Wired Video: Zombie Bashing and Other Wicked iPad Apps

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The iPad has been selling for only a month, and there are already 5,000 iPad apps in the App Store. In this episode of the Gadget Lab video podcast, I highlight four apps I’ve become attached to since I bought my iPad.

The first is a game called Plants vs. Zombies HD. It’s a gorgeous 2-D tower-defense game that involves planting pea pods, potatoes and other bizarre flora to defend your lawn against a horde of invading zombies. If they reach your house, you lose. It’s a charmingly simple game, which makes it enjoyable for people of all ages. Plants vs. Zombies HD costs $10. Download Link

I also cover IM+, the first decent multiclient instant messaging app available for the iPad. It’s a little buggy, but the overall UI makes excellent use of the iPad’s touchscreen. In looks best in landscape mode, where it displays your buddy list alongside your chats. The app costs $10. Download Link

The third app I use more than anything else on my iPad: Comic Zeal, an open comic book reader. You can download any open comics you find on the web and easily load them into this app through iTunes. That’s very liberating compared to the Marvel app, which limits you to downloading only Marvel comics. Comic Zeal is eight bucks in the App Store. Download Link

Finally, I give a shoutout to the Dropbox iPad app. Dropbox is a popular storage service that gives you a folder that’s stored on the internet (aka the cloud). You can drop various types of media in your Dropbox and then access the folder on any device running a Dropbox app, including smartphones, computers and now the iPad. The iPad version is beautiful and extremely useful for carrying your life on the go. I use it a lot for work. The Dropbox service is free for 2 GB of storage per month. It costs $10 a month for 50 GB and $20 per month for 100 GB. The iPad app is free in the App Store. Download Link

This episode of the Gadget Lab podcast was produced by Annaliza Savage, with camerawork by Michael Lennon and editing by Fernando Cardoso. For more video from Wired.com, go to www.wired.com/video.

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