AppShopper

If you’ve got a shiny new iPad Mini in your hot little hands and you’re looking to load up on apps for it, you’ve come to the right place! Here at AppShopper, we offer a directory of all apps available in the US App Store (including Mac apps) plus a fantastic Wish List feature to let you track the apps you’d like to buy and notify you when paid apps on that list go on sale. Sounds awesome, right?

For an overview of how to use our Wish List feature, see this article. If you’re an extreme deal hunter, check out this article on how to find paid apps gone free. Yes, app developers do sometimes go a little nuts and make their paid apps completely free occasionally and you can ferret out those deals easily right here.

If this is your first iPad, there’s one resource you should definitely check out since Apple doesn’t include much in the way of documentation in the box: the iPad User Guide for iOS 6. This is Apple’s own user guide that will explain everything from soup to nuts about your new tablet in over 300 (!) virtual pages. Note that you’ll need Apple’s free iBooks app to read it.

If you want even more information on your iPad and its features, check out iMore’s guides to iCloud, Siri, Notification Center, and more here.

Now, what apps are absolutely essential to get started? Apple covers the basics with apps to let you check your email, manage your contacts and calendar, and watch videos you’ve purchased through the iTunes store, but there’s so much more you can do with your iPad.

First, staying in touch with family, friends, and even strangers through social networking is something you can do easily. The official Facebook app is a free download and while Twitter has its own free official app in the App Store, I’d recommend Tweetbot instead for a more enjoyable yet still full-featured Twitter experience.

• FreeBuy Now
  Social Networking
  

  Facebook

  Last Changed:

  17 hours ago

  Rating:

  2.00 (875)

  Version:

  6.2

  iOS Universal

  Keeping up with friends is faster than ever. • See what friends are up to • Share updates, photos and videos • Get notified when friends like and comment on your posts • Text, chat and have...

• $299Buy Now
  Social Networking
  

  Tweetbot for Twitter (iPad...

  Last Changed:

  5 days ago

  Rating:

  4.50 (2080)

  Version:

  2.8.1

  iOS iPad

  Tweetbot is a full-featured iPad Twitter client with a lot of personality. Whether it’s the meticulously-crafted interface, sounds & animation, or features like multiple timelines &...

Compared to the iPhone, the iPad’s larger screen makes it a fantastic medium for web browsing and reading articles and there are few apps that take full advantage of this while also offering intuitive touch controls. Flipboard is one such app, letting you create your own custom digital magazine that pulls articles from your Twitter or Facebook feeds and other sources that you choose yourself. If you want to dive head-first into digital magazines and get away from the dead tree versions, check out Zinio, a company that sells digital subscriptions and offers a free app for you to access them in all their Technicolor glory on your iPad.

• FreeBuy Now
  News
  

  Flipboard: Your Social News...

  Last Changed:

  1 week ago

  Rating:

  5.00 (2097)

  Version:

  2.0.3

  iOS Universal

  Flipboard is your personal magazine. It is the most popular way to catch up on the news you care about, discover amazing things from around the world, or stay connected to the people closest to you....

• FreeBuy Now
  News
  

  Zinio – 5,000+ Digital...

  Last Changed:

  5 weeks ago

  Rating:

  4.50 (904)

  Version:

  2.5.3

  iOS Universal

  Browse more than 5000 digital magazines from around the world in a newsstand with the largest selection, or read fresh articles daily for free. The best in news, politics, technology, art, style,...

Though you can’t make phone calls with an iPad out of the box (aside from video calls through Apple’s own FaceTime protocol), you can make VoIP and video calls with an internet connection and the help of third-party apps. Skype offers an iPad-specific version of its app to access its calling and messaging service and the Talkatone app offers free calling in conjunction with your Google Voice account and free texting for users in the US.

• FreeBuy Now
  Social Networking
  

  Skype for iPad

  Last Changed:

  4 weeks ago

  Rating:

  3.50 (433)

  Version:

  4.8

  iOS iPad

  Say “hello” to friends and family with an instant message, voice or video call on Skype for free. There’s so much you can do, right from the palm of your hand. Features: Join over 250 million...

• FreeBuy Now
  Social Networking
  

  Talkatone - free phone calls and...

  Last Changed:

  1 week ago

  Rating:

  4.00 (146)

  Version:

  2.2.3

  iOS Universal

  “Of all the apps I’ve downloaded, Talkatone has saved me the most money” Unlimited FREE calls and texts to anyone in the world over WiFi or 3G/4G without using any cell minutes. • Stop...

