In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
April 19, 2013 9:17 AM Subscribe
I've been tasked for setting up my older friend's iPad with useful apps, and while I have some ideas, I also don't have an iPad myself.... Please advise!
My friend recently bought an iPad and has asked me to help her set it up. She's a few decades older than me and extremely sharp, but doesn't have much experience with Apple devices and I'd like to make her iPad useful to her without too much of a learning curve. She's leaving on Monday to go to Amsterdam for a few weeks, so I'd also like it to be an asset to her on her travels- whether via flight-checking apps, city guides, or whatever. Can you recommend any great all-purpose iPad apps, and a few that might be good for a traveler? The only complication is that the iPad will not be on a data plan so it is wifi only.
Apps I have already planned to put on include Skype, Google Maps, Bank of America (her bank), a dictionary/translate app, but I don't have an iPad myself so I'm sure I'm missing some things! She will be using it as an all-purpose computing device, so she'd like to be able to watch movies and read books on it.
My friend recently bought an iPad and has asked me to help her set it up. She's a few decades older than me and extremely sharp, but doesn't have much experience with Apple devices and I'd like to make her iPad useful to her without too much of a learning curve. She's leaving on Monday to go to Amsterdam for a few weeks, so I'd also like it to be an asset to her on her travels- whether via flight-checking apps, city guides, or whatever. Can you recommend any great all-purpose iPad apps, and a few that might be good for a traveler? The only complication is that the iPad will not be on a data plan so it is wifi only.
Apps I have already planned to put on include Skype, Google Maps, Bank of America (her bank), a dictionary/translate app, but I don't have an iPad myself so I'm sure I'm missing some things! She will be using it as an all-purpose computing device, so she'd like to be able to watch movies and read books on it.
What does your local library use for ebook lending? If she wants to take a bunch of books on vacation with her without buying a bunch of books, she may want to try the library.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:30 AM on April 19, 2013
posted by jacquilynne at 9:30 AM on April 19, 2013
Not an app, but maybe read through any of dozens of "iPad tips and tricks" lists online?
posted by CheeseLouise at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2013
posted by CheeseLouise at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2013
The game Flow Free is a good little time-killer for the iPad.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:01 AM on April 19, 2013
posted by Thorzdad at 10:01 AM on April 19, 2013
Starwalk...android user myself, but if I were to jump ship it would be for that...blows google sky map out of the water...
Also...you haven't told us what she LIKES...maybe the best use of your time would be a walk thru of the app store. ..like "you want a camera app? Well here's this ginormous rabbit hole of them. Another kind of app? Why yes, there's gaping rabbit holes of those too."
posted by sexyrobot at 11:25 AM on April 19, 2013
Also...you haven't told us what she LIKES...maybe the best use of your time would be a walk thru of the app store. ..like "you want a camera app? Well here's this ginormous rabbit hole of them. Another kind of app? Why yes, there's gaping rabbit holes of those too."
posted by sexyrobot at 11:25 AM on April 19, 2013
Response by poster: Well, she doesn't have any one use in mind for it in particular. I'd just like to set it up to cover most of the bases of things that an iPad can be really helpful for. She has a Blackberry not an iphone, and given the relative paucity of BB apps, I think even a fairly basic spread of apps on the iPad could really be useful to her. Thanks for all suggestions so far.
posted by Aubergine at 11:55 AM on April 19, 2013
posted by Aubergine at 11:55 AM on April 19, 2013
griphus' link is a bit more recent but there were also some good ideas here, here, and here previously.
posted by Wretch729 at 12:30 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by Wretch729 at 12:30 PM on April 19, 2013
I amsterdam city guide app. Plus they suggest some other useful apps.
posted by Kabanos at 12:44 PM on April 19, 2013
posted by Kabanos at 12:44 PM on April 19, 2013
Dropbox or Evernote: Scan and upload her passport and other travel documents so they are available from anywhere with an internet connection in case of loss.
CNN, USA Today, BBC News: Pick one so she can keep up with the news.
Intelicast HD or TWC (The Weather Channel)
Jasmine: Best YouTube app for iPad
Pandora: Music that suits her tastes (when in wifi range)
Yelp!: For finding restaurants. It covers Amsterdam.
Kindle app: Load up some inexpensive or free Kindle books.
OffMaps: Works without a data connection. Load up the maps she'll need for her trip.
TripIt or FlightTrack: They will keep track of her flights and other trip details.
My TSA: Airport status and wait times, what you can bring on the plane, etc.
Facebook app if she Facebooks.
posted by Joleta at 8:24 PM on April 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
CNN, USA Today, BBC News: Pick one so she can keep up with the news.
Intelicast HD or TWC (The Weather Channel)
Jasmine: Best YouTube app for iPad
Pandora: Music that suits her tastes (when in wifi range)
Yelp!: For finding restaurants. It covers Amsterdam.
Kindle app: Load up some inexpensive or free Kindle books.
OffMaps: Works without a data connection. Load up the maps she'll need for her trip.
TripIt or FlightTrack: They will keep track of her flights and other trip details.
My TSA: Airport status and wait times, what you can bring on the plane, etc.
Facebook app if she Facebooks.
posted by Joleta at 8:24 PM on April 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 9:19 AM on April 19, 2013