At the center of the iPad universe are the apps that make the tablet so useful. Apple makes it easy for programmers to write software for the device, so virtually anyone who knows how to code and has a good idea can create an application. Given that there are approximately 53 million iPad users, these programs are bound to find customers.

However, there's also 350,000 apps available for the iPad alone, and another 850,000 that will run on all iOS devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch. So users have a lot of software to sift through in order to find the applications that will work just for them.

PC Magazine recently published a list of the top 10 free iPad apps, and while we've covered some of them before (such as Dropbox) there were a few that warranted mentioning as they make for a fantastic tablet experience:

• Google Earth makes the company's normal map app look boring. Giving users a 3D map viewing experience, Google Earth allows you to fly through destinations and mountainous terrain all over the world.
• If you've searched the internet for movie information, you've most likely come across the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) website before, but you may not have known they have an app that makes all of the information stored in their system more easily accessible. It provides a virtual encyclopedia of all things related to motion pictures.

There's never been a better time to own an iPad 4 or Apple iPad mini. Check the PortableOne online store for the best deals on Apple tablets.