Everyone knows about Facebook, WordsWithFriends and Kindle apps for your iPhone and iPad. In my previous column, I identified all the starter apps you need. See column: The App Starter Kit But the iPad is more than just fun and games. It’s a great tool to complement your business, whether you’re an independent professional or part of a large corporation. Here are some apps to help you gain productivity as well as that competitive edge you need in today’s environment. Would you like to accept credit card payments but find the fees to establish this service can be prohibitive? There are two …

Have a new iPhone or iPad? It comes with about a dozen built-in apps, but the fun comes with searching for and adding your own. Here are a few apps to start with and they’re all free.   Around Me - Have you ever been en route to the airport but forgot to fill up your rental car with gas? Find the nearest gas station with this app. It finds all sorts of businesses in your surroundings - coffee shops, ATM’s, drug stores, etc. Looking for a restaurant? Use UrbanSpoon or Yelp to find ones in your area.  Yelp even provides you with comprehensive reviews. Once you’ve found that restaurant, make a …

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and, if you’re doing any cooking, you should take a look at these apps. EPI (Epicurious) and AllRecipes (Cost: free):  Both apps have thousands of recipes and are easy to navigate. Epicurious pulls recipes from Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Self and features renowned chefs and cookbooks. You can search by cuisine or holiday and create a combined recipe shopping list that you can email to yourself. For $1.99, you can sync your recipe box across multiple devices and with the Epicurious web site from your computer. The AllRecipes Pro version ($4.99 iPad/$2.99 …

Paper. It's everywhere. Let these iPad/iPhone apps help you minimize the paper in your life and make your world a little greener. SignMyPad:  We often get forms to complete via e-mail or to download from the web. First, you print it out. Then you fill it in and scan it to your computer to e-mail back. With SignMyPad there's no need for any of this. This app allows you to add your signature (using your finger or a stylus), add a date, checkbox and text. Recently, I was able to download a W9 from the web, complete it and e-mail it back to the requester all on my iPad. No paper needed. It's also…