Popular Applications for iPad

The iPad has been out for a few years now, and one of the things that has always ensured it remains at the top of the tablet market is the Apple App Store, and the fact that there are thousands of different apps available, allowing owners to do everything from play games, to manage their weight, archive their photographs and much more.

In this article we will look at the best and most popular apps, from those that are currently at the top of everyone’s wish list, to the ones those that lead the way in terms of “all-time” downloads and ratings.

BetFair

As gambling fanatics, this one is close to our heart. This was actually one of the reasons we bought an iPad, as the thought of playing slot machines, blackjack and roulette without needing to sit at a desk, on a bulky PC or laptop, was like a dream come true. Similarly, one of the other things that convinced us was the fact that, at the time, Pokerstars had launched a tablet app as well.

BetFair has apps for all areas of its site, so you will use a different one to play on the casino than the one to place bets. The betting app is more popular than the casino one, as BetFair leads the way in terms of sports betting, but the casino app is the most popular online casino app in the Apple Store. With this app you can do just as much as you can on the BetFair website, and as well as choosing from the hundreds of slot machines and other games, you can also choose from a selection of games that have been created exclusively for use on mobile devices.

We would recommended the Chain Reactors games, of which there are three. These are available on many other casinos as well, but on BetFair they have different symbols and it also payouts a little more than on other sites. Chain Reactors Super Trails is our favourite, but Chain Reactors 100 is also worth a play.

The BetFair apps are available as free downloads.

Skype

Not only does Skype continue to be one of the most popular apps on the iPad and other devices, but it is also one of the all-time most popular apps in the Apple App Store. Skype allows users to make free video calls to other Skype users and it had a wealth of other features as well. For many Skype has become their main means of communicating, as it can also be used to phone landlines and mobiles (although such calls are not free). Skype is also the main Instant Messaging program on the market, leading the way since it overtook MSN Messenger what seems like a lifetime ago now.

Known as a VoIP program, which stands for Voice-over Internet Protocol, Skype’s popularity is widespread. It is used all over the world, keeping distant family and friends in touch, whilst creating new friendships and relationships.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds is one of the most popular tablet and smartphone games of all time. It dominated the Apple App Store at the time of its release and it continued to do so for some time. It is still very popular today and there are also plenty of spin-offs and more that continues to bring in plenty of money for its developers.

Angry Birds is a simple game and one that heralded a number of copycats. In it, the player fires birds in a slingshot, aiming at elaborate forts, castles and other defences.

FaceBook for iPad

As the world’s leading social network, it goes without saying that this would lead the way as far as social media apps go. It seems like everyone has FaceBook accounts these days, from kids that are technically too young to have them, to pampered pets who are oblivious to their little bit of fame. There are hundreds of millions of FaceBook accounts in total, and this figure is growing year on year.

There was a time when the FaceBook app was all you needed to do everything you could do on the FaceBook website, but that didn’t last and they began to break it up. Perhaps eager to gain dominance in other app markets, FaceBook created separate apps for messaging and for FaceBook pages, and now you need 3+ apps to do what one app used to do. This doesn’t seem to bother many of its members though as the extra apps have extra features that make them worthwhile, and would have only served to make one app too cluttered.

The website that can topple Facebook from its throne is a website that will become incredibly rich, and although it has happened in the past (FaceBook took its current crown from MySpace after all) it doesn’t seem very likely that it will happen anytime soon. The FaceBook app can be downloaded for free and the only charges involved are for some of the games, and for sending messages to non-friends who have some level of celebrity attached to them or their accounts.

Other Social Media Apps

FaceBook may lead the way when it comes to social networking, but this is a broad sphere and one that plenty of other sites have grabbed their fair share of. One of the biggest ones of those, and one that might even rival FaceBook in terms of popularity, is Youtube. This is a video sharing website, and one that has a huge following on mobile devices, from those seeking to capture and post videos, to those who want to watch them. Like FaceBook, Youtube actually seems to attract more mobile users than desktop ones.

Twitter is also very popular, with an app that has been downloaded almost as much as FaceBook and Youtube. This is a social network with a difference, offering users the chance to follow anyone, whilst telling the world about their day 140 characters at a time. Other popular social media apps include SnapChat, Vine, WhatsApp (now owned by FaceBook), Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest, all of which are available as free downloads, often supported by adverts.

Kindle

The Kindle app allows those with iPads to download and read Kindle books (purchased or downloaded from Amazon) on their iPad. Kindle books are digital books that have taken the world of literature by storm, with millions released and many more being published everyday. Many of these books are free, from classics that are in the public domain, to newer books given away by authors looking for some exposure, and with the iPad app readers don’t need a Kindle in order to download them.

Temple Run

The Temple Run game is a little more complex than Angry Birds, and some of the other games that have achieved worldwide fame on the iPad, but it is still a relatively simple idea. The player controls an adventurer who runs, jumps, drives, swings and slides through a graphically advanced world that is littered with obstacles. They use the accelerometer and the motion sensor of the iPad, twisting, turning and shaking it to get the player to respond, as opposed to just pressing a few buttons. There have been several versions of this game and there are no doubt several more on the horizon, as its popularity has remained constant over the years.