Before you can use the App Store on your iPad or your computer, you first need an iTunes Store account. If you don’t already have one, launch iTunes on your computer or the App Store or iTunes Store app on your iPad.
Start by finding cool iPad apps using iTunes on your computer. Follow these steps:
Launch iTunes.
Click the iTunes Store button near the upper-right corner of the iTunes window, or click iTunes Store in the sidebar.
If the sidebar isn’t showing and you’d like it to show, choose View→Show/Hide Sidebar or press Command+Option+S (Mac).
Either way, the result is that you’ll be looking at the landing page of the iTunes Store.
Click the App Store link.
The iTunes App Store appears.
If you wish to look at a specific department of the App Store, instead of clicking, press and hold on the App Store link and select a department from the drop-down menu.
(Optional) If you want to look only for apps designed to run at the full resolution of your iPad, click the iPad tab at the top of the window (hidden by the App Store drop-down menu).
Now you’re ready to browse, search, and download apps.
After you have the iTunes App Store on your screen, you have a couple of options for exploring its virtual aisles.
The main departments are featured in the middle of the screen, and ancillary departments appear on either side of them. Starting with the ones in the middle:
The Best New Apps department is displaying six icons (and a sliver of a seventh). These represent apps that are — what else? — the best new apps according to Apple’s curators.
Only six icons are visible, but the Best New Apps department actually has more than that. Look way over to the right of the words Best New Apps. See where it says, See All? Click that link to see all apps in this department at once. Or click and drag the scroll bar below the icons to see more.
The Best New Games department also displays six icons, representing the best new games available today. Again, you can see more of these icons by clicking the See All link or dragging the scroll bar.
The Previous Editors’ Choices department appears below the Best New Games department. These are apps that were featured previously in a “best” category. Same deal here: See more by clicking See All or dragging the scroll bar.
Separating the Best New Apps department and Best New Games department are ads (Dinorama, Games, and iTunes Radio Station Guide), with more ads between the Best New Games department and Previous Editors’ Choices department (Designed for iOS 7: Zite, Shazam, and Open Table). Click an ad to learn more.
Three other departments appear to the right, under the Top Charts heading: Paid Apps; Free Apps; and Top Grossing Apps (which isn’t visible in the figure). The number-one app in each department displays both its icon and its name; the next nine apps show text links only.