For those that owned an iPhone prior to purchasing the iPad, the first thing you will notice is that there are fewer apps installed on your iPad than on your iPhone when you start it up for the first time. Some of the missing apps are more obvious than others, like the Phone app. But others, like the Calculator app, are oddly omitted despite their utility on a tablet. Here is a list of suggested replacements from the App Store that will bring your iPad up to par with the functionality you have come to expect from your iPhone, right out of the box.
Calculator. It just seems funny to have one of the world’s greatest computing platforms in your hands and not be able to check your sums. It does not have to be too terribly fancy. Just something to keep you honest when your basic math skills are called upon. Calculator Pro ($0.99, Universal) from Apalon has a similar look and feel to the calculator app that comes on the iPhone. You can also select from different themes if you want something other than the classic look.
Clock. Something else that computers do well is count time. Up, down, forward and backward. Beyond simply telling the time or setting an alarm, you may also want an app that has a good stop watch and countdown timer. Clock Pro HD ($2.99, Universal) from the Alarm Clock Company has all of the features associated with the iPhone Clock like a world clock, stop watch, timer and alarm. You also get a chess clock and metronome.
Voice Memos. Some may think that with the new dictation feature of the iPad that voice memos are a thing of the past. But there are times when you are not connected to a network and you still want to capture that great idea — with or without the aid of speech to text. QuickVoice Recorder (Free, Universal) from nFinity is just a simple voice recorder that allows for quick and easy access to your recorded messages. It supports background recording and you can even e-mail your recorded messages or sync them to your Mac. The latest version will also record custom ringtones.
Compass. Knowing which way you are going is always a good thing. All versions of the iPad come equipped with a digital compass sensor on-board. Compass 54 Pro ($0.99, Universal) from Alexander Galstyan is a very attractive implementation of a compass that adds a few more features not present in the iPhone stock version, such as altitude, course, speed and weather.
Weather. There are certainly plenty of competing weather apps out there. So many, in fact, that weather is one of the leading app purchases just behind games and hence has its own category. The Weather Channel (Free. iPad) is the standard. Supporting daily and hourly forecasts with map views of radar data and even video updates of your local weather conditions, it even supports push alerts for severe weather conditions.
Stocks. If you have a portfolio to manage, then you likely are using your broker’s app rather than a generic stock app. But if you are just curious to see what is going on in the market place, MarketDash for iPad (Free, iPad) from Yahoo!has all of the functionality of the iPhone Stocks app, but takes full advantage of the larger iPad screen. You can even create a custom list of stocks to follow.
Phone. Yes, you can make phone calls to actual land lines directly from your iPad, and even use a Bluetooth headset while you are on the call. Talkatone (Free, Universal) from TalkMe.IM can actually place calls from your iPad using Google’s free Voice service. You can receive calls, access voice mail and even send SMS text messages. It’s like having a real phone on your iPad.
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