New iPad: Ten Must-Have Apps For Your New Tablet

The new iPad has arrived, which means that thousands will be ripping open that white packaging starting today and tapping on that new gorgeous, high resolution Retina display.

But a new tablet is only as good as the apps you've downloaded into it. If you're a new iPad owner you'll want to check out our top ten app picks and get to downloading.

Note: all these apps will work on the previous iPads, but we have specifically selected apps that will look even better on the new Retina display.

Apple

iPhoto ($4.99)

The new iPad is going to be even better now for looking at photos and showing them to friends and family. And iPhoto lets you polish up those shots right on that high-resolution display. The app, which was created by Apple itself, lets you change the coloring of the photo, touch up the picture with different "brushes" (to remove red eye, for example), and crop. The new "journal" feature, which lets you lay out pictures with text, is also a really fun addition.

Amazon

Kindle (Free)

Photos and video really do shine on the new display, but don't forget about books and magazines. Apple's iBooks is a great resource, but so is Amazon's Kindle app, which has just been updated for the Retina display. Regular black text looks even crisper on the new Retina display; colorful, graphic-rich magazines are eye-popping. You can download lots of content right in the app.

ShowYou

ShowYou (Free)

The new iPad's screen makes video absolutely shine, which is why ShowYou's app is one of our top picks. The app brings in popular web videos which have been shared by you or your friends. You can plug in your Facebook and Twitter information and it will pull all the video that has been shared by people you know into a very clean and fun-to-navigate interface. The ShowYou app will be updated soon with support for the new Retina display, it will also include some new features.

Thomas Huntington

Nightstand Central (Free)

It's pretty crazy but the iPad doesn't have a built-in alarm clock. Not to worry: There are tons of options in the app store. One of our favorites is the Nightstand Central app. Not only can you set multiple alarms (great for those obsessive snoozers!), but you can shake it to snooze and swipe up and down to adjust the brightness of the display, a handy trick when the lights are out.

Namco

Air Supremacy ($4.99)

Not only does the new iPad have a mind blowing display, but its new A5x processor with quad-core graphics makes everything faster, including gaming. The 3-D graphics experience in Air Supremacy is one of the best apps to check out the new iPads features. Of course, you'll have to be into flying a jet fighter, shooting down your enemies, and shelling out $5 for a game.

Condenet

Epicurious(Free)

All those apps can make you hungry. Epicurious is one of the best apps for finding new recipes. Everything from searching for a new chicken recipe to reading recommendations is a cinch. Even better, the pictures of the food look great on the new display. Just make sure to keep your hands clean -- don't want to be getting that new screen dirty with flour and water!

Flipboard

Flipboard (Free)

There are lots of news apps (we hear ABC News' is pretty good), but one of the best apps for the iPad has to do with getting the news from your friends. Flipboard lets you sign into your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and brings in the articles that your friends are sharing. The layout is very clean, and the best part is you rarely have to leave the app to read the articles, watch the videos, or peruse images.

Apple

Pages, Keynote, Numbers ($9.99 each)

Some people claim they can't do "work" on their iPad, but Apple's iWork apps certainly make it possible. Apple's word processing (Pages), presentation (Keynote), and spreadsheet (Numbers) apps are all touch friendly and are perfect for opening work-related attachments and quickly editing on the go. They do come with a pretty hefty price tag, though; each costs $9.99.

Facebook

Facebook (Free)

We imagine this will be one of the first apps most people download. Facebook's iPad app brings you all the access of the social network to a finger-friendly app. You can chat with friends, post images, or just check out your friends. The app is also supposed to be optimized for the new display too, so you should be seeing crisper text and images soon.

Firemint

Real Racing 2 HD ($6.99)

There are plenty of racing games in the App Store, but Real Racing has always been one of the leaders when it comes to graphics and visuals. And now the 3-D version brings even better graphics as you get into the car and race around the track. Seriously, this is the one you want to download to show off to your friends how awesome your new tablet is. It will cost you $6.99, though.