ipad 2 Apps

Best iPad 2 apps

  inShare28So you've got an iPad 2, and now you need to fill it with lovely iPad apps. But with 65,000 apps available just for the iPad what are the best ones to get and are there any that take advantage of the new features of the iPad 2.
We've scoured the massive collection of iPad apps available (mid March) on iTunes to see what's on offer and what you should download. We've tried, tested and reviewed all of the following free iPad apps ourselves, rather than just guessing whether they're good or not.

GarageBand

Let’s get it out of the way from the start. This is the most fully functioning music app out there giving you what the majority of individual apps offer, but only better and in one package.

You get to play piano, guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and if you’ve got the right dongle, even record your own guitar playing as well.
Broken down into a number of different areas or instrument groups, the idea is that you can play your favourite instruments, lay down a track, and then edit and manage them into a song before exporting said track into iTunes or your desktop; you can then share it with your friends.
The whole experience is incredibly easy, and depending on your musical skill rather than computer skills, you can create a track in minutes rather than hours.
Playing music is one thing, but you probably want to record it too, and here Apple makes it very easy. Press record, you’re counted in, and off you go.
Each instrument is laid down in individual tracks and there is an editing page that gives you the control to edit it all.
The interface is very much like GarageBand on the Mac and you can add more instruments, loops, delete tracks, expand and shrink, and basically anything else you need to create that next Number One.
Drawbacks? If you want to share the finished track you’ve got to plug in your iPad to a computer.
At £2.99 in the UK and $4.99 in the US, if you’re into music, this is a steal.

Price: £2.99

Rating: 4/5

iMovie

With the inclusion of front- and rear-facing cameras on the iPad 2, it makes complete sense that Apple has chosen to introduce a tablet version of its own film editing application iMovie for the first time.

The video editing software, iMovie, which features as part of the iLife package for Macs, has been enhanced for use with the iPad's touchscreen. It also features the company's precision editing system, multitrack audio recording, new themes specific to this version, AirPlay support - to stream video to an Apple TV - and is universal, so can be used on iPhone 4 or the latest generation of the iPod touch too.
According to Apple's iMovie page, the new universal iMovie application for iOS will be compatible with the iPad 2, iPhone 4, and fourth-generation iPod touch, but not the original iPad.
iMovie and Garage Band for iPad will cost $4.99 in the US and £2.99 in the UK on the App Store

Price: £2.99
Rating: 4/5

Real Racing 2 HD

It was a hit first time around and there’s no difference for the second version either. Real Racing 2 HD is a superb game in the world of accelerometer tipping driving titles. The only time you have to put your finger on the screen to block any of the rather pretty graphics is if you want to brake. Seeing as braking is only for sissies, then you never need to interrupt that view at all.


This take two of the game comes with 10 hours of gamepla,y with 30 cars to unlock from the likes of BMW and Chevrolet and a highly amusing multiplayer mode for up to 16 players at a time courtesy of the Apple Game Center. You’re never going to quite get that racing sim feel that a console can offer but as simplified mobile versions go, this is an entire grid better than anything else out there.
Price: £5.99
Rating: 4/5

Infinity Blade

Arguably the best of the bunch is Infinity Blade on the iPad. It’s an action/RPG, but more than anything a one-on-one fighting game complete with special moves, magic attacks, combos and all weapon, skill and armour upgrades. The aim of the game is to take on and defeat the God-King who’s a bit tasty with a sword and likes to show that fact off again and again as he runs your through with it.

Each time the bugger does you, you come back as another member of your family blood line to test him again until you finally conquer him. Fortunately, it takes a while and there’s plenty of entertaining gameplay out of this purchase. Best of all, the graphics on Infinity Blade are as close to perfect as we've ever seen on the iPad. They wouldn’t look amiss on a full games console - all the more reason to play this on the iPad 2 with its brand new, suped up insides. Enjoy.
Price: £3.49
Rating: 4.5/5

Dead Space for iPad
Survival horror fans need look no further than Dead Space if they’ve just picked themselves up a nice, powerful iPad 2. It’s a unique story unto itself, so you won’t be getting a rehash of whatever console version you might have played in the past. EA has optimized the game for the more powerful innards of the latest Apple tablet and it really shows when the blood starts flying and the nasties are right in your face.

Although we felt slightly aggrieved at the brevity of the game - just 12 levels - there’s some real satisfaction in chainsawing the bad guys limb from limb before booting them to the floor. Fortunately, the gameplay is easy and natural enough to cope with frantic moves when the chips are down and you find yourself surrounded. There’s no virtual d-pad to worry about. Just swipe the screen anywhere for effect. Possibly best of all is something that most people might miss out on - the sound. You can play the thing on speakers but, for the full shock indulgence of the horror genre, make sure to use your headphones.
Price: £3.49
Rating: 4/5

Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD

We’re not going to say that we enjoyed Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD quite as much as Real Racing 2 HD, largely because we didn’t, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good ‘un in its own right. It’s nice to be out on the streets in a Burnout-style gear jammer, and the 42 cars and bikes from manufacturers such as Ferrari, Ducati and Lamborghini are certainly enough to keep you at it until everything possible has been unlocked.


Possibly the most enjoyable part of the whole experience for petrol heads out there is taking a little tour of your 3D garage and tinkering with each of the vehicles until you’ve got them tuned to exactly how you drive. Also, do make sure you sift through the game control options until you find the one that suits you best or you won’t get the most out of what is a thoroughly enjoyable game.
Price: £3.99
Rating: 4/5

IncrediBooth

The other use for the infamous photo booth was when having a crazy time with buddies or a special friend, where you'd bundle into a dreary box to have your pic done; it's this experience that the app tries to jump on the back of (although Pocket-lint didn't get a special friend until 30 years of age and so is not talking from first-hand experience).

In practise and the app does everything very well with a quality feel throughout; the makers, Synthetic Corp, of Hipstamatic fame, clearly know how to put together a polished camera-based app.
Once you have everyone you want in frame, hit the button and you'll get four shots with four different retro effects, whereby you can share one or all of the photos through the usual channels. Time, date and location are also included.
There's no word on whether you'll be able to import lenses and filters from the Hipstamatic range, but if you're into the whole analogue-fad-on-digital-device thing then for the money this is well worth a look.
Price: 59p
Rating: 4/5