Some brief thoughts on iPad apps we use and love (iPad 2 running iOS 6)

We were captivated by Flipboard from the moment we started using it. Described as "your social magazine", this iPad app combines your Twitter and Facebook feeds with other great information and turns all this data into an easy to read magazine.

Its beautifully executed and we love leafing through the items as opposed to scrolling up and down.  Highly recommended.  Find out more here

This app literally transformed the way we worked when we got it on our iPads.  We were fans of mindmapping before but this has brought it to a whole new level.  The app is easy to use with some great features such as linking tasks to items on the map.

It allows us to quickly map out development plans, bids, product ideas etc. and give people we deal with simple visual information, rather than bombarding them with just pages of text. Find out more here

Skype doesn't need any introduction, this makes our list though because of its daily presence on our iPads.  Its a cut down version but works very well and effectively turns your iPad into a large speaker phone, courtesy of the excellent audio produced by the iPad speaker (Apple always paid attention to sounds).

Video works well for face to face conversations and all of the options that can be bought for Skype, turns it into a serious business and personal communications tool. Find out more here

This one had to make it to our page. This allows your Filemaker®  designed databases to be accessed and used on your iPad. It can use standalone files or access remotely hosted systems. It is a fantastic addition to the Filemaker product family.

Solutions designed for the iPad need to respect some design considerations to make working with them optimal but we love it, its great to be able to access your solutions anywhere at anytiime. Find out more here

We often need to access and work on our documents whilst on the move and on the iPad.  Quickoffice has really suited our needs - particurlarly as it will integrate with things like Evernote, Dropbox and Google Docs. Fantastic !

Open, edit, save, share and more. Get more info here

This does exactly what it says. It's an interactive map to the official App Store. Put in the name of the app you are looking for and it draws all similar, relevant apps in an attractive map. Click on these (resulting in further related apps) or double click to read more about and app and/or purchase. 

Way more interesting than using the normal app store interface. Genius.  Find out more here

Pages is one of Apple's own apps.  Billed as " the most beautiful word processor ever designed for a mobile device..", we are still testing it but agree so far !

It comes with 16 free templates for reports, letters, flyers etc. and its very easy to create your own professional document from scratch.  We found the image options particularly nice with drop shadows and reflections easy to apply.

Documents can be stored on iCloud and easily emailed / PDF'd. Great value, great for              
                                        business.  Find out more here