OK, so you just bought an iPad, and are wondering what do I do now? What apps should I buy? What accessories do I need, and which ones are the best to get? Where can I go to learn more?
I strongly suggest you read the detailed pages from my main iPad index page, because everybody is different. But here is a one-stop Quick-Start list to get you started with the essentials:
Accessories: See the iPad Accessories page for more.
- Case: Get Apple's SmartCover. Don't worry about a fully-enclosed case unless you are crazy with your iPad or have young kids. If you travel a lot and need to take chargers, a wireless keyboard, and video adapters, also get the Incase Travel Kit Plus.
- Keyboard: I have a wireless keyboard, but I never use it, so you may want to try using your iPad without a keyboard to see if you actually need one. If you are planning on writing long articles, then you probably will want a keyboard. If you are primarily going to be doing email, casual note taking, and editing, then you most likely will not need a keyboard. If you think you need a physical keyboard, get either Apple's Wireless Keyboard or the Targus Wireless Bluetooth for iPad. The Apple keyboard is a nice aluminum keyboard. If you get the Apple keyboard, consider also getting Apple's Battery Charger. The Targus keyboard includes a rechargeable battery and has iPad-specific keys.
- Dock: If all you have is an iPad, the Apple Dock is good. If you also have an iPhone, consider either the XtremeMac InCharge Duo for iPad for small footprint or the Griffin PowerDock Dual for side-by-side charing with valet dish. Remember none of the docks really work if you keep your iPad in a wrap-around case.
- Power: Do you need a charger for your car? Do you need an extra power adapter or two? One for work, one for upstairs, one for downstairs (or did you get a dock)? Do you need a long charging cable? Those are on my larger Accessories page.
- Video Out: Do you need video out for presentations? Get the Apple Digital AV Adapter for the best quality audio and video if your presentation systems have HDMI inputs. Get the Apple VGA Adapter for compatibility with most presentation stations (if you need audio out as well, you will also need a Stereo-to-RCA audio cable with the VGA adapter).
Apps: See the
iPad page for more app recommendations.
- Note Taking: If you feel that Apple's Notes app is too limited, get EverNote for taking notes. It syncs to the web and other devices, and has many useful features. Free.
- Document Manager: Both GoodReader and PDF Expert are very good. I use PDF Expert.
- Office Suite: It's hard to beat Apple's Pages, Keynote and Numbers apps for their ability to create nice looking documents with a stunning interface. They open and save to Word, PowerPoint and Excel format files. If you live in the Windows world, and maintaining the most accurate formatting is critical to you, chose DataViz's Documents to Go.
- Task Management: I use OmniFocus.
- Presentation: Consider Apple's Keynote. Another good app for presentations is 2Screens. It turns the iPad into an interactive whiteboard.
- Internet News: There are lots of great news-reader apps for the iPad. For a "lets get down to business"-like approach consider NetNewsWire or Feeddler or Reeder. For a funner approach look at Flipboard, Pulse News Reader, or The Early Edition.
- InstaPaper: Also in the Internet News category, but in a class all its own is InstaPaper. InstaPaper is a larger system. The idea is this: You are sitting at your computer and come across an article on the web, but don't have time to read it right now. You click the special InstaPaper bookmarklet and it sends the page you are reading to your InstaPaper account (free). It strips out all of the adds from the web page so all you get is the article text and photos. Then when you launch InstaPaper on the iPad, it will download all of your articles. The articles are stored on the iPad so you can read them even without an Internet connection. Its hard to describe without seeing it, so go get it and try it. You will wonder how you ever lived without it.
- Discover: Read wikipedia like a magazine. Free.
- IMDb: The Internet Movie Database app is simply amazing. It is WAY better than the actual website. Great interface. Free.
- ABC Player: Watch ABC shows on your iPad. Free.
- Pandora: Play Internet radio, based on songs you like. Free.
- Adobe Ideas: A free app from Adobe for drawing. This will just demonstrate drawing on the iPad to you for free.
- Aweditorium: If you like discovering new music, try this app. Very fun. Free.
- forScore: If you are a musician, and want your sheet music on your iPad, this is the app for you.
- AccuWeather: a great free weather app.
- HotelPal: find hotels with a great interface. Free.
- Kayak: find flights, hotels, and car rentals. Free.
- RecipeBook: manage your recipes, create shopping lists from your recipes
- Pageonce: Financial data aggregator - it brings all of your financial information to one place.
- Deliveries: Track your deliveries.
- AppShopper: get notifications when apps that you want go on sale. Free.
- AppAdvice: this app helps you find iPad apps (kind of like this page, but more professional!) and reviews new apps as they come out.
- Amazon and Windowshop for shopping Amazon. Free.
- Kindle and Nook apps If you want every bookstore on your iPad. Free.
- Comics and Marvel for comic books. The iPad is an amazing device for reading comics in a whole new, almost cinematic way. Free.
- Navigon if you need a GPS app.
- Games: Take a look at these to start with: Scrabble, Drawn: The Painted Tower, Osmos, Arriving HD, World of Goo, Sparkle HD, Infinity Blade, N.O.V.A.
Next Steps:
- The apps I listed above barely begin to scratch the surface, and they are based on what I use. For example, there are some great car racing apps on the app store. There are tons of education apps - have you seen Elements? There are remote conferencing apps. Drawing apps. Everything you can thing of...Here are some ideas to find more info:
- Launch the App Store and look at the advertising sections - good apps are usually highlighted. Look at the New and Noteworthy and Staff Picks and Top selling app lists. FIlter by category. Search for a term.
- Get the AppAdvice app I mentioned above and explore more apps.
- Sync your photos from your computer to the iPad. Grab some music and movies too. Try it out.
- Watch these great videos that Apple made showing you how to use your iPad.
- Think about getting some cloud storage: either MobileMe or DropBox.
- Return to the main iPad index page, where you can learn how to implement a paperless workflow.
MN K12 Tech Coordinator Tips & Tricks
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