THEmitchpoe

Everyone has been talking about Apple’s latest announcement so I won’t insult your intelligence by rehashing everything you probably already know. Instead, I’d like to share with you a few of the apps that I think will be made even better by theiPad.

These are in no particular order. I just listed them as I saw them. I guess that means they are in alphabetical order.

1. Air Mouse (Wireless keyboard and mouse app for controlling your Mac) -I have a Mac Mini under my TV so I can stream all of my content from the main computer in my office to the big TV in the living room. When I first set everything up, I spent a lot of money on a small wireless keyboard with a mouse pad so I could control the mini from the couch. Not long after that, The Air Mouse app is released for $5 rendering my +$200 keyboard useless. I love using this app. It makes navigating the mini media center a breeze. Using its on screen keyboard on a large screen, plus having a 9” track pad, is going to make the experience even better.
2. Band (Virtual Music App) – This pick isn’t just for this app alone, but for the entire genre. Music creation apps have been a big hit on the iPhone. Drums, pianos, guitars, and even leaf trombones have been represented. The only problem is that theiPhone’s small screen offers limited playability for the variety of instruments. The size of the iPad will make playing piano and drums so easy that you could probably do some really creative things on the device. I’m not sure how well a guitar app will translate though.
3. Byline (RSS app that syncs with Google Reader.) - While it seems that a lot of people aren’t riding the RSS train anymore (or at least no one is talking about it) I still find the service very useful. I load up my news at least twice a day so that I can read it whenever I want. Usually that is right when I wake up and again before I go to bed. This is another experience made better by my iPhone because I’m not chained to a computer to read the articles I want. And while I’m not really bothered by having them on a small screen, I think theiPad version will make navigating these articles easier and faster. If so, I will probably become more dependent on RSS than I am now.
4. Civilization Revolution (Game) – I will assume you know about the Civilization PC game series and that you may have heard of the console port Civilization Revolution that showed up on theXbox 360, PS3, and the mobile version on hand held systems. If you do know these facts, then you are probably aware that an iPhone version was released not too long ago. I really liked this game and wasted countless hours plundering defenseless empires with tanks and bombers while they foolishly tried to overthrow my cities with horse drawn cannons. Yes, I played it on easy settings because I had more fun that way. When I bought the iPhone version I was a little disappointed to find that it was too small for me to enjoy playing it, though I loved theDS version. I’m hoping that the app scales well to the iPad (or gets remade) so I can take advantage of the large area for better troop management.
5. ComicBookLover (More specifically, comic books in general) – In the past couple of years, comic books have slowly begun to take over my life. That might be a little dramatic, but I have spent a lot of money on my new hobby. The downside to this is that I can’t always bring what I’m reading with me and there are a few series I need to catch up on without scouring the globe for back issues. Enter the digital comic. There are a lot of computer applications for reading digital comics (my favorite beingComicBookLover ) and a fair amount of apps for the iPhone. The only problem is that neither format is suited for comfortable reading and gettingDRM free comics legally is all but impossible at this point. A lot of comics can be read in flash apps online, but that experience is even worse than the first two. With theiPad, reading digital comics will finally be a viable option for you to choose. CBLover and other developers are making iPad specific apps and a lot of publishers are supporting digital comics on the app store already. Of course this is because the comics are completely locked down with no way to export your books, but at least you can buy the issues you want without paying a monthly subscription for a back catalog of comics you are only partially interested in.
6. Cooliris (News Aggregate) – Cooliris is a program I heard about that I never really got into, but I though could be dead useful if it was implemented properly. It lets you input things that interest you and make a list of your favorite sites. Then it gives you this wall of content that you can flip through and select the stories, videos, and other media you want to view.  I first tried it in a browser, which was nice, but a little slow. That may have been because it was early, though, because the iPhone version is a lot snappier. Again, screen size plays a factor here. I think this could be an app I use regularly once I get theiPad version. Check it out for yourself at http://www.cooliris.com/.>
7. FourTrack (Music Mixer) – I already talked about the iPad being used to create real music, and this is just another piece of the puzzle. This app is for musicians to record 4 tracks separately (guitar, drums, vocals, anything) and the mix them together to make a song. This is a really useful app that is a little hard to use correctly on the iPhone. This app, or others like it, could be a must have for musicians with aniPad.
8. Kindle (Book reader app) – Many people have said that the iPad is a direct competitor to the Kindle and that it blows Amazon’s book reader out of the water. I’ve also noticed a lot of criticism of the Kindle coming out of nowhere lately. I myself still like my Kindle very much, though I am looking forward to being able to read Kindle books I have already purchased on theiPad whenever I want. This makes my library all the more mobile.
9. The Secret Of Monkey Island (Point and Click Adventure) - I wanted to buy this game the day it came out on Steam, but I never got around to it. Then it hitXbox Live, but I knew I didn’t want to play it with a controller. Then the iPhone app was released, but I thought it would be too small to let my selections be accurate. I thought this Goldie Locks paradox might keep me from playing Monkey Island on anything besides a PC, but aniPad version of this game would be perfect.
10. Worms (Game) - Another game I’ve loved in the past but didn’t like in the mobile iteration. It’s not that iPhone Worms is unplayable, it’s just uncomfortable. The map is too large to use a zoomed in view, but the worms are too small and the controls get a little shaky when zoomed out. If it scales well, this game could finally be as addictive as it’s PC brothers.

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