With the new iPad launching today, i thought it would be fitting to share my top 5 iPad apps at the moment. That way all you lucky so and so’s who purchased the new iPad will have some great apps to download and use right away. One thing I can’t promise about the apps listed below is if they’ve been updated for the retina display, if not I apologise, but that doesn’t stop them from being great apps.

Tweetbot

Tweetbot is developed by Tapbots, who create “Robots for your iPhone, iPod and iPad”.Their other apps include weightbot, calcbot and convertbot. What I love about tapbots is their attention to detail, from textures down to the sound something makes – it’s simply beautiful. Tapbot’s gives you a beautifully designed app that’s easy to use and packed full of features, all with native push notifications.

Tweetbot for iPad is available at £1.99 on the app store.

Flipboard / Zite

Two apps that perform similar functions but through different means. The iPad has transformed the way we consume news and media, Zite and Flipboard excel at this. On the one hand Flipboard accesses any accounts you attach to it (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google reader in my case), and pulls this information into a unique and wonderfully intuitive interface. It feels like i’m reading a magazine about everything I’m interested in. You can also follow categories that you’re interested in. Zite Is very similar, but for me, Zite pulls in articles, publications, and news that just feels more relevant and interesting to me. Flipboard is my source catch up, Zite is my way of finding new sources.

Flipboard and Zite are both available for free on the app Store

Pages

Pages for iPad is writing app of choice. It opens up a number of documents types (including word) and can create wonderful looking documents in a matter of minutes, and it’s super simple to use. Although Pages lacks integration with dropbox, I can still access to my documents where ever I go, thanks to iCloud.com, plus they’re automatically synced to my iPhone. I have used Pages a number of times for writing blog posts and with iOS 5’s split keyboard, it got a lot easier.

Pages for iOS is available at £6.99 on the app store.

Reeder

My RSS feed seems to grow every week, there’s always at least one new news source worth adding to my Google reader account. Reeder gives me the best possible experience for reading and clearing my feeds. It uses the pinch to zoom multi-gesture throughout the app to give a such a unique but intuitive experience to the user, and with such a plethora of services supported (including instapaper, Twitter, and delicious) it’s easy to share anything in your news feeds.

Pages for iPad is available at £2.99 on the App store

Noteshelf

I found this app after some searching for a new note taking app, I was lucky enough to find this gem. It works wonderfully well for writing notes (only tried it with my finger, but I’m looking for a stylus, any suggestions?). Noteshelf is super easy to use, with a LOT of features (including wrist protection and unlimited undo/redo), and plenty of export options. It’s not perfect though, one feature I’d love is PDF support for annotations, with any luck it’ll come in an update soon.

Noteshelf is available at £3.99 on the app store.

Bonus – Here’s my must have app for bloggers.

Blogsy

If your blog is hosted on wordpress, then you might know of the pain in the ass that is the WordPress iOS app, the wordpress makes it such a chore to create a good looking blog post. Well, luckily for you, there’s Blogsy. The app supports all the major blogging platforms, and as long as your platform supports post by email then it is still the app for you. Blogsy allows you to write up or paste in your post, then add text styles, drag and drop images and video, and a whole lot more – all with out leaving the app. That’s right, you can Google for an image, or video, and embed the media straight into your post without leaving the app, it’s a phenomenally powerful blogging tool.

Blogsy is available at £2.99 on the app store.

So there’s my top 5 list at the moment, think i’m missing out on something? Let me know your top 5 iPad apps in the comments!