The release of the Apple iPad has seen a boom in the development of apps made specifically for the device. Less than a month after the device's release, over 5,000 iPad apps were available at the iTunes Store. There is already a wide variety of apps available, from simple To Do apps, to workflow apps and GPS apps. Only 20% of the apps available around the launch date of the device were free apps, with the average iPad app price being $4.99.http://www.padgadget.com/2010/05/01/how-many-ipad-apps-are-there/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/04/the-ipad-app-store-now-has-over-3000-apps-only-20-percent-are-free/

In addition, more than 150,000 iPhone apps designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch are able to be run unmodified on the iPad. Existing iPhone apps can be run at iPhone resolution within a black box on the screen or can be double pixeled to run full screen. Developers are expected to modify their applications to take full advantage of the iPad's larger display.http://www.padgadget.com/2010/05/01/how-many-ipad-apps-are-there/

The "Grand Opening" of the iPad App Store was on April 3, 2010, the first day consumers got their hands on the highly anticipated devices. In the run-up to launch, developers were busy developing applications for the iPad and Apple that had required that all apps be available for their review by March 27 for those developers who wanted to have their apps available to consumers simultaneous with the device's launch. For the launch, Apple required that the apps be built with the iPhone SDK 3.2 beta 5. Applications developed specifically for the iPad platform are generally far more powerful and versatile compared to those built for the iPhone.http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/48997-ipad-developers-focus-on-tablet-games

A large number of applications being developed for Apple's new iPad fall into the games category. According to a study by Flurry Analytics 44 percent of apps that were in development prior to the launch of the device are games.http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/48997-ipad-developers-focus-on-tablet-games

Flight Control is a game where users have to control their planes on the screen, making sure that the aircraft don't collide before landing. This was available for the iTouch, however is reportedly easier to use on the lager iPad. The price is $5.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps The $5, simple tower defense called Plants vs. Zombies features gameplay in which the player plants a variety foliage designed to stop an army of the undead from invading his residence. Reviews say that the extra space on the iPad opens up the game, specifically the planting grid.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps Fieldrunners iPad App is a classic iPhone tower defense game sold for $8.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

Scrabble is a classic board game that reviewers say makes a smooth transition to the iPad. The Scrabble iPad App sells for $10 and iPhone owners can even use that device as a letter tray. Mirror's Edge is an adaptation of the popular PS3 and Xbox game that sells for $13. The game features plenty of jumping, sliding and shooting. Civilization Revolution is a classic RTS, turn-based strategy game that is highly anticipated.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

Labrynth 2 iPad App is a translation of the iPhone's most highly rated marble rolling game. The levels of challenge are enhanced further with the iPad App, including improved subtle 3D graphics. This app costs $8.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps Uno is a largely popular card game for kids and adults. The iPad version enhances the graphics of the app, which calls $7.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

Geometry Wars iPad App is a very popular space shooting game combined with a puzzle-type game. While previously available on other platforms. Reviewers say that the touch controls of the iPad take it to another level. Geometry Wars costs $10.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps Smule Magic Piano is a not-unexpected piano app for the new Apple device. This game takes a twist, literally, and adds game-like features. The game costs $3.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

Sports applications are expected to be popular for the iPad. The NBA Game Time Courside App provides a full, interactive dashboard for every NBA game that can be watched. This app is free. The MLB iPad App, as does the iPhone version, allows users to watch games lives (although some games are blacked out). The stats package will also overwhelm all but the most avid baseball stat-heads. The price for this app is $15. The ESPN ScoreCenter App provides a constant stream of sports info. The size of the iPad reportedly makes it easier to drill down to specific game information on the screen.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

