Some are likely new to you, some are already known and worth another try, and others are somewhere in between.It’s impossible to list of all the terrific new (and old) apps and tools but we did our best to showcase some new, some older, and some just plain fun resources.(These are in no particular order.)
Google Maps
Developer Description: View 360-degree panoramas of places around the globe with Street View; View high resolution satellite imagery of locations around the world.
QuickOffice
QuickOffice used to be its own deal, but now its been eaten by the Google Monster. Which should tell you something – Google tools tend to be easy to use with a lot of bang for your buck. QuickOffice comes in two varieties: Plain, and HD flavor. In a nutshell, it enables users to create and edit all MS Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations (as well as PDFs) on the go. Need to do some last minute editing but there’s no computer in sight? No problem. For every useful thing MS office can be used for, its now available on your mobile device, which makes it that much better.
Twitter
Developer Description: “Instant access to all the media, news, events, and information you need.”
History Line
Developer Description: “History Line is a collaborative learning game for the iPad focusing on US History. The game can be played by 1-6 players. As a single player game, a series of historical events are presented on the screen and the goal of the game is to place the events onto a timeline at the bottom of the screen in the correct sequence. When the event placed on the line is correct the date appears below.”
Dictionary.com
Offers app and web based resources for students (and adults) of any age. Use Dictionary.com for trusted answers to word lookup. The site also houses Thesaurus.com as well as a ‘Word Dynamo’ functionality that lets you learn about new ways to express yourself using the written or spoken word.
Pocket Body Lite
Developer Description: “(This) full body app, with its elegant design and nine layers of musculoskeletal, neurovascular, and internal organ visual content, contains over 70,000 words of learning material.”
iDevBook
iDevBooks is a set of 20 math apps for iPhone and iPad by Esa Helttula. Each app explores a particular mathematical concept. The interface is very basic and thus quite easy to use, and since each concept is contained in its own app, you aren’t stuck buying a large, expensive app which you might only use a small percentage of. These apps get three thumbs up from Edudemic because they’re so easy to use, and focused on making the concepts easy to learn rather than being bogged down with bells, whistles, and ads.
Kindle
Developer Description: “The Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books, newspapers, magazines, textbooks and PDFs on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface.
Evernote
Use it for: note taking/word processing, voice recording, photos (snapshots of teachers’s notes group work, etc), share work between teachers and students, organize and search all of your notes. Great for students and teachers, sharing, and personal use. Offers free and premium options for use.
Blackboard
You know Blackboard. You’ve probably used it whether you want to or not. We included it in the list of top tools because it’s seen some terrific enhancements over the past year but also the fact that the apps and web-based tools are used by just so many teachers and students around the world. Blackboard has been rolling out numerous new products that you should know about: Blackboard Collaborate, Transact, Mobile, Learn, Connect, Analytics, and Engage. In other words, it’s not going away anytime soon and is worth knowing about.
Pandora: Pandora. You know the one. The internet radio app that has uplifted a million work hours and scored a million make-outs. It's simply the best out there, streaming music at home or on the go over Wi-Fi or 3G.
Twitter: The official Twitter app is good enough for almost everyone. Along with giving you a clean, easy way to keep track of your timeline and updating your status, Twitter for Android also has a snazzy swipe down to refresh feature.
Facebook: Facebook is finally decent on Android and now actually brings some unique features, namely the front page side-scroll of friend's recent photos and a pull up notification window.
Kindle: Just because you don't own a Kindle doesn't mean you shouldn't be buying Kindle ebooks—especially when Amazon has an Android app that's dead simple to use. The e-book wars aren't quite over, but no one will judge you for siding with Amazon.
Imo.im: With its new tabbed interface, imo.im is an IM app that's light, pretty and easy to use. It supports AIM, Google Talk, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook chat and others and is free.
Pinterest: Pin until you can pin no more, Android fans. This month the online bulletin board launched a version compatible with Google's platform for the first time. Time to scope out some new DIY projects.
Handcent SMS: Handcent puts SMS on steroids. It's fully customizable (in look and theme) and gives options for popups and to even tweak individual contact settings. If you've never thought the stock messaging app on Android sucked, we won't blame you.
