Best Free Apps to Get Started with Your New BlackBerry PlayBook

For those new to the BlackBerry PlayBook, here are a few simple and free apps that I have been recommending to friends and family to go get started fast.  In fact, I'm giving away several PlayBooks for Christmas this year and this is what I am pre-loading on all of them....

Games... After all it's a "Play"Book

1. Super Air Hockey:  Play against a friend or against the PlayBook, this is a perfect example of  touchscreen simplicity.  Fun for all ages.

2. Fruits and Ninjas:  You got fruits.. You got Ninjas...  What else do you need?  In this game you slash through fruit with your finger making the world safe from dangerous fruit.

3. Doodle Blast:  This is a great puzzle game where you use virtual ink to complete the maze and capture the marbles.  You only have so much ink so you need to be strategic on where you draw the lines and let gravity do it's job.

4. Popcorn Rush: Touching the kernals will pop them into popcorn... The more you pop... the higher your score.  Just beware of the bombs!  Easy enough for all aged players.

5. Tile Breaker Free:  The best "breakout" type game on the PlayBook.  Simply move your finger to the spot you need your bat at and knock away those levels.

6. Assembler Mobile 2:  Great gravity based puzzle game.  Here's a hint...  Turn ON your "lock orientation" on your PlayBook to play this game on the higer levels. Otherwise the PlayBook will reorient itself while you are flipping it upside down.

7. Fly Squirrel Fly 2:  Pull back on your slingshot with a flying squirrel... and let it rip...  Silly fun as your squirrel goes flying through the levels picking up points and special abilities!

8. Bubble Birds:  The classic bubble popping game where you need to strategically put the coloured bubbles together and pop the series.  Clear them all and you are on to the next level.

9. Protect The Cheese:  Another puzzle game where you need to make sure the cheese doesn't hit the ground!  Fun for all ages.






Kids Stuff....  The Playbook Slices & Dices and can even babysit!

1. Coloring Book:  Simple colouring book for kids where they get to pick the pictures that need to be coloured and then simply select the shades and colour away.

2. MakeThemLaugh: A sound effects board so kids can make sound effects such as laughter, clapping, gasping, etc. Kids love to use the effects in their skits and plays.

3. Get Growing:  A TVO (TV Ontario) educational game that lets your kids plant and grow their own plants along with other activities.






Other Useful Apps

1. Scrapbook:  With pictures you've taken or downloaded you can use this native scrapbooking application to make scrapbook pages and share them with family and friends.

2. Piano:  Simple keyboard that you can also record your masterpieces.
This is perhaps the simplest of the keyboard like programs but definately my favourite.

3. iSpeech Translator:  Handy dandy language translator for everyday use.  Not only will it translate voice, but you can also translate text!

4. Sketchbook:  Need to quickly draw? Tthen sketchbook is a great app that allows you to do just that.  You can use whiteboard, blackboard or even a picture as the backdrop.

5. Vevo:  Music lovers must-have!  All the major videos and interesting info on your fave artists are all on vevo. 

6. Score Mobile: Sports lovers must-have providing loads of information, stats, game tracking, live blogs and a ton of other  features.






Once you've mastered these and want to transform your PlayBook into a mobile multimedia powerhouse, check out my earlier post on the essential PlayBook power user apps.  But for now, these should help you get started.