The AppAdvice Top 10: Best Free iPad Apps Of 2011
January 1, 2012
As the year comes to a close (Just a few hours left!), it's time to give you our choices for the top ten free iPad apps of 2011. Jamie already posted our picks for the iPhone's best free and paid apps, and we'll try not to force (m)any repeats on you here.
Without further ado, AppAdvice presents:
Editions by AOL (AOL, Inc.)
Like other forward-thinking news aggregators for iPad, this one comes with a personalized touch. And, while it isn't as polished as Flipboard, Editions by AOL mostly succeeds in its effort to bring a print-like, automated experience to the iPad's digital spread. The app has its flaws, but they're largely mitigated by both its style and ability to learn your likes in delivering custom content every day. No news junkie should be without Editions by AOL.
Facebook (Facebook, Inc.)
Facebook for iPad was easily the most anticipated app of the year. After all the trials and tribulations of delayed development, the thing finally launched, and 800 million users couldn't be happier. A slick interface, intuitive menus, and the general convenience of it all make the iPad Facebook the best Facebook yet. Even better, Timeline access is coming soon!
Forever Drive (Supermono, Ltd.)
We'd been looking forward to Supermono's racer for ages, and its summer release didn't disappoint. With futuristic, neon style and tight-coded, tight-controlling substance, the game's a blast to play. It takes forever to unlock all of Forever Drive's goodies without charging an in-app purchase or two, but that just means you'll get months of enjoyment out of this simple (though infinitely complex) title. Forever Drive was an ambitious project, but Supermono came through with nothing short of their best game yet.
HBO Go (Home Box Office, Inc.)
Okay, this one's a bit of a stretch. Yeah, HBO Go is free, but you've actually got to be a subscriber to the channel and have a cable or satellite provider that allows such piggyback services. Still, if you meet those criteria, you'll get the whole HBO experience right on your iPad. Michael Shannon in Boardwalk Empire? Can't beat that in this day and age. Bottoms up!
NYPL Biblion: World's Fair (The New York Library Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations)
If you've got an iPad, you probably love technology, gadgets, and pondering man's mechanical future. Well, so did all those folks way back in the day, and this astounding, edifying collection showcases one of the most forward-thinking events of the 20th century. The New York Public Library's Biblion program here gives you a front-row virtual tour of the 1939-1940's World's Fair, with leaflets, essays, photos, and videos bringing life again to the inventions--and ideas--of old.
Skitch for iPad (Evernote Corp.)
A new app from Evernote (you know, the makers of...Evernote), Skitch for iPad lets you doodle over and annotate photographs, screenshots, maps, and webpages with ease. It's fast, intuitive, straightforward, and--most importantly--useful! Need to help a friend set up some party decor? Plan it out over a pic of the room. Need to draw up some rough blueprints for that new custom bar in your den? Snap a photo and get sketching. There's nothing to it, and the applications are practically endless. And, of course, Skitch comes with full Evernote integration.
SnapSeed (Nik Software, Inc.)
SnapSeed won Apple's coveted iPad App of the Year award, and deservedly so. Honestly, the photo-editing powerhouse doesn't need any more press, but it really is the best such product on the App Store. As we migrate more of our artistic passions to the iPad's embrace, apps like SnapSeed will be increasingly important. The line between desktop- and mobile-based photo-manipulation is growing blurrier all the time. And that takes one heck of a filter!
Temple Run (Imangi Studios)
What Jamie said: "We here at AppAdvice cannot put this game down. It’s so simple, but extremely addictive. Just swipe up, down, left, right (B, A, select, start … just kidding) and avoid the obstacles, while collecting gold, in this endless runner. Crazy monkey men are chasing you, so don’t fall! Who knows what they will do if they catch you..." Except on the big(ger) screen. Awesome and addicting, Temple Run is the best kind of casual game (and the best endless runner ever).
Tiny Tower (NimbleBit LLC)
This ultra-popular title won Apple's iPhone Game of the Year award, and it's even better on the iPad. Why? Well, in Tiny Tower, you're basically managing real-estate, right? So wouldn't you want more real-estate to manage it on? Screen real-estate, get it? Makes sense to me.
Thanks for reading us in 2011, and make sure to check out our last list of the year before heading out to that New Year's party.
