If you’re among the masses who turned out over the weekend to pick up the new iPad Air, you probably want to make sure that you’ve got the best software to go with your new tablet. Luckily for you, GeekWire is here to help.

Here are five apps that are key parts of my iPad workflow:

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Editorial ($4.99)

While Pages is a great writing experience on the iPad if you need a full-featured word processor, sometimes you just want to write in the most efficient way possible. That’s where Editorial comes in. It’s created by Ole Zorn, the same person who created Pythonista, and while its core is a basic Markdown text editor, it also has support for powerful workflows that can include Python commands and snippet expansion, either through TextExpander or Editorial’s internal library.

If I’m writing something on my iPad, there’s a 98 percent chance I’m using Editorial. If you do any writing on the iPad, you owe it to yourself to pick it up. If you want to get the most out of Editorial, Federico Viticci has an excellent guide available on the iBookstore.

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The Room ($1.99)

If you loved the point-and-click puzzling of Myst, you’ll love The Room. It’s a suspenseful, engaging, mind-twisting puzzle game with a compelling (if minimal) story. It looks gorgeous on the iPad, and its developers are looking to release the next episode in the game’s saga sometime before the end of the year. While I basically know all of the puzzle solutions by heart after about a half-dozen playthroughs, I still find The Room to be enjoyable just as an exercise in relaxation.

In addition, Fireproof Games plans to launch a sequel before the end of this year.

The Magazine ($1.99/month)

Published by Seattle’s own Glenn Fleishman (who spoke about it on GeekWire’s podcast), The Magazine’s special blend of eclectic articles with a lot of heart never fails to delight me. Subscribing to The Magazine will run you $2 a month, and is worth every penny.

If you’re looking for more good reading material, I’d also recommend The Loop Magazine, which is produced by legendary blogger Jim Dalrymple, and also available for a $2 monthly subscription.

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Adobe Photoshop Express (Free)

If you’re one of those people who has decided to take up the awkward art of iPad photography, or if you use iCloud’s Photo Stream to get access to the photos you’re shooting on your iPhone, Photoshop Express gives you a bunch of robust photo editing tools at no cost.

While Adobe’s app is also available for the iPhone, the iPad’s comparatively massive screen makes it easy to get a better idea of what your cell phone masterpiece will look like blown up on a TV or printed out.

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Instacast ($4.99)

If you’re listening to podcasts, Instacast is, for my money, both the best-designed and most functional podcast client available on the iPad. It syncs with the company’s proprietary cloud service so that you can stop listening to an episode of your favorite podcast on your iPad in the morning, and pick up right where you left off on your iPhone for your commute home. While the app is suffering from a few bugs, I’ve found their support to be very helpful in dealing with any complications.

If you’re not interested in paying Instacast’s price tag, Apple did recently update its Podcasts app, which isn’t quite as bad as it once was.

So, there you have it: five essential apps for your iPad, new or old. Did I miss something you use in your daily workflow? Let us know in the comments.

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