Inspired by my mom getting an iPad, I put together this list of my top apps for the beloved device. It doesn't include all my apps and doesn't include any games (a whole separate project) or location-based services (Mom's not really into that), but I think this is a useful foundation for anyone looking to boost productivity and general life improvement via the iPad.

Also, check out my previous post: Top 48 iPhone App Recommendations (by category) and see all my app posts here.

What great apps did I miss? Let me know in the comments.

The first section are the Must-Have apps. I've also inserted *** before the Must-Have apps (first on lists), then others below, by category. All links go to the iTunes App Store webpage for the app.

Must-Have Apps

• Flipboard - #1 must-have app, which organizes all the content that you want in a clean, brilliant layout, like a magazine - watch videos in place, read articles without leaving, respond to Facebook posts right there, etc. You can pull in any feed from news sites (e.g. NY Times), blogs, etc. The easiest way to do this is to add them to Google Reader and add your Google Reader account to Flipboard. I also HIGHLY encourage you to add your Facebook account here, as it's a beautiful, enjoyable way to look at what your connections are posting. http://bit.ly/kfShGU
• Evernote - 1 of my absolute favorite apps, which I keep in my iPad's dock so I always have it at my fingertips. Save notes, clip parts/all of webpages, make text in photos searchable, record audio notes, etc. You can email them all out to yourself or others. It's a digital notebook that is accessible through your browser, an app you can install on your computer and mobile devices, like the iPad. I couldn't live without it. http://bit.ly/l5XjoN
• TripIt - forward your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. and this app organizes everything into a wonderful itinerary with weather, maps, reminders, etc. It also adds each part of your itinerary to your Google Calendar, if you let it. It has social features, too, if you want, so you can see when/where your friends are traveling and let them know about yours, but you can turn that off if you want. http://bit.ly/krc1rZ
• HBO Go - watch the entire HBO library on your iPad. Oh yeah! http://bit.ly/mMjOSf
• Netflix: http://bit.ly/lA2ziZ
• Friendly for Facebook - best way to view Facebook on the iPad (other than Flipboard, of course!) http://bit.ly/lkZmU1
• GetGlue - It's a fun social network, completely centered around entertainment (film, TV, music, books, topics, etc.). You can "check-in" to, "like" and review the content that you're consuming, chat with other people passionate about it, earn virtual rewards (stickers), real world rewards (discounts) and get recommendations for other related content. There's also a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome, which allows you to perform all these actions around the web and see what your friends from Facebook and GetGlue have liked. You can also post your activity to Facebook and Twitter, which does the work of including information about the TV show/film/etc. for you. http://bit.ly/j1YW2j
• PerfectBrowser - full-featured browser, like you would have on your computer. The default, Safari, is fine for most things, but this is well worth the price when you want a deeper browsing experience. http://bit.ly/kvVSmG
• Yelp - has never failed me when searching for restaurants, even when in strange cities. http://bit.ly/iH3HN2
• Epicurious - find recipes and create shopping lists http://bit.ly/ldARux
• Pandora - stream music that learns your preferences from the brilliant Music Genome Project. http://bit.ly/k0DEny
• Dropbox - it's a hard drive on a server, meaning you can access your files from any computer or mobile device that you authorize. You can share folders with people also, if you wish. It's a lifesaver. http://bit.ly/ldHGrC 
• Fring - allows you to chat with AIM, Google Chat, etc. friends all in one place. You can also video and audio chat if you have wifi. http://bit.ly/ihLYre
• Skype - excellent way to chat and video chat with people around the world, for free. You can also get unlimited domestic voice calling for about $30/year through your computer and it's amazing. I use it almost every day to make phone calls. http://bit.ly/ma5j8
• TripAdvisor - best reviews on anything travel-related. http://bit.ly/mC091d
• DragonSearch - amazing. Just speak into it and it'll search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and your iTunes library, all at once. It's so good. http://bit.ly/jjOrvF
• Dragon Dictation - who wants to type? This app does an incredible job of transcribing your voice to text. You can them email, post to social networks, etc. http://bit.ly/kmhvLM
• FlightCaster - predicts flight delays 6 hours before the airlines, based on historical data and monitoring of traffic info. Pulls your flight info in from TripIt. (They're going to start charging soon, so just download it, even if you're not sure you want it.) http://bit.ly/ifE8vd
• GateGuru - info on which gate flights are leaving/arriving, security wait times, services, food, maps, reviews and more. Pulls in info from TripIt. http://bit.ly/jmMd4c
• Appzilla - every other function you might need on your iPad. http://bit.ly/iHla0W
• Instagram - simple, lovely app that lets you apply filters to photos and post to social networks. http://bit.ly/jSX5E9
• Pano - helps you take several photos to stitch into a panoramic shot. Works really well - created some beautiful ones in Thailand. http://bit.ly/jK9Tza
• Photofeed for Facebook - pulls in photos from Facebook. http://bit.ly/jMu9hq
• Adobe Photoshop Express - Photoshop's app, which lets you easily make edits and improve your photos. http://bit.ly/lQnH3b
• Goodreader - great way to view and organize PDF, Word and other docs. http://bit.ly/jXzPE5
• Simplenote - basic text app that syncs with a server so you can access them anywhere. http://bit.ly/j3CxX8

