I know it’s late in the game, but I’m excited to report that I’ve just gotten my iPad 2 – a black 64GB Wifi model. I’ve included a couple photos of My Precious to show you here. If you’ve just gotten an iPad 2 (or have one on the way), there are a few things you might want to note, whether it be for explaining to your friends, or whether you want to get in your hundreds of dollars worth of bragging rights. The apps and tools below will help you show off your iPad and wow a few people in the process.
FaceTime (Included)
One quick and easy way to impress your friends (or random strangers) is to show them how simple it is to make a FaceTime call over Wifi (or using your iPhone 4 hotspot, you Apple nerd, you). Show them how versatile FaceTime is and how wonderful it is to use.
Photo Booth (Included)
If you want to have a little bit of fun, try showing off Apple’s new PhotoBooth for iPad – you’ll have a blast twisting, conforming, and distorting your face, or other visuals you might find in the area you’re in. Photo Booth might be one of Apple’s most popular programs for the Mac – now it’s on your iPad, so take advantage, and show the peeps the crazy things you can do with it!
iMovie ($4.99, Link)
iMovie for the iPad is really great – it makes is so easy to stitch together photos and videos with the help of great themes, and you can also add in your own music! Show your friends how easily you can turn those vacation videos into an incredible video presentation!
GarageBand ($4.99, Link)
This app perhaps struck and impressed me the most – the virtual instruments are both easy to use, and incredibly adaptive. The looping and mixing features of the app are also incredible. In many ways, this rivals GarageBand for the Mac, and in some ways (in my opinion) surpasses it.
Games: Infinity Blade ($5.99, Link), Real Racing 2 HD ($9.99, Link), and more!
Awesome high definition games are a sure way to impress many people, and there are a lot of beautiful HD games available for the iPad (which look even better on the iPad 2!) Two such games are Infinity Blade, which takes incredible advantage of the new iPad’s graphical abilities, and Real Racing 2 HD, which is perhaps the most beautiful racing game I have ever seen away from a desktop computer.
Apple Digital AV Adaptor ($39, Link)
Video mirroring through Apple’s Digital AV Adapter is definitely a “hot feature.” It’s simple to use, and requires no setup. I’ve found it invaluable for explaining things to people – I can plug my iPad into a TV or HDMI display, fire up a whiteboard-like app such as Sketch ($0.99, Link), and draw out a diagram. Or show them a photo, document, video, or website from my iPad. For just $39, this one seems like a no-brainer to me, and is definitely worth having.
Smart Cover ($39 – $69, Link)
While I was initially skeptical of the Smart Cover, particularly for its seemingly high price, I am nevertheless quite impressed with its quality, and they way it works flawlessly with the iPad 2. They look great, plus they make a nice stand for the iPad. I recommend them greatly.
Your Turn
Do you have an iPad or an iPad 2? Are you looking to get one? Have you seen an awesome iPad app or iPad 2 accessory that you were impressed with, or consider to be a “must-have”? What do you think best shows off the iPad 2 in all its glory? We want to hear about it! Sound off in the comments!
