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Earth 3D is the most impressive "globe" I've ever seen.
(Screenshot by Al Fasoldt)
Every year I make a list of the best recent iPad apps. Here are the first 11. I'll have more in a week. They're all available at the App Store.
Productivity
1. Calculator HDdeg Free: (Free). Provides "paper tape" of calculations.
Photo and video
2. Repix: (Free) Fun photo-manipulation app, marred by in-app purchases.
3. Type art: ($4.99) Who says you can't play with fonts on the iPad? Type some text and choose a font. You won't see any font names, but that might not matter. You can copy and paste the results into Pages or any other word processor.
4. VLC: (Free) An old friend on Windows appears on the iPad for those times when you need to play ANY audio or video files. Knows how to deal with everything. Possibly the most popular video player in the world.
News
5. News360: (Free). Like Zite. Offers multiple sources on many stories.
6. BBC News: (Free). Up-to-the-minute, objective. Good photos.
7. ePost-Standard: (Free). Read the actual newspaper. App makes it easier to read the paper than by using a computer. (Subscription required.) This has been updated for better display on Retina iPads.
Astronomy and geography
8. SkySafari: ($2.99). Lets your iPad show you what's in the night sky at your location. Many other features.
9. Earth 3D: ($.99). A 3D globe that shows cities and landmarks in stunning pop-up fashion. Easily the most impressive Earth globe ever.
Personal
10. Cardiograph: ($1.99). Turns your iPad into a medical instrument that can track your pulse.
11. AroundMe; (Free). Locates businesses and other establishments in your location as determined by your iPad's GPS or its built-in non-GPS positioning.