News

• ***Flipboard - #1 must-have app, which organizes all the content that you want in a clean, brilliant layout, like a magazine - watch videos in place, read articles without leaving, respond to Facebook posts right there, etc. You can pull in any feed from news sites (e.g. NY Times), blogs, etc. The easiest way to do this is to add them to Google Reader and add your Google Reader account to Flipboard. I also HIGHLY encourage you to add your Facebook account here, as it's a beautiful, enjoyable way to look at what your connections are posting. http://bit.ly/kfShGU
• *Guardian Eyewitness - gorgeous, daily, visual representation of the news from the Guardian (UK). http://bit.ly/loXE1h
• *NPR - read news, watch videos, listen to podcasts or any of their stations, etc. http://bit.ly/mB8tRP
• NYTimes: http://bit.ly/lbZxuY
• Slate - read, watch, listen to news from the great, liberal & culturally rich news service, Slate.com. http://bit.ly/mhrOSO
• This American Life - one of my favorite radio shows of all time, hosted by Ira Glass, which I think you'd love. It's a paid app, but has every episode ever. Otherwise, you can always go to iTunes and download the episodes they have available there for free. http://bit.ly/kful0N
• CNN: http://bit.ly/jToSGs
• BBC News: http://bit.ly/k6ciNC
• The Weather Channel: http://bit.ly/jWWEu0
• Pulse - visual way to look at news headlines before digging deeper: http://bit.ly/kD7eA9
• Blancspot - visual way to look at news headlines before digging deeper: http://bit.ly/lwSq1b

Social Media & Chat

• ***Friendly for Facebook - best way to view Facebook on the iPad (other than Flipboard, of course!). http://bit.ly/lkZmU1
• **GetGlue - It's a fun social network, completely centered around entertainment (film, TV, music, books, topics, etc.). You can "check-in" to, "like" and review the content that you're consuming, chat with other people passionate about it, earn virtual rewards (stickers), real world rewards (discounts) and get recommendations for other related content. There's also a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome, which allows you to perform all these actions around the web and see what your friends from Facebook and GetGlue have liked. You can also post your activity to Facebook and Twitter, which does the work of including information about the TV show/film/etc. for you. http://bit.ly/j1YW2j
• **Fring - allows you to chat with AIM, Google Chat, etc. friends all in one place. You can also video and audio chat if you have wifi. http://bit.ly/ihLYre
• *Skype - excellent way to chat and video chat with people around the world, for free. You can also get unlimited domestic voice calling for about $30/year through your computer and it's amazing. I use it almost every day to make phone calls. http://bit.ly/ma5j8f
• Twitter - dive in, it's very useful if you learn how to filter all the noise. http://bit.ly/kceQlP

Search/Browsing

• ***PerfectBrowser - full-featured browser, like you would have on your computer. The default, Safari, is fine for most things, but this is well worth the price when you want a deeper browsing experience. http://bit.ly/kvVSmG
• ***DragonSearch - amazing. Just speak into it and it'll search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and your iTunes library, all at once. It's so good. http://bit.ly/jjOrvF
• Discover - beautiful, visual way to browse Wikipedia like a magazine. http://bit.ly/lT6KFE

Entertainment, Music & Video

• ***HBO Go - watch the entire HBO library on your iPad (must be a subscriber). Oh yeah! http://bit.ly/mMjOSf
• ***Netflix: http://bit.ly/lA2ziZ
• ***Pandora - stream music that learns your preferences from the brilliant Music Genome Project. http://bit.ly/k0DEny
• PBS - beautiful app with lots of streaming video. http://bit.ly/mxII4N
• TED - watch TEDTalks. http://bit.ly/jXVTkC
• IMDB: http://bit.ly/iuv3wM
• Fandango - movie times, reviews & buy tickets. http://bit.ly/lcNwt1
• Movies by Flixster - another great movie app, which pulls in reviews from Rotten Tomatoes (my favorite) and your Facebook friends. http://bit.ly/m3UiMX

Going Out, Food, Reviews

• ***Yelp - has never failed me when searching for restaurants, even when in strange cities. http://bit.ly/iH3HN2
• **Epicurious - find recipes and create shopping lists. http://bit.ly/ldARux
• MenuPages - view restaurant menus in major cities. http://bit.ly/jFnl4w
• OpenTable - make reservations at restaurants. http://bit.ly/l7s8Yz
• SeamlessWeb - order food for delivery. http://bit.ly/jeU8DA
• GrubHub - another way to order food for delivery. http://bit.ly/jOKdZb
• Seafood Watch - info on ocean-friendly seafood at restaurants. http://bit.ly/ipFCS4

