Once you have purchased your iPad, the next step to enhance its functionality and fun is to find new apps to download and install from the App Store. In this tutorial, we will show you the basics of finding apps and navigating your way through the App Store (aka iTunes Store), by using the search functionality, the featured categories, and more.
Find iPad apps by category
Here's an easy way to find apps you might like to download, free or not:
- First, turn on your iPad; then launch the App Store application - it is preinstalled on one of your Home screens, and cannot be deleted, but you may need to flick from screen to screen until you find it.
- Once you have loaded the App Store, tap on the "Categories" button at the bottom of the screen, and you will see an alphabetized listing of the categories Apple is currently using for apps - note that this can change at any time, and more categories and/or sub-categories will likely be added in the future, as more and more applications are added every day.
- Once you are looking at the category you have selected, you can browse from screen to screen by using the arrows in all corners of the display.
- To sort the apps in that category, look at the top right corner of your iPad's screen, and you'll see a button labeled "Release Date" (by default). Tap on it, and a dropdown menu will open, allowing you to also sort the apps in the search results by "Name" or by "Most Popular".
Search for an iPad app by name
If you already know the application's name from having read or heard about it, just tap inside the "Search" text field shown in the top right corner of the screen - this search field will be available in nearly all pages of the App Store.
Once you are inside the search field, the iPad's keyboard will popup: start typing the name of the app you want to see, and your iPad will AutoComplete from a list of application names currently available in the App Store. As soon as you see the name of the app you were looking for, no need to keep typing: tap on the app name inside the dropdown menu, and your iPad will bring you to that page inside the store, from where you can read reviews, buy the app, etc.
Load an iPad application in the App Store from a web page or email link
If you are browsing the web, and find a blog or website that talks about an iPad app in particular, they may include a link to the App Store - this link will work only if you are browsing the web from your iPad; otherwise, that link may work if you have iTunes installed on your computer - in which case Apple will even let you purchase an iPad app from your computer, and then synchronize it to your iPad when you next plug it in!