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Topic: iPad

13 lucky apps for the iPad mini

Summary: Sure, every iPad app works on the new iPad mini but these 13 have rapidly become my favorites. The light iPad mini is tailor-made for long sessions and these apps fill the time nicely. After publication I added another app (at no charge) that needed to make the list.

James Kendrick

By for Mobile News |

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Skype

The iPad has Facetime and while it is a nice video chatting app many of my colleagues use Skype.

The Skype app is a great mobile chatting solution on the iPad mini and I use it a lot.

Free

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Topics: iPad, Apps

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18 comments
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  • Now allow me to add the unlucky apps...

    Kindle Reader
    Google Play Books
    iBooks

    And pretty much any reading app the App Store has to offer.

    I was sitting in Starbucks and waiting for my wife to get off work so I thought I would surf the web a little bit...

    Well, in between the wifi going in and out, attempted to read a book...

    First, the reflectance of the screen was horrible even being inside as the lighting was too much.

    Second, the font was horrible for reading as the edges smeared and the fonts ran into themselves on the tiny screen.

    Anyway, I turned the brightness up on the display to over power the ambient light and my iPad Mini started to suck the life out of the battery in the short 2 hours I was there (Waiting for the wife to get off work).

    So, here we have a device that should be good for reading and yet, the serious problems with the chosen display make it a very poor choice for that functionality!

    I ended up pulling out my Nexus 7 because, well, it doesn't seem to have any of these problems.

    Honestly, I cannot believe how badly Apple screwed this up after setting the standard for displays on the larger iPads.
    slickjim
    Reply 1 Vote

    • You brought both an iPad Mini and a Nexus 7 with you to wait for your wife?

      ......really now? really?
      zhangkhaien@...
      Reply 3 Votes

      • Yes, I did...

        I brought them to work and picked her up on the way home. I have iPad apps and Google apps. I have never liked the larger tablets as they become a pain to hold up long term and then my neck hurts.

        Bottom line, iPad Mini is ruined by the display and that's a shame.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

        • iPad mini screen

          There was an article elsewhere on the web (sorry don't have the URL) that made sense: Samsung made a 7.7" tablet (Galaxy 7.7) with the retina-type screen but it didn't sell because of the price ($500 with a contract). Apple may have been taking notes and went with a lower res screen for the Mini to keep the price at a level people would still spring for to get the premium experience but not high enough to be at the iPad level.
          rpasea
          Reply Vote

          • yes

            Rpasea that tablet wasn't Retina but it was Super Amoled and they wanted $650 for it.
            slickjim
            Reply Vote

          • 1024x768

            Apple didn't go with a 1024x768 screen to keep costs down. They went with that resolution so that they could release an iPad Mini II with retina display 12 months from now and have a lot of the same first adopters putting their iPad Mini I's up for sale on eBay.
            dsf3g
            Reply 1 Vote

        • Still don't believe you, slick

          Because your arguments simply don't jive with reality.
          DWFields
          Reply Vote

      • Exactly

        By making that one claim alone, he invalidated his whole argument.
        DWFields
        Reply Vote

    • Not my experience

      Haven't had those problems at all. Maybe you should take it back?
      JamesKendrick
      Reply Vote

      • I did

        I just did.
        slickjim
        Reply Vote

        • You did.

          Authenticity and credibility intact.
          gregv2k
          Reply Vote

    • Sniff! Sniff!

      Yup. Passes the smell test for me. Carry on.
      gregv2k
      Reply Vote

  • A Google YouTube app substitute app suggested for your consideration

    McTube Pro is an excellent iPad app. I heard about it first from a posting by Jason Perlow. It works great on my iPad but I never could get it to work on my iPhone 5 correctly (no sound).

    Non-the-less, I endorse this app for iPad users.
    kenosha77a
    Reply 1 Vote

    • Yes, I use McTube Pro on my iPad 2 and it is good.

      I didn't try it on my iPhone 5 though.
      Ram U
      Reply 1 Vote

  • Best To Concentrate On Ipad-Specific Apps

    Trouble is, when you mention apps that run just as well on competing platforms like Android, you're not really doing Apple much of a devour.
    ldo17
    Reply Vote

    • devour

      "devour" Ha, ha! Another victim of auto-correct and ZDNet's missing "edit post" button.
      dsf3g
      Reply Vote

  • Gmail app?

    James, do you only have a single Gmail account? I tried using the official Gmail app a while ago, but it only supports a single account (at least the last time I looked).

    I actually find the most recent iOS mail app to be quite good. They added support for individual signatures (a different signature for each account) and the signatures can have HTML. That's important for the consulting work that I do.

    If I remember correctly the other thing I didn't like about the Gmail app was that I couldn't get rid of the message list - it always stays on the left of the screen when reading messages. On the iPad mini that made a very narrow reading pane for the actual message text.

    The only thing that I see missing is the ability to apply multiple labels to a message. In the iOS mail app you can "Move" a message, which will apply a single label. Interestingly, if you use the Gmail website and apply multiple labels to a message, that message will appear correctly (in all of the proper labels folders) in the iOS mail app.
    rstoeber
    Reply Vote

  • iPad Mini Keyboard

    i would like to introduce a recently bought White Shark 3 In 1 Keyboard Case Folio Stand for Apple iPad Mini to you. to know more about this please visit

    White Shark 3 In 1 Keyboard Case Folio Stand for Apple iPad Mini

    i would recommend this not because it is very cool and easy to use but because it is the best partner for your ipad mini
    salinigeorge
    Reply Vote
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