Make Father’s Day Special With These iPad Apps

Let the countdown begin! Father’s Day is three weeks from today. I am sure you already have some awesome ideas to show your dad just how much you appreciate all he has done for you, but just in case you are looking for some last minute ideas to round things out, you should check out these iPad apps.

Productivity

The iPad can be a great tool for your dad’s mobile productivity, if he has the right apps installed.

Documents to Go ($9.99) – Microsoft hasn’t yet developed a Microsoft Office app for the iPad, and Microsoft Office Web Apps functionality is glitchy at best from the iPad browser. But, with Documents To Go you can create, view, and edit Microsoft Office files from the iPad. It also acts as a handy viewer for other file types, and lets you add file attachments to e-mail on the iPad.

Remember The Milk (Free) – Dads have a habit of forgetting things. With Remember The Milk, dad’s to-do list (or “honey-do” list as the case may be) can be kept in order and prioritized to keep dad on task. The items from the RememberTheMilk.com Website can be synced with the iPad app, and e-mail reminders can be set up to give dad a little nudge.

Social Networking

Dad can stay in touch on the go from the iPad using these social networking apps.

Friendly for Facebook (Free) – The Facebook app for the iPhone is one of the best apps there is, and arguably a better way to work with Facebook than the Facebook Website itself. Unfortunately, Facebook hasn’t invested similar effort in an app that takes advantage of the unique platform the iPad represents. Fear not, though. Friendly for Facebook–the “unofficial Facebook iPad app” delivers an enhanced Facebook browsing experience with multi-account support (so the whole family can enjoy), photo uploading, sharing and commenting.

Twitter (Free) – The Twitter app for the iPad is actually better than using the actual Twitter site as well. You can set up and access multiple accounts, and easily bounce between your incoming feed of tweets, to your direct messages, mentions, or lists. Tweetdeck for iPad is also a great Twitter tool for iPad, but A) it is currently unavailable with a notice stating a new version is “coming soon”, and B) Twitter recently bought Tweetdeck, so I would expect the best of both worlds to soon be merged together.

Flipboard (Free) – Oprah loves it and recommends it as one of her “favorite things”. Enough said. Flipboard gives dad a more engaging, interactive magazine-like experience for viewing content from social networks, as well as from other news and media sources.

Entertainment

One of the chief purposes of the iPad is to act as a mobile media and entertainment system. Set your dad up with these apps so he is ready to kill some time on the go.

Kindle (Free) – The Amazon Kindle has changed the way people read books. Amazon recently revealed that electronic Kindle books have outsold paperback and hardcover books combined. With the Kindle app on his iPad, dad can carry his entire library of fiction and non-fiction with him and be ready to relax with a good book no matter where he goes. Although the Kindle app is free, you might want to help dad out with an Amazon gift card or something so he can get some books to use with it.

Netflix (Free) – Maybe your dad is the kind who isn’t a big reader, and would just rather wait for the movie. In that case, the Netflix app can give dad access to a comprehensive library of movies and TV shows ready to be streamed instantly to the iPad. Like the Kindle app, though, the Netflix app is free, but it is useless without the content to go with it. If dad doesn’t already have a Netflix account, you will need to set him up with one to go with this app.

Tetris for iPad ($0.99) – Tetris is one of the greatest, most addicting games of all time. For less than a dollar you can give dad the gift of endless hours of entertainment. Dad can consider the dreams of falling blocks that haunt his sleep an added bonus.

Angry Birds HD ($4.99) – If you want your dad to be cool, then you have to get him clued in on the Angry Birds craze. Make sure you help dad out by explaining that the different birds actually have different attributes and that there is some strategy to how you use them. If he runs out of pigs to squish, you can always point him toward Angry Birds Seasons, or Angry Birds Rio.

And, finally an app that almost every dad needs, but doesn’t fit into any of my categories–iSteak. If your dad is barbecue-challenged like I am, he will certainly appreciate this $1.99 app that will help ensure he grills the steak perfectly every time. iSteak is actually an iPhone app, but it will work on dad’s iPad as well.

Of course, if your dad doesn’t yet have an iPad, then buying him the tablet itself would make an excellent gift. Or, if your dad already has an iPad, and loves retro-arcade games, perhaps an iCade is the way to go. But, loading up his iPad with these apps is a great (and economical) way to say “Thanks for all you do”.