The Best Free iPad Apps Of 2011
Crackle (Crackle, Inc.) Put out by Sony Entertainment to showcase their various industry properties, Crackle is one of the finest movie and television services out there. You get a large library of content to start, and 20 new films and TV episodes are added each month, all sans any subscription or membership fees. And, unlike Netflix' streaming selections, each title Crackle offers is high-grade all around. No quantity over quality, here. The action-packed, gunslinging Desperado? Check. Terry Gilliam's hilarious Adventures of Baron Munchausen? You know it. Seinfeld, too? Are you kidding me? You just can't go wrong, people. Like Crackle's slogan, it's on, indeed!
Editions by AOL (AOL, Inc.)
Like other forward-thinking news aggregators for iPad, this one comes with a personalized touch. And, while it isn't as polished as Flipboard, Editions by AOL mostly succeeds in its effort to bring a print-like, automated experience to the iPad's digital spread. The app has its flaws, but they're largely mitigated by both its style and ability to learn your likes in delivering custom content every day. No news junkie should be without Editions by AOL.
Facebook (Facebook, Inc.)
Facebook for iPad was easily the most anticipated app of the year. After all the trials and tribulations of delayed development, the thing finally launched, and 800 million users couldn't be happier. A slick interface, intuitive menus, and the general convenience of it all make the iPad Facebook the best Facebook yet. Even better, Timeline access is coming soon!
Forever Drive (Supermono, Ltd.)
We'd been looking forward to Supermono's racer for ages, and its summer release didn't disappoint. With futuristic, neon style and tight-coded, tight-controlling substance, the game's a blast to play. It takes forever to unlock all of Forever Drive's goodies without charging an in-app purchase or two, but that just means you'll get months of enjoyment out of this simple (though infinitely complex) title. Forever Drive was an ambitious project, but Supermono came through with nothing short of their best game yet.
HBO Go (Home Box Office, Inc.)
Okay, this one's a bit of a stretch. Yeah, HBO Go is free, but you've actually got to be a subscriber to the channel and have a cable or satellite provider that allows such piggyback services. Still, if you meet those criteria, you'll get the whole HBO experience right on your iPad. Michael Shannon in Boardwalk Empire? Can't beat that in this day and age. Bottoms up!
NYPL Biblion: World's Fair (The New York Library Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations)
If you've got an iPad, you probably love technology, gadgets, and pondering man's mechanical future. Well, so did all those folks way back in the day, and this astounding, edifying collection showcases one of the most forward-thinking events of the 20th century. The New York Public Library's Biblion program here gives you a front-row virtual tour of the 1939-1940's World's Fair, with leaflets, essays, photos, and videos bringing life again to the inventions--and ideas--of old.
Skitch for iPad (Evernote Corp.)
A new app from Evernote (you know, the makers of...Evernote), Skitch for iPad lets you doodle over and annotate photographs, screenshots, maps, and webpages with ease. It's fast, intuitive, straightforward, and--most importantly--useful! Need to help a friend set up some party decor? Plan it out over a pic of the room. Need to draw up some rough blueprints for that new custom bar in your den? Snap a photo and get sketching. There's nothing to it, and the applications are practically endless. And, of course, Skitch comes with full Evernote integration.
SnapSeed (Nik Software, Inc.)
SnapSeed won Apple's coveted iPad App of the Year award, and deservedly so. Honestly, the photo-editing powerhouse doesn't need any more press, but it really is the best such product on the App Store. As we migrate more of our artistic passions to the iPad's embrace, apps like SnapSeed will be increasingly important. The line between desktop- and mobile-based photo-manipulation is growing blurrier all the time. And that takes one heck of a filter!
Temple Run (Imangi Studios)
What Jamie said: "We here at AppAdvice cannot put this game down. It’s so simple, but extremely addictive. Just swipe up, down, left, right (B, A, select, start … just kidding) and avoid the obstacles, while collecting gold, in this endless runner. Crazy monkey men are chasing you, so don’t fall! Who knows what they will do if they catch you..." Except on the big(ger) screen. Awesome and addicting, Temple Run is the best kind of casual game (and the best endless runner ever).
Tiny Tower (NimbleBit LLC)
This ultra-popular title won Apple's iPhone Game of the Year award, and it's even better on the iPad. Why? Well, in Tiny Tower, you're basically managing real-estate, right? So wouldn't you want more real-estate to manage it on? Screen real-estate, get it? Makes sense to me.
Thanks for reading us in 2011, and make sure to check out our last list of the year before heading out to that New Year's party.