SmartGlass: The wait is over. Download SmartGlass to control your Xbox from your phone. Basically you never have to leave your couch ever again.
Facebook Messenger: Think of it as a cross platform messaging service that enables you to easily talk to people on any platform—Android, iPhone, Facebook, SMS and everything in between. It's not dissimilar to Kik or WhatsApp in this aspect. If your friends are on Facebook, they'll get your message in the Messages (or on their Android or iPhone). If they're not on Facebook, it'll be re-directed as a SMS message.
Vignette: With Vignette you get those wonderful artsy effects your friends love and a ton of straight shooting options that'll make you leave your Point and Shoot at home. Not kidding, there's over 68 different effects, 56 unique frames and a ton o' shooting options like fixed focus, fast shot, steady
Tumblr: Tumblr has been graced with a brand new interface that makes it brainless to use. Everything about 2.0 is smoother, simpler, and all around better. Writing an entry is easy—be it a photo post or just a reblog—and switching between multiple blogs is handled gracefully.
Videos: You can use Google's official Video app to watch videos you store on your phone or flicks you got from the Market. It streams over Wi-Fi and supports offline viewing too.
Rockplayer: Rockplayer can play nearly any video file you throw at it, meaning those DVD rips, Windows files, decidedly non-standard clips and those videos you "obtained" from the Internet will all be good to roll.
Pano: A panoramic picture taking app for your Android phone. Basically, you snap a series of side-by-side individual shots together and Pano automagically stitches them together to create one super long seamless photo. You can even merge together 16 pictures into one humungo 360 degree.
FX Camera: It's a fairly basic lomo FX/hipstamatic style camera but it's REALLY easy to use and processes the pictures REALLY fast. There's not too many effects available (ToyCam, Polaroid, Fisheye, SymmetriCam, and Andy Warholizer), but all of them are stellar.
Facebook took its sweet time bringing a dedicated iPad app to market, but since its release, the app has blossomed into a full-featured service. Facebook for iPad is a solid app, though it needs just a few more refinements to meet all iPad users' needs.
When the YouTube app presumably became a victim of the ongoing and increasingly tedious Apple/Google spat, there were concerns Google wouldn't respond. Those turned out to be unfounded, because here's yet another bespoke, nicely designed Google-created app for iOS. The interface is specifically tuned for the iPad, and AirPlay enables you to fire videos at an Apple TV.
Apple's free iBooks app is an excellent electronic book (e-book) reading application for bookworms. You can preview and purchase books right from within the app -- and the book covers show up on a virtual bookshelf, ready for reading. When you tap to read the book, you can adjust the font size and type and page color, before "flipping" though the pages with your fingertip.
If you use SugarSync's excellent cloud-based file syncing service, adding the SugarSync iPad app to your tablet is a no-brainer. It could use a search tool, but SugarSync for iPad remains a great file syncing choice for anyone who wants simple setup, a preserved folder structure, and an intelligent interface.
Twitter has refashioned its tablet offering as a blown-up version of the iPhone app. The result is a far less exciting experience, but one that's nonetheless very usable, and which unlike third-party apps rolls in the service's Interactions and Discover tabs.
Google Earth is nonetheless a joy on the iPad. Touch gestures are an intuitive means of swooping around the planet, and the optional layers enable you to display as much or as little ancillary information as you wish.
With Feedly, It's easy to read and share content from around the web. The fast-loading cards make it simple to browse content, and your settings and favorites are saved across all platforms.
Flipboard offers iPad users an entirely original alternative to browsing the web for news – its magazine-style layouts and breathtaking use of photos and white space show the way forward for digital media.
BBC iPlayer is a must-have download for iPad users. The slick interface makes it easy to browse/watch recent shows and current broadcasts. You can also choose from two quality settings and toggle subtitles, and there's AirPlay support for an Apple TV. Recent updates also enable you to download shows to your iPad, so that you can watch them on the move.
Skype for iPad has a well-designed interface that makes it easy and fun to keep in touch with others. The app is a must-have for those who want to use their iPads' video function to its fullest.