The New York Times was featured prominently during Steve Jobs' unveiling of the iPad in January and the newspaper's website is among those on Apple's list of iPad-ready sites. The New York Times App is designed to enhance the user's experience beyond that available through the browser. The free New York Times Editor Choice app automatically downloads a selection of top stories each day. Users can tap the device's screen to watch video and stories can be downloaded and synced to the device so readers can view them even when not connected via 3G or Wi-Fi. The publisher says a paid version with enhanced features will be available in the future.http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20001661-37.html

USAToday has created an iPad app that attempts to look like its print edition and is free. The Wall Street Journal iPad App is reportedly relatively faithful to the print edition and while the app may be free, subscription charges will apply. The AP iPad App has a more innovative design, integrating video, text and image content into its presentation and the app is free.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps The NPR iPad App is a version of NPR redesigned to look like a digital magazine. With this free app, users can browse text and photos while listening to the audio.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

Popular Science has released a new app that appears to go beyond a traditional magazine scan. The app costs $5.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps The BBC iPad App has its full coverage available for the iPad. The Bloomberg iPad App is a dedicated financial app that is available for free.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

According to the Flurry Analytics study, entertainment apps and social networking apps were the next most popular categories of apps following games with 14% and 7% of the testing.http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/48997-ipad-developers-focus-on-tablet-games

The Marvel Comics iPad app is a highly anticipated application for the iPad, largely because the display capabilities of the device shows off the artwork of the publications better than older-generation, grayscale e-readers. Users navigate a comics store in a fashion similar to that of the iTunes Store and iBooks Store.http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/02/which-ipad-apps-are-getting-the-early-buzz/

Netflix has introduced an app that will stream thousands of movies and show with an account with the service. The app itself is free and a Netflix account costs approximately $9 per month. The ABC Player iPad App was one of the first TV apps to appear in the store and reportedly has a slick interface to access the ABC video content already available on its website. The application is free.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

iBooks is Apple's new ebook store opening along with the release of the iPad. Competitors such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com are expected to release competing application.

The Yahoo Entertainment iPad App is a free app which combines TV listing, entertainment news and video from several of Yahoo's site. The SoundHound iPad App identifies any music that is being played and is said to have a very fast recognition engine. The program finds lyrics, discovers music and creates charts based on what people are identifying. The app costs $5.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps Shazam is a free app that does song recognition, but is said to not be as good as SoundHound.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps Pandora's free app helps you discover music, but doesn't go too far beyond what was available for the iPhone, but is reportedly a solid package of customized radio, presenting song and playlist info.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

StumbleUpon has an app featuring link sharing and discovery with a StumbleUpon account. The free app allows users to browse via the device's touch screen. The Instapaper iPad App allows users to save just about anything they discover on the web in a format that makes retrieval easy. The app costs $5. NetNews Wire is an RSS reader that some reviewers have called the iPad's first premium reader and costs $10. The Feeddler iPad App gives users the basics of a feed reader for free.http://gizmodo.com/5507569/gizmodos-essential-ipad-apps

The Flipboard app is a free ipad application that scans Facebook and Twitter posts and presents the links and articles that they've been posting in a magazine-like layout.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2366823,00.asp Released in July 2010 it immediately faced problems as an overload of users caused a waiting list to connect facebook and twitter accounts to be formed.

Apple will be releasing a new version of iWork specifically for the iPad expanding the functionality of the new device. The productivity suite includes Keynote (presentations), Numbers (spreadsheets) and Pages (word processing). The iWork apps launch a library of documents and an on-screen keyboard pops up as needed for text entry. The iWork for iPad apps will be available for $10 each at the iTunes App Store.http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/187894/apple_introduces_iwork_for_ipad.html

The iPad is a tablet device with a 9.7 inch full capacitive multi-touch display. The thickness of the device is 0.5 inches and it weighs 1.5 pounds. The device features 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR and 3G cellular wireless data. The processor of the device is a 1 GHz Apple A4 chip and it has 16 GB-64 GB flash storage. Apple claims battery life of 10 hours with over a month of standby time.http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2010/01/27/what-is-the-ipad-everything-you-need-to-know/