If you are lucky enough to receive a new iPad over the holidays, you’re probably wondering how to fill it up. Here are my humble suggestions (click the image to direct links to the iTunes App Store). Note: This list doesn’t include a bunch of art/photo/video apps that are possibly too specialized for most people.

My Top 5

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REEDER – Awesome RSS reader. Yes, you need to be familiar with how to set up RSS newsfeeds in Google Reader. But that takes 3 minutes to learn.

INSTAPAPER – See an article online that you don’t have time to read right now? Click one button in your browser and the article is sent to Instapaper, where it syncs with your iPad or iPhone to read later. Reading with the Instapaper app is a joy since it strips out all the unnecessary visual junk and formats the page more like a book. Oh yes, Reeder (above) can send articles to Instapaper.

SIMPLENOTE – I have a ton of writing apps on my iPad but I use Simplenote most. It’s a basic, fast, list-oriented notepad that syncs quickly via Dropbox (see below). This means you can have an always-updated list on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac (via the awesome nvALT app).

GOOD READER – Wow. This is the Swiss Army Knife of media consumption apps. It handles PDFs with ease, but can also open everything from MP3s to image files, web pages, MS Office docs, even video.

DROPBOX – Dropbox is the glue that holds the IOS ecosystem together. Get a a free account with 2GB of online storage here then download the app.

Reading Apps

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ZITE – Very cool online “newspaper replacement.” Pick your topics and Zite feeds you stuff to read. You can rate articles (thumbs up or down) to improve the relevancy of what Zite sends you.

KINDLE – Gold standard of e-book apps.

FLIPBOARD – In the vein of Zite, but without Zite’s powerful article recommendations. Still, Flipboard has one advantage: you can hook up your Facebook and Twitter accounts to suck up social media in a nice magazine format.

Outlining Apps

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iTHOUGHTS HD – This mindmapping app is a little pricey, but it is by far the best way to organize your thoughts. Plus you can export OMPL files to import into OmniOutliner (see below).

OMNIOUTLINER – This is the iPad version of Omni’s famous outlining program. Everything about it is incredible, except for its lack of easy Dropbox sync. OmniOutliner is actually one of the few apps in its category that doesn’t sync with Dropbox causing speculation that the next upgrade might include iCloud sync. We can hope.

Video

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NETFLIX – If you have a Netflix account, your iPad has just become a personal movie theatre.

Utilities

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1PASSWORD – You need this app on your Mac if you use more than three passwords. You remember one password, and the app handles the rest. It generates crazy tough passwords (like qZh2idk38n), keeps track of them, and auto-fills them when websites ask. And the iPad version will sync (via Dropbox) to your desktop version.

Games

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SWORD OF FARGOAL LEGENDS – From my friend Jeff comes this fun retro dungeon crawl.

JETPACK JOYRIDE – This is a fast-paced side scroller with neat game mechanics (including a slot machine mini game).

TINY HEROES – Strategy meets arcade action meets humor. Plus you get to play the baddy.

SUPERBROTHERS SWORD & SORCERY – Gorgeous graphics and a weird, lyrical feel. This is somewhere between an art film and a game.

WORLD OF GOO – iPad Game of the Year. Great graphics plus a sense of humor. Check it out.