Travel

• ***TripIt - forward your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. and this app organizes everything into a wonderful itinerary with weather, maps, reminders, etc. It also adds each part of your itinerary to your Google Calendar, if you let it. It has social features, too, if you want, so you can see when/where your friends are traveling and let them know about yours, but you can turn that off if you want. http://bit.ly/krc1rZ
• **TripAdvisor - best reviews on anything travel-related. http://bit.ly/mC091d
• *FlighCaster - predicts flight delays 6 hours before the airlines, based on historical data and monitoring of traffic info. Pulls your flight info in from TripIt. (They're going to start charging soon, so just download it, even if you're not sure you want it.) http://bit.ly/ifE8vd
• *GateGuru - info on which gate flights are leaving/arriving, security wait times, services, food, maps, reviews and more. Pulls in info from TripIt. http://bit.ly/jmMd4c

Photos

• *Instagram - simple, lovely app that lets you apply filters to photos and post to social networks http://bit.ly/jSX5E9
• *Pano - helps you take several photos to stitch into a panoramic shot. Works really well - created some beautiful ones in Thailand. http://bit.ly/jK9Tza
• *Photofeed for Facebook - pulls in photos from Facebook http://bit.ly/jMu9hq
• *Adobe Photoshop Express - Photoshop's app, which lets you easily make edits and improve your photos. http://bit.ly/lQnH3b
• Precorder - starts recording video a few seconds before you press the record button, so you don't miss what you actually wanted. http://bit.ly/jwXINc

Documents & Utilities

• ***Evernote - 1 of my absolute favorite apps, which I keep in my iPad's dock so I always have it at my fingertips. Save notes, clip parts/all of webpages, make text in photos searchable, record audio notes, etc. You can email them all out to yourself or others. It's a digital notebook that is accessible through your browser, an app you can install on your computer and mobile devices, like the iPad. I couldn't live without it. http://bit.ly/l5XjoN
• ***Dropbox - it's a hard drive on a server, meaning you can access your files from any computer or mobile device that you authorize. You can share folders with people also, if you wish. It's a lifesaver. http://bit.ly/ldHGrC
• ***Dragon Dictation - who wants to type? This app does an incredible job of transcribing your voice to text. You can them email, post to social networks, etc. http://bit.ly/kmhvLM
• **Appzilla - every other function you might need on your iPad. http://bit.ly/iHla0W
• *Goodreader - great way to view and organize PDF, Word and other docs. http://bit.ly/jXzPE5
• *Simplenote - basic text app that syncs with a server so you can access them anywhere. http://bit.ly/j3CxX8
• GeniusScan - use your camera as a scanner. http://bit.ly/kScbLu
• Kindle - download and read eBooks from Amazon's Kindle store. http://bit.ly/jNGl0l

My friend and fellow digital nerd, Caroline Giegrich (Twitter, LinkedIn) recently published a thorough analysis of the Check-In landscape, including location, content and brands, on Mashable. Definitely check it out for a run-down of the major players, marketing and brand integration, and her thoughts on the psychology behind why millions of people have incorporated this activity into various parts of their daily routines.

Anyone who is connected to me on social media knows that I have been experimenting with check-in-based social networking since the beginning. For me, different platforms fulfill different, meaningful purposes in my life. The features listedbelow are in order of their importance to me.

Location:

• A record of where I'm going, eating, interacting with folks in the real world. As a foodie and a social person (offline too), I want to remember where I went when, and with whom. It helps me with subsequent blogs and reviews, and even looking at my behaviors when assessing time and money management.
• Social Planning & Tips: More and more, I find myself going to Foursquare first, before Yelp or other sources, when I'm looking for a restaurant or other nearby business. I have made meal choices and found hidden secrets, thanks to tips left by friends and the community at large, and have a long To Do List waiting for me if I'm ever bored. In addition, I have stepped up my efforts to be a good digitial citizen and leave my own tips as much as possible. If Facebook incorporates this functionality into Places, it would make that feature a lot more valuable.
• Post Updates to Other Social Networks: An important functionality for me, as I often want to tell my other social networks where I am and what I'm doing. The addition of photo posting to Foursquare is another reason for me to use that app, instead of others like Facebook Places or Pegshot.
• The Game: Not the most important features, to me, but I do still enjoy capturing a mayorship or a fun badge, especially the exclusive timely ones. With people that are clearly cheating the system, I don't really pay much attention to the points.

