A roundup of worthy apps for the new iPads

Tablets have altered the barriers of the computer world, shattering the belief that a personal computer must have a keyboard.

And while laptops have become associated with boring Excel documents and the other digital trappings of work, tablets are making computing fun again.

Although Android tablets are getting better all the time, Apple is still leading the tablet charge — and the new iPads the company unveiled Tuesday look as if they will keep the company out in front.

A major reason for that is the number of great iPad apps that are available.

These recommendations are for apps that showcase tablets, and they all work with the new iPad versions.

Rockpack

Free for iPad

For an online video experience, the Rockpack app is easy to use, and its design is excellent.

Rockpack shows you an array of great videos drawn from across the Web and recommended by your social-media friends, as well as by celebrities.

Sharing your own video discoveries with friends on Twitter or Facebook is also a breeze.

Rockpack is free.

Real Racing 3

Free for iPad

Game apps also go well with iPads, and there are thousands.

“Real Racing 3” is one great game that combines amazing graphics and a type of motion-control game play that you can really get only on tablets.

It’s a car racing game that you control by steering your iPad as if it were a car’s wheel.

The graphics will impress you, as they’re what you’d normally expect to see on a game on a console like a PlayStation or Xbox, and the game play is entertaining.

The segments between races for upgrading your car and selecting tracks can drag on too long, but the game is free, so it’s hard to complain.

Google Earth

Free for iPad

Although Google Earth looks simply like an app version of Google’s Web app, the tablet’s screen is absolutely the best way to experience Earth. Zooming and diving by swiping the screen to see beautiful satellite imagery of the world and 3-D graphics of famous buildings feels wonderful.

Hopefully, by trying these apps you will see that your iPad is much more than a device for browsing the Web or reading documents or books. Have fun!