Working and playing with an iPad is an immersive, singular experience. Designed to be held in two hands, cradled in a lap or propped up against a knee, the tablet is perfect for a bit of alone time: just you, your digital media and a few well-chosen apps.
But once you put your tablet down, it’s fair game for anyone else that you live with to it pick up and use. To keep what you do with your iPad private, you could password protect it, but that sort of thing just breeds mistrust and tablet envy. You might consider giving all comers free reign to tap and swipe to their heart’s content, but will they laugh or blush at your email or browser history as a result?
No one needs that kind of stress in their life. Let Mac|Life show you how to make sharing an iPad a little easier and more pleasurable for everyone with these six multi-user wonder apps.
With support for multiple accounts and password protection baked right in, Switch is the killer multi-user internet app that iPad users have been longing for.
By giving each person that uses your iPad their own account, Switch allows anyone who uses your tablet to build their own list of bookmarks, maintain a separate browsing history and keep as many browser windows open as they please. Each Switch account is password protected and you won't have to worry about getting logged out of any of your online accounts. When you sign back in, you’ll find everything waiting just as you left it. What could be better?
Quickoffice Connect Suite for iPad can connect to multiple cloud services, enabling iPad users to work on their documents remotely, without connecting to a computer. The app suite offers support for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, as well as the ability to connect to Box.net, MobileMe, Sugarsync, Huddle, Google Docs and Dropbox. With the option for everyone to hook up to their favorite cloud service and work on what they please, there’s no excuse not to be productive.
Mimicking much of it’s OS X counterpart’s interface, TweetDeck was one of the first Twitter clients to make the scene after the iPad’s release, and it’s still one of the best. It's got support for multiple Twitter accounts and a number of customization options. Best of all, it's totall free.
With its insane battery life and slim form factor, the iPad is the perfect digital companion to take along with you. By loading it up with BlogPress for iPad, it’s also the best way to keep everyone that you and your travelling companion left back home up to date on your ramblings. With rich support for a wide variety of blogging platforms and content management systems, as well as the ability to provide multiple accounts for each, you and your partners in crime can each blog to your heart’s content without stepping on one another’s toes.
Mailboxes by Lilliput Lads is nothing but win. For a very reasonable price of $2.99, the application provides users with support for multiple Gmail accounts, in-app password protection and offline mail caching, all wrapped up in an interface that mimics much of the Gmail website. Even if you don’t plan on sharing your iPad with anyone, Mailboxes is still a hearty Gmail client that is well worth your consideration.
Arguably the best iPad Facebook client currently available via the iTunes App Store, Friendly for Facebook can give multiple users PIN code-protected access to the majority of their Facebook profile’s functions without having to putter about with iPad’s Mobile Safari browser. Short of letting you play Bejeweled Blitz or Farmville (there are iOS apps for those, anyway), Friendly’s got your Facebook's back
So what are you waiting for? Download any or all of these iOS beauties to show your friends and loved ones that you care about their iPad needs... especially when it comes to fulfilling those needs and ensuring that no one messes with your stuff at the same time.
Follow this article's author, Seamus Bellamy on Twitter
