I use the iPad heavily for blogging. Most of the final work like text and photo editing is carried out on the desktop (hail the 27″ monitor!) but when it comes to writing the meat and bones of blog posts, they’re done on the iPad.

The iPad has taken over the role of my laptop. I read, write, watch movies, listen to music, do the whole social media thing and so on on the iPad. My laptop is now at least 8 years old and is still running on Windows XP and Tim’s laptop is 6 years old. Both are running like tortoises which makes opening programs like Photoshop and even the Chrome browser a real chore. They take about 10 minutes to fully boot and running memory-heavy programs are very difficult.

As I use the iPad so heavily these days, there’s no need for me to get a new laptop. However, this also means that I have to make sure I have sufficient apps on the iPad to make my workflow seamless.

Notes (free)
I often get asked the question of what app I use to write my blog posts on. I’ve purchased a lot of text editing apps in the past few years ever since I bought my first iPad but I find that the best app so far is the free Notes app that comes with the device. Man, what a waste of money all the other apps were. I’ll be writing on the app when I’m out at my favourite coffee shop or when I’m in front of the telly. I have the pricey Blogsy and even though it integrates well with blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress, I don’t like using it to blog. It’s fussy with too many bells and whistles that I’m afraid I’ll muck up and lose what I’m writing. The native Notes app is still the way to go. It automatically saves my work and I email the draft to myself to publish on the WordPress website.

Pocket (free)
Pocket is a bookmark-then-read-it-later sort of app. Sometime I come across interesting articles that I don’t have time to read so I use Pocket to bookmark them to read later. My iPad isn’t the 3G version so unless I tether the Internet connection to my phone, I can’t connect to the Internet when I’m out and about. This is when I’ll read the articles I’ve bookmarked (I can sync and read them offline).

Springpad (free)
Springpad is very similar to Evernote. I’ve tried both apps and I prefer Springpad’s interface to Evernote’s. I save a lot of blogging notes, articles and bookmarks to access later. I don’t just use it for blogging; I even save a lot of recipes on Springpad to use for cooking. 😛

Google Keep (free)
I love Google Keep. It’s rare that Android phones have dibs on an app before iPhones (the official Google Keep app is only available in the Google Play Store, not the Apple App Store). It’s a great free task/to-do app that syncs with Google and all devices. I use it to keep track of my daily to-do tasks and to take note of new blogging ideas.

Rookie (free, with in-app purchases)
I rarely edit photos on the iPad as I usually use Adobe Photoshop CS5 on the desktop. However, when I do need to edit images on the go, I like Rookie.

Pic Collage (free, with in-app purchases)
Another photography app I use to create collages of images. I have a bit of an addiction with photography apps; I have *ahem* quite a lot. 😛

Pandora and SKY.FM (free)
I’m one of those people who cannot write in silence. When I’m writing outdoors, I always have my iPod with me with earphones on. I use Pandora and SKY.FM a lot to listen to music when I’m blogging. They have my favourite stations and music catered specially to me and I’m a lot more productive when I don’t have to hear the pin drop.

Gmail (free)
I don’t like the Mail app that comes with the iPad so I have all my emails on Gmail instead (even my blog email address). I consolidate all my email addresses onto one app, which makes it easier for me to use.

Newsify (free)
This isn’t an app I use for blogging but it’s one I use to read the blogs I follow. I prefer this to Feedly as I’m able to download unread articles to read offline (something I can’t do with Feedly, at least not at the moment).

SimpleMind+ (free, with in-app purchase to upgrade)
This is a mind-mapping tool I use to, well, create mind maps. I haven’t done mind-mapping in ages and I probably won’t have done it if it wasn’t for Yishan‘s recommendation. She used the mind-mapping method to create her ebook and I now use it to create the frames for my blog posts. For simple posts, I’ll just use a pen and paper. For creating ideas for ebooks, I use SimpleMind+.

Padgram (free, with in-app purchase for a monthly subscription)
I use the official Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest apps on the iPad for checking social media updates so there’s no need for me to elaborate on those. However, for Instagram, I like to use Padgram to view my timeline feed. Instead of scrolling down one by one to see each picture, I get to view 9 images on one screen before needing to scroll down to view more photos. Much easier for me to like each photo too. It used to just be a one-time purchase to upgrade the app but now they’re charging a monthly subscription which I’m not keen on. Methinks it’s time to search for another Instagram viewing app.

These are some of my favourite apps I use for daily tasks and for blogging. I enjoy experimenting with apps and come up with new favourites every few months. Chances are, when I do an update on this post, say, next year, all the apps will be different! 🙂

Do you blog on your phone or tablet? What are some of your favourite apps?