Top 50 best free iPad apps 2011

Updated: Top free apps for iPad and iPad 2

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One for budding iPad DJs, Rj Voyager enables you to choose from a selection of bundled tracks, turn parts on and off and edit parameters in real-time via an intuitive, futuristic interface. Play through headphones or a decent sound system and the result is infectious.

27. BBC News (universal)

With the BBC's website still reliant on Flash video, this BBC News app – now finally available in the UK – provides access to latest stories, including video elements. Categories can be rearranged, stories can be shared and the app's layout adjusts to portrait and landscape orientations.

28. Epicurious (universal)

Tens of thousands of recipes at your fingertips (as long as you have a web connection) ensure Epicurious is worth a download for the culinary-inclined. The app even composes a shopping list for recipes; it's just a pity it doesn't include measurements for those of us who use that new-fangled metric system.

29. WordPress (universal)

This official, open-source WordPress app is perhaps a bit basic for composing anything but text-based blog posts from scratch, since the editor is HTML-only (sorry, WordPress Visual editor fans – both of you). However, it's great for making quick edits to existing content, and for managing comments.

30. TV Guide for iPad

It's crazy that TV Guide for iPad omits the website's search and the iPhone version's ability to flag upcoming shows with alarms, but otherwise this is a first-rate TV guide for UK viewers. The interface is silky smooth, and you can easily omit channels you don't watch.

31. Adobe Photoshop Express

With people regularly moaning about bloat in Adobe's desktop applications, it's great to see the giant create something as focused and usable as Adobe Photoshop Express. Its toolset is strictly for basic edits (crop, straighten, rotate, flip, levels and lighting adjustments), and applying a few effects, but the app is fast, stable and extremely useable. Top marks.

32. App Shopper

Prices on the App Store go up and down like a yo-yo, and Apple's own wish-list mechanics leave a lot to be desired. You're better off using App Shopper, which lists bargain apps and also enables you to compile a wish-list and be notified when an item drops in price.

33. Find my iPhone

Surprisingly freed by Apple from the shackles of the paid version of MobileMe, many users rapidly discovered they needed a 2010 device to sign up to Find my iPhone. Luckily, the iPad is a 2010 device, so it can be used to create an account; you can then add older iOS devices to keep an eye on where they are.

34. Flipboard

Initially, Flipboard looked like a gimmick, trying desperately to make online content resemble a magazine. But now it can integrate Google Reader, Flickr and other networks, beautifully laying out their articles, Flipboard's muscled into the 'essential' category – and it's still free.

35. Friendly for Facebook

Since Facebook doesn't seem to be in a hurry to update its great iPhone app for the iPad, download Friendly instead. Its main advantage is speed – despite some oddball interface elements here and there, Friendly's mostly, well, friendly. It also supports multiple accounts, offers customisable colours, and while it's ad-supported, the ads aren't obtrusive.

36. IMDB

IMDB might be a wee bit US-focused at times (much like the movie industry), but the app is a great way to browse more movie-related info than you could ever hope to consume in a single lifetime. Settings enable you to define which sites IMDB and Amazon info is taken from, and the show times finder works pretty well.

37. Read It Later Free

Read It Later and Instapaper battle it out for 'article scraper' king, but Read It Later trumps its rival in appealing to iPad-owning cheapskates. Instapaper requires a 'pro' purchase for iPad goodness, but Read It Later Free is, suitably, free. It's also very fast and has a great original article/plain-text toggle.

38. TED

TED describes itself as "riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world". The app pretty much does as you'd expect – you get quick access to dozens of inspiring videos. However, it goes the extra mile in enabling you to save any talk for offline viewing, and also for providing hints on what to watch next if you've enjoyed a particular talk.

39. Twitter

It's a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it app, but Twitter showcases some breathtaking UI innovation; if you can deal with its unique way of presenting timelines and associated content, you'll find it an efficient and intuitive means of using Twitter.

40. Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD

There's not a great deal to piano app Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD, but it's not bad for a freebie. You get a dual-keyboard set-up, with optional key labels, and you can shift octaves and notes by prodding arrows. A really nice touch is the 'duette' [sic] button, which creates a second, mirror image, keyboard, so that two people can play at once.

41. BBC iPlayer

Although not quite as satisfying as the desktop version, 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, although there's no AirPlay support to an Apple TV.

42. Sky News for iPad

Offering 'three views on the news', Sky News for iPad aims to do something a bit different to most video-based news apps. You get a timeline of recent stories, a prioritised scrollable grid of top stories and 'rewindable' live coverage. It's all very tactile and usable, and it has AirPlay support.

43. LoopJ Interactive DJ Station

LoopJ is a loop-based DJ-style tool with two virtual decks. Select a deck, position the crossfader accordingly, tap play and then prod loops to cue them up. It's less versatile than Looptastic but more immediate, although getting your own music into the app is a chore, so stick with using it as a fun audio toy.

44. Dragon Dictation

There's always something slightly spooky about voice recognition software, as if Skynet's listening in or something, but such tools had for years been out of most people's reach. Now, Dragon Dictation is free for iOS. It's eerily accurate, trainable and, despite the dev recommending you use an external microphone, the app works fine with the iPad's built-in one.

45. Remote

Although pretty basic on the iPhone, Remote on the iPad is akin to a stripped-down iTunes when it comes to accessing network libraries and playing music. It's also indispensable if you have an Apple TV and want to control it with something other than the hateful metal chewing-gum stick that ships with the device.

46. Pulse News Reader

When unveiled, RSS reader Pulse was divisive, with an unresponsive oddball interface. But it's evolved to become free and fast, and is now a tactile, enjoyable way to catch up on news. The image-oriented interface, with slider-based RSS feeds (akin to those in the BBC News app) and configurable tab groups, makes it particularly suitable for anyone who subscribes to image-heavy sites.

47. Fotopedia Heritage

Rather like The Guardian Eyewitness, Fotopedia Heritage is perfect for anyone who enjoys awe-inspiring photography. The app enables you to browse 25,000 photos of beautiful locations worldwide. It also provides information about each location, and can be used for travel planning through favourites and links to TripAdvisor.

48. Yell

If you're in an unfamiliar place or travelling somewhere new, Yell is a great app for figuring out what amenities are available locally. The interface is responsive and efficient, and you can handily add any business you find as a favourite for easy access later on.

49. XE Currency for iPad

It's as ugly as they come, but XE Currency is the best free currency app you'll find. You define which currencies you want to see, along with the number of decimals to show. Double-tap a currency and you can set it as the base currency by tapping 1.0 in the calculator, or do bespoke conversions by typing any other value.

50. Classical Guitar

In some ways we prefer this freebie virtual guitar to the one in Apple's impressive GarageBand for iPad. With Classical Guitar, you can strum, pick strings and use a sliding fretboard. Importantly, though, you can create user-defined chord sets, making this a useful app for writing basic acoustic songs.

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Liked this? Then check out Tap! magazine for more apps, games and kit reviews for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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