If you’re going to use your new tablet to replace paper to capture class or meeting notes, you’ll need naught but a stylus (I recommend Adonit’s Jot Pro) and one of the many note-taking apps available. Noteshelf and the feature-packed Notetaker HD are both excellent choices with features like wrist protection (so you can rest your wrist on the iPad’s screen as you write without making any accidental marks) and the ability to let you customize the snot out of your virtual notebooks and paper.

• $599Buy Now
  Productivity
  

  Noteshelf

  Last Changed:

  25 weeks ago

  Rating:

  4.50 (460)

  Version:

  7.0

  iOS iPad

  "Best handwriting notes app for iPad" - iMore.com "An impressively deep, feature-rich app" - MacWorld The most beautiful note-taking app ever designed for the...

• $499Buy Now
  Productivity
  

  Note Taker HD

  Last Changed:

  8 months ago

  Rating:

  4.00 (170)

  Version:

  6.8

  iOS iPad

  Editors' Choice: "Bottom Line: Affordably-priced and feature-rich, Note Taker HD is the iPad app for professionals in need of note-taking software." -PCMag.com, June 2011 Note...

If you’re a movie addict or simply want to branch out beyond your existing movie collection, there are apps that offer free movie and TV show streaming. While the selections they offer don’t always include top-tier movies, it’s still not hard to find something you’ll enjoy. Check out Popcornflix and Crackle to get your movie streaming on. If music videos are more your thing, especially since MTV just ain’t what it used to be and rarely shows actual music videos these days, check out Vevo.

• FreeBuy Now
  Entertainment
  

  Popcornflix - Free Movies

  Last Changed:

  12 weeks ago

  Rating:

  2.00 (36)

  Version:

  1.1.0

  iOS Universal

  Watch Free Movies with the Popcornflix App! Download this free movie app and instantly watch HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of FREE feature length movies streaming on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. 
 ...

• FreeBuy Now
  Entertainment
  

  Crackle - Movies & TV

  Last Changed:

  8 months ago

  Rating:

  3.50 (3531)

  Version:

  3.0.3

  iOS Universal

  Finally, watch FREE movies on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. ~ Newly re-designed based on feedback from our 13 million users!~ ***Awards & Honors*** - Named Best of the iPhone Ent....

• FreeBuy Now
  Music
  

  VEVO HD - Watch Free HD Music...

  Last Changed:

  8 weeks ago

  Rating:

  3.50 (141)

  Version:

  2.3

  iOS iPad

  With the VEVO app you can watch music videos, stream live concerts, and discover new artists on your iOS device for free! Access VEVO's entire catalog of 75,000 music videos from more than 21,000...

Unlike the iPhone, Apple doesn’t include a weather app on the iPad out of the box but third-party developers have you covered here, as always. WeatherBug for iPad is my go-to app on my iPad to see the weather forecast and current radar while Weather HD is an eye-candy-filled option that’s just as functional.

• FreeBuy Now
  Weather
  

  WeatherBug for iPad

  Last Changed:

  22 weeks ago

  Rating:

  3.50 (164)

  Version:

  1.6

  iOS iPad

  “Trust me, I have tried a lot of different weather apps all around, this is the number 1 weather app!” “Love this, it's excellent, very accurate!!” “Glad I downloaded it.” “Best weather...

• $199Buy Now
  Weather
  

  Clear Day - (Formerly Weather...

  Last Changed:

  1 week ago

  Rating:

  4.50 (414)

  Version:

  2.5

  iOS Universal

  *** NOW with Real-time Animated NOAA Radar and Severe/Storm/Hurricane Alerts *** Clear Day™ (formerly Weather HD) is an elegant weather app that made its debut on iPhone and iPad with its unqiue...

If you’re looking for games, I’d like to direct you to TouchArcade, our sister site that focuses exclusively on games for the iPad and iPhone. For today’s release of the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad, they’ve put together some spectacular lists to get you started:

• Top Ten Best iPad Games That’ll Tax Your New iPad 4 GPU
• Top Ten Best iPad Game Classics For iPad Mini

Also, don’t forget to download the free AppShopper and TouchArcade apps so you can find those app deals and learn about the hottest games right from your iPad.

• FreeBuy Now
  Utilities
  

  AppShopper

  Last Changed:

  10 months ago

  Rating:

  4.00 (138)

  Version:

  1.4.4

  iOS Universal

  The official AppShopper.com app from the creators of TouchArcade.com AppShopper keeps you up to date on the newest App Store apps, sales and freebies. Organize apps in your own customized Wish List...

• FreeBuy Now
  Entertainment
  

  TouchArcade - The Best New Games

  Last Changed:

  7 weeks ago

  Rating:

  4.50 (17)

  Version:

  1.1.4

  iOS Universal

  Find the Hottest new games for your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad before everyone else! Save money by bookmarking games to your own personal Watch List which notifies you of any sales, updates, and...