50 Must-Have iPad Apps

Productivity

OmniFocus for iPadOmniFocus for iPad ($39.99): It’s all about Getting Things Done and no app gets things done like OmniFocus for iPad. Featuring the ability to sync with the desktop OmniFocus, as well as the iPhone version, you’ll always have your up-to-the-minute to-do list with you at all times. You can also add contexts to your tasks, such as the location where they’re supposed to be performed, or the tools that will be required to perform them. Finally, a Forecast mode lets you see the deadlines looming for your most important tasks, letting you make the decision as to what urgent list item needs to be taken care of first. Serious to-do listers pay attention: this is your app.

PenultimatePenultimate ($0.99): Notetaking isn’t limited to just pen and paper anymore. The iPad is capable of storing your typed and handwritten notes with Penultimate from Cocoa Box Design. Notes can be taken on various forms of “paper” (plain, lined, grid) and then can be backed up to Dropbox and Evernote. You can also email single pages or entire notebooks as PDFs to anyone. Feel free to draw, scribble and type using your finger, or one of those fancy-shmancy stylus pens. Care to share your notes? Hook up your iPad to a projector and stream them to an entire classroom or boardroom.

TextExpanderTextExpander ($4.99): When you compose an email, or draft a document, you always have those certain words and phrases you type over and over again. Instead of driving yourself mad by repeating yourself each time, turn to TextExpander to do it for you. TextExpander stores “snippets” of text that automagically insert themselves where your cursor is after you type a preset trigger. For example, you can save your email address as a snippet, so when you type “myemail” in a document, your email address is popped in without any extra effort on your part. Many iOS apps come with built-in TextExpander support and the iOS version syncs with the desktop version on your Mac, so all your snippets are with you wherever you go.

OmniOutlinerOmniOutliner ($19.99): Planning a big project? Want a clear outline of what needs to get done? OmniOutliner creates stunning OPML outlines with images, text and links that can be imported into other apps (like some mind mapping apps) to make the most of them. Expand and collapse groups to focus on one outline segment at a time, apply a custom outline theme, and show/hide columns in case things get a bit cluttered. Combined with OmniFocus for iPad, this one-two punch from the Omni Group should help you tackle any project thrown your way.

EvernoteEvernote (Free): Think of Evernote as your ultimate note-taking app on the iPad (and iPhone – it’s universal). Set up your free Evernote account and use the application to store text notes, images and favorite links as individual notes, or keep those notes bundled in Evernote “notebooks”. Tag them for easy searching later on, or use the built-in OCR (optical character recognition) to pick out the text you’re searching for from within an image. Tip: Do you do a lot of business on the road? Store pics of receipts and business cards you collect for reference later on, especially when submitting a reimbursement form from your company.