In the latest issue of Macworld, on page 45, Apple declares the NPR News app for iPad (developed by Bottle Rocket) to be an essential app to have.

Dan Frakes explains why NPR News for iPad is an essential free favorite:

Who said Internet audio killed radio? NPR for iPad proves that networks can embrace the Internet to make their radio and Web offerings even more compelling. Like NPR’s iPhone app, the free iPad version lets you browse NPR news, shows, and podcasts; you can read or listen immediately, or save audio programs to a playlist you can listen to at any time. The app also lets you listen to streaming audio of many NPR-affiliate stations across the country. But the iPad app adds emphases on the multimedia-friendly areas of NPR’s coverage—Arts & Life and Music topics—and takes advantage of the iPad’s larger screen to make it easier to find content and more enjoyable to consume it. It’s public radio on-demand, and it makes NPR appealing even to the NPR-agnostic among us.