Shop Smarter and Faster with Five iPad Apps

Shopping for toys, games, gifts for men, gifts for women and the kids is as easy as rolling out of bed and clicking the iPad apps. Morning coffee not included.

Well, how lazy do you want to be? Here’s how lazy...with these 5 iPad shopping applications, you can finish your Christmas shopping list in about the time it takes to feed your dog, add water to the dish and tie him to the post outside.

Let’s start with toys for kids. Meet your best toy-buying buddy - ToyHopper for iPad ($1.99).

Buying toys is fun. ToyHopper doesn’t disappoint as you can watch videos of kids playing with toys, see the best of the best, sort toys into lists and share your favorites with friends.

You can filter toys by:

1) Theme, such as action and fantasy

2) Categories, like games and DVD

3) Age recommendation

4) Cost

The toys in this application were chosen by the kid experts at Disney FamilyFun, targeting kids 3 to 12. Each toy has been family tested and hand picked.

Shop the world’s exclusive boutiques without suffering jet-lag.

The i Pad application Boutique (Free) jets you to exclusive and trendy curated boutiques around the world. Many boutiques are inspired by celebrities and top designers. See the latest fashion trends and style icons from the comfort of your home.

Set your own preferences for color and patterns by pushing the “love” or “hate” buttons.

You can set up a customized boutique storefront to show your favorite styles, much like a window display.

When you find a store you love, Boutique has settings to follow that boutique and get the latest news and fashion ideas. And of course you can share your favorites with friends.

Get instant best prices with Nextag Mobile’s Snap! Click! Save!

Simple! Simple! Simple! is better.

No more waiting in line to get a price on that dress, tool or toy with Nextag Mobile (Free). Snap a picture of the item and image recognition technology tracks it down for you. There’s barcode scanning with your iPhone. Click and compare prices immediately. Then the store locator tracks it down for you. You can also sort by price, brands and seller ratings. After you find your deal, click buy and seal the deal.

Simple, yes?

Okay, Einstein, how much is that doggy in the window if it’s price is $159.99, but take 25% off if you buy it on Monday, plus you have a 5% off coupon? Now add in the sales tax. What is the final price you pay for the dog?

Sale Saver ($0.99) will add it all up and give the final price. It will answer this question: Is that price the best bargain?

Sale Saver displays a shopping cart as you place items inside so you can see the growing total as you shop. Stay on budget by comparing items and tossing those that break the bank.

So if you buy a purse at 15% off, and a belt at 25% off and one shirt at full price with a second at 50% off, Sale Saver acts as your expert accountant and displays what amount you’re spending.

Super Saver can also calculate international currencies into US dollars. What say you, mon amie? Is Sale Saver a good app for your iPad?

There’s more to life than just Christmas shopping. There’s food shopping, wine shopping, movie shopping, girlfriend shopping, etc. You get the idea. Shopping is a year-round activity. It’s been going on since cavemen grabbed the old atlatl and went shopping for rabbit dinner.

Well, you won’t have it that tough if you add the Splash Shopper ($4.99) to your iPad app collection.

You can manage grocery lists, gifts, things to do, music to buy and movies to rent. Splash tracks prices and locations.

When food shopping, you can mark items needed, down to which aisle they’re stocked. The shopping lists are unlimited.

Splash brings organization to your life:

1) You won’t miss any item needed.

2) It keeps you on budget.

3) No more running back to the store because you forgot an item.

4) Track vacation expenses.