Arguably the most important apps on any device will be on the Dock Row, since that row is present on every screen. Here are the apps that exist on my Dock Row:

• Safari – The built-in browser for the Apple iPad. It works well, and I’m often quite surprised when websites have embedded YouTube videos and they not only play, but play in-situ, which is a wonderful little extra touch. The multiple screen functionality is very useful but sometimes I can forget it exists and find out later on that I have littered the field with dead windows. I wish there was a way to sync my Safari bookmarks with my Mozilla WeaveSync data store, then again, I’d be thrilled as punch to have Fennec or even Firefox on my iPad, but I won’t hold my breath.
• Mail – The Mail App is really quite pleasant to use, a real surprise coming from the Mail App on my iPod Touch. Mail is one of those apps that gives me the freedom to leave my laptop behind and leave my Mac Mini at home off for extended periods of time. I find the only gripe I have about Mail is that every account I have registered with it is in its own specific little containers. I know that the next edition of the iPad OS will have a unified mailbox. It’s not enough of a gripe to dissuade me from using Mail on my iPad.
• Photos – The iPad absolutely shines when it comes to displaying big beautiful photos. I love being able to swipe and display Demotivational Poster jokes and I quite enjoy all the ways you can organize pictures. One of my gripes in the Photo application is how bound it is to iTunes/iPhoto, but then again, the gripe is not a showstopper. One thing I did notice is a bug in the Photos application, if you have a photo with EXIF data that isn’t correct you can have some serious problems syncing the iPad. The problem presents itself when the iPad is syncing and backing up in iTunes. If you have a photo with bad EXIF data, iTunes will begin the backup/sync operation on the iPad and then time out. The iPad will reboot twice and then eventually end up in a bricked state. You have to unplug the iPad and force a reboot. The only fix I’ve found is to use DiskAid to pull the erroneous pictures out of my device so sync can return to normal. Once the pictures are gone, everything behaves itself. You definitely know you have a bad photo in your Pictures database when you plug in your iPad and start the Image Capture app and it doesn’t recognize the iPad as a source for images.
• iBooks – Dead Center on the Dock Row – quite possibly the most pleasant application on my entire iPad. I have over 60 books stored on my iBooks and it has become my universal, favorite, and only way I like to read books now. The backlight can upset some people but I have found it to be a delight. It’s a great way to read and if you have spare time, it makes your iPad a very handy device to have on you. I have no gripes nor have I found any bugs with iBooks, altogether it’s a very solid app.
• Toodledo – The iPad App to my favorite to-do application and site. The Toodledo app allows me to manage my online Toodledo list, so I can create new tasks, manage the ones I already have and see where I stand just with a tap of my index finger. The App grew up from a hasty old-style iPod Touch app shoved into an iPad app and now has matured into a full-fledged iPad app. Very convenient and very useful!
• Twitterrific – The best iPad-based Twitter app out there. I really like the big font on the primary display, very easy on the eyes. The only bug I’ve found is if you are too hasty and try to switch categories sometimes that feature can “get lost” if you aren’t willing to wait for a network update to the twitter timeline. It’s solid everywhere else and it gets a great review from me because it’s pleasant to use. I may be swapping out Twitterrific for ComicZeal soon on the Dock, but currently, that’s whats there.