my year-in-review is the list of apps I use almost daily on my iPad.

I've had my iPad since it first came out. I thought it would not be an essential "tool" — I've learned otherwise. It is always with me.

Kindle: With the Kindle app, I test a lot of books. If I read an interesting review, I immediately download the sample chapter from Amazon.com; in this way I decide which books I'm actually going to buy.

I like reading books on the Kindle app because I can highlight passages, which are then stored on-line in my account at kindle.amazon.com. This is a huge bonus for research because I can copy the highlights and send them to Evernote or paste them into DevonThink for future reference.

Flipboard: This app takes my social network news feeds (such as on FaceBook, Twitter, Google Reader, etc.) and turns them into a magazine format. Awesome.

Reeder: I find that the iPad has very much changed my reading habits — and I think for the better. I read blogs regularly now, largely because of the ease of the Reeder app. (I'll post my favorite blogs next.)

Instapaper: I often come across a link to an on-line article I want to read, but just not at that moment. I click "Read Later" and it's stored to Instapaper. Later, at leisure, I can read the article comfortably on my iPad. I can also highlight passages and send them to Evernote, etc.

Penultimate (with stylus): Penultimate allows me to scribble notes to myself — a thought for the book I'm writing, for example; notes for a review; something for the To Do List. I want to note these thoughts down quickly, not peck them out slowly on the iPad keyboard. Penultimate is perfect for this, paired with the Griffin stylus I keep tucked into my iPad cover.

Two other apps I use almost daily are Relax & Rest (guided meditations to nature sounds or music, excellent for afternoon cat-naps, and Daily Yoga.

Two "wow" apps I recommend highly are: