10 apps for your new HP TouchPad

You snared one of those ultra-cheap HP TouchPad tablets and now you're looking for apps. The App Catalog isn't chock-full of apps like iOS and Android but there are some pretty good ones to be had. This list of ten apps covers everything from productivity to entertainment.

	Image Gallery: 10 apps for the HP TouchPad

AccuWeather for HP TouchPad. You can't have a tablet without a good weather app and the AccuWeather app is pretty good. The app gives you localized weather information and you can add other cities to your list of locations to watch. You get forecasts, bulletins and maps in an attractive format for the TouchPad. Free.

Aftermath XHD. Even a dead device needs a good zombie game and this one is perfectly adapted for play on the TouchPad. The graphics and audio are gorgeous and set the atmosphere for this game that sends more zombies at you than you can shake a stick at. You'd better be shaking more than a stick if you want to last long. $5.99 special promotion.

Box. New TouchPad owners may not be aware that HP made an arrangement with the box.net folks to provide all TouchPad buyers a free 50GB cloud storage account for life. This free account is still being offered at this time and the Box app, required to sign up for the free account, makes working with all of that free cloud storage a breeze. A 50GB account at box.net is normally $20/ month so your cheap TouchPad just got paid for many times over. Free.

LCARS-Clock. Star Trek fans will appreciate this app that provides a themed Exhibition mode screen. The clock and alarms are easily accessible and function as expected. The app comes with a number of alarms that sound very Star Trek appropriate. While LCARS is meant to run in Exhibition mode while in the Touchstone charging stand, it can be run as any other app for the Star Trek atmosphere. Free.

NomNomNom. This Google Reader app has to be included on the clever name alone. It is a fully touch-optimized RSS feed reader that syncs with Google Reader. Articles are presented in a pleasant fashion providing easy swiping across the river of news. NomNomNom can be configured to automatically mark items read when swiping through them. $2.99.

PodCatcher Deluxe. The TouchPad makes a good podcast device given its good multi-tasking, and this app is a great way to handle them. Podcast feeds are easily added for automatic streaming or downloading. The internal player is simple but works well, and remembers the current location for leaving and coming back when time permits. $2.00.

Rev3. Tablets are good for watching video on the go and Rev3 is a good interface for the Revision3 online network. This network hosts lots of popular video podcasts such as Diggnation and Tekzilla. The Rev3 has an internal player for simple viewing of your favorite Revision3 show. Free.

Spaz HD. This twitter app handles multiple columns for easily following your friends, mentions and direct messages. It recently gained the ability to work with lists and the columns can be dragged and dropped in the desired order. This is one of the few twitter apps I have used on any platform that works just as well in portrait and landscape orientations. Spaz HD is a great twitter app and is open source and produced by volunteers. Free.

TouchFeeds. Google Reader users that have a lot of RSS feed subscriptions may want the fastest app for keeping up with them. While NomNomNom is a great attractive app, TouchFeeds is optimized for processing a lot of feeds and articles as quickly as possible. This is the app I go to first for processing my Google Reader feeds. $2.99.

TWITHD. TWiT is the best online video network bar none, and this app makes keeping up with the great shows a breeze. It is similar to the Rev3 app mentioned above, and like that one turns watching TWiT video into a thing of beauty. Free.

There are a lot of other good apps available in the App Catalog but these ten apps are a good place to start for new TouchPad owners. The quality of all of these apps is superb, and they make a good library for the TouchPad.

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