Find fantastic apps on the iPad App Store

 Learn how to search the App Store for the best apps


ALTHOUGH APPLE'S iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH ARE

terrific, boasting lovely touchscreen controls and a great interface, it's pretty clear that the App Store is also key to setting Apple devices apart from the competition. With the tens of thousands of apps and games now available, it's funny to realise that the App Store didn't actually exist when the iPhone was launched.

For the iPad, there is no such issue: iPhone and iPod touch apps are generally iPad-compatible, meaning loads of great products were available before the iPad even launched. Now developers are increasingly taking advantage ofthe iPad's larger screen and extra power, creating apps specifically for the device.

Because of this, the iPad's App Store application isn't the general front-end you see in the desktop version of iTunes, but instead prioritises iPad-optimised products (iPhone apps are available, too, though some may not work so well on the iPad, so remember to check app compatibility). Already, great products for business, making music, editing photos, social networking, productivity, reading news and even healthcare tasks are available, along with dozens of top-quality games to rival anything on competing platforms.

The App Store app itself generally works in a similar fashion to the iTunes App Store, although as our guided tour shows, the way you access categories can work somewhat differently. The carousels behave identically, though - they require arrows to be tapped, and don't respond to swipes left or right.

App hunter

The Search field sits in the top toolbar, giving you rapid access to your favourite apps.

in the Spotlight

Featured and category pages showcase highlighted apps via a Cover Flow-style drag-based interface.

The main toolbar

Use the toolbar to switch between featured apps, the app charts and specific app categories.

 1 See the latest and greatest Tap the 'Featured' tab to access new apps (via the 'New' button) and apps Apple highly regards (via 'What's Hot'). Highlights also appear in ad-like buttons.

 2 Check out Staff picks In the New page, scroll to 'Staff Favorites' and tap 'See All' for a page with loads more apps Apple likes. Tap 'Featured' to sort the list by name, release date or 'featured'.

 3 Into the charts To see what other people are buying, tap Top Charts' in the toolbar. Top paid and free apps are shown in columns, with top-grossing products underneath.

 4 See bestsellers by category Tapping the 'Categories' button and making a selection brings you the charts for that category. You can see past the top ten by tapping 'Show More' below.

 5 Browse by category If you just tap the 'Categories' button, you'll see an overview of App Store categories with example apps. Tap one to see a category-specific page like the one from step 1.

 More info

While the App Store usually offers plenty of information about each app, you may sometimes want to find out more about features or exactly how the app will work. On the left of any App Store product page you should see 'Developer Web Site' and 'App Support' buttons. Tap one to launch Safari, which will take you to the relevant pages assigned by the developer.

 6 View an app Tap an app's icon to visit its page. Tap Tell a Friend' to create a Mail message with a link to the app's store page. To view an app's full description, tap 'More'.

 7 See more screen grabs in landscape mode you can see the edge of the next screen grab for the app, but this isn't the case in portrait mode. Swipe grabs left and right to view more.

8 Read reviews Scroll down for customer opinions of the app {covering the current version only, unless you use the 'All Versions' button). Sort reviews (helpful/recent) with the 'Sort By' button.