Content:

*Note: I've been testing GetGlue, Miso and Philo since mid-last year, so I will be posting a full review very soon. In short, GetGlue is one of my favorite social networks, of any kind, now, so it is my clear favorite. Miso has a great user interface and funcitonality, but is limited to TV and movies. Philo is restricted by being locked into cable provider, rewarding live viewing (I watch almost everything delayed) and low adoption numbers.

• Connect and converse with people that are passionate about the same content. Through GetGlue, I have connected with a wide range of people that are watching the same shows, thinking about the same topics, and otherwise engaged in the same content as I am. What is a social network for, other than to connect with people, both those you already know and new ones, about things that matter to you?
• Post Updates to Other Social Networks: More than with location, I often want to share my content experiences with my connections on other social networks. I also write a lot of reviews, so I'm enjoying posting these on platforms like GetGlue, where conversations are more fluid than on other sites containing reviews, such as Netflix or Flixster.
• Entertainment Planning: I love seeing what my connections are watching and thinking about, as it gives me the opportunity to discover new content that I might have overlooked or missed. Learning from others is the largest benefit of social media, in my opinion, which is why I try to listen even more than I post.
• The Game: I enjoy the gaming aspects more in the content-based social networks than in location, because I think that the platforms and their partners are integrating in creative, fun ways. For example, as a fan of Boardwalk Empire, I enjoy earning various GetGlue stickers, using vernacular from the Prohibition time, such as "Zozzled", for my check-ins to the show. I also think that the Guru feature on GetGlue is fabulous, as it gives the most passionate member of the community the opportunity to manage the network's webpage about that content and position him/herself as an authority on the topic. it's good to have someone to go to if you want to discuss and/or ask questions about content, which this feature streamlines.

Brands:

• Express Affinity: I am a big proponent of expressing positive experiences with brands, and not only because I work in digital brand advertising and social marketing. Whenever anyone, brand or human, contributes something beneficial to my life, I try to recognize it publicly, so I don't have any hesitation to give a warm shout-out to the companies that are helping me live the life I want.
• Discounts & Deals: To Caroline's point, the biggest incentive to check-in to a brand is when there is a clear financial benefit for doing so. Outside of checking-in, however, I use a variety of social and mobile tools to garner information and for shopping research, such as RedLaser and Stickybits. 

Check out the article and let me know how you check-in in the comments.

The Art of the Checkin: From Location to Content to Brand

About 2 days ago Caroline Giegerich
Follow her on Twitter for more social media and emerging tech insights.

Within the spectrum of social media, the act of sharing essentially amounts to a desire to personally define ourselves to others. In the age of the social network, there are an almost infinite number of options for creating that personal definition on the web. Checking in is just one of the newer ones.

There is an art to checking in and a way to make it part of your online identity. Below, we walk through some of the obstacles and best practices for doing it right. Read on and let us know what tips worked for you in the comments below.

via mashable.com

As you might know, I've been testing out GetGlue, Miso, Philo and some other content-based social networks with check-in features for a few months (review and findings coming soon). GetGlue is still my favorite overall, although I think Miso handles TV better, but the below suggests that there's clearly still room in the space. TV Guide has an established brand and people go to their site, repeatedly, for schedule information and deeper details about shows. I think any of the above networks, especially GetGlue, could secure their place in this realm more fully if they deepened the day to day value if the info available about the content that people are checking in to. GetGlue already has deep web integrations, including iMDB, so this shouldn't be too hard. 

Have you tried checking in to a TV show or other content? What's your favorite network? Let me know in the comments.

More Fans ‘Checking In’ to TV Series
Nov 18, 2010
By Mike Shields

TV fans have been ‘checking-in’ to their favorite series—i.e. alerting their Facebook friends what shows they are watching at a given moment—at the rate of 10,000 check-ins per day on TVGuide.com, according to officials. TV check-ins are the tube’s answer to the growing trend of people checking-ins at restaurants and bars via location-based applications like Foursquare, and increasingly Facebook. Several startups, including GetGlue, have been popularizing the activity with TV—which broadcast networks love—given that it would seem to encourage live viewing.TVGuide.com launched its check-in features on Oct. 20 by introducing multiple “I’ll Watch” buttons on the site leading to flood of early response. The site’s check-in feature is integrated with Facebook—meaning that users who check into various shows on the site can instantly alert their Facebook friends. According to TVGuide.com execs, people have checked into 7,400 different episodes of 1,800 shows on a wide variety of networks. The most checked-in shows to date include House, Vampire Diaries, the CMA Awards, Sons of Anarchy, Monday Night Football, The Office and Blue Bloods. Going forward, TVGuide.com is using the check-in feature to automatically build personalized lists of viewers’ favorite shows, which will appear on multiple pages throughout the site. “I’ll Watch” buttons are now also built into TVGuide.com’s listing grids.

via MediaWeek