iPad App Highlights: Air Display, CoPilot Live HD, and BeejiveIM

The iPad has been available in the U.S. for nearly two months now and is officially rolling out to nine more countries this Friday. At its U.S. debut, about 2,000 iPad-specific apps were available in the App Store and this number has since swelled to over 7,000 with more arriving every day. Here are a few notable ones that have been released over the past couple of weeks.

Air Display

Avatron Software, the makers of the Air Sharing HD document sharing app, recently released a new app, Air Display, that turns an iPad into an extra external display. In order to work, the app requires a desktop companion application - which is available for Macs running OS 10.6 only for now though a Windows version is coming and for the Mac and the iPad to be on the same Wi-Fi network.


Set-up is pretty easy and we found that the app works as advertised, though video lags a little behind the accompanying audio and it's probably best suited for more static items such as Inspector windows, iChat buddy lists and the like. Youre also not restricted to using your computers mouse to navigate the display on the iPad you can use its multi-touch display to click links and buttons. To enter text, youll need to use your computers keyboard since the iPads virtual keyboard wont pop up when you get to a text field.

For $9.99, turning your iPad into a extra display is pretty cheap compared to buying a dedicated display and this app could be invaluable for laptop users who need a little more screen real estate while on the go.

CoPilot Live HD

ALK Technologies, the developer of GPS applications for a wide variety of mobile devices, was the first to put out a turn-by-turn navigation app specifically for the iPad. CoPilot Live HD North America debuted in the App Store earlier this month and it's priced aggressively relative to other GPS apps at $29.99. We've been trying it out and it is a joy to have navigation guidance on such a large screen, though we wish there was a setting to let the map take over the majority of the screen and force the next turn guidance section to be smaller.

162332 copilot hd 500

CoPilot Live HD will work only on iPads with 3G connectivity since these models possess a GPS receiver while the Wi-Fi only models do not. Additionally, this version of the app works only on the iPad and not the iPhone, though ALK Technologies does offer CoPilot Live North America specifically for the iPhone, priced at $19.99.

BeejiveIM

BeejiveIM has been one of our favorite IM apps for the iPhone and the company put out an iPad-speciic version of the app just a few days ago. BeejiveIM for iPad lets you set up multiple IM accounts under the most popular instant messaging protocols used today and offers push notifications to let you know about incoming messages even when the app is closed. It also lets you send images and voice notes as attachments to your instant messages.

162331 beejive ipad 500

BeejiveIM for iPad is available at an introductory sale price of $5.99 right now for a limited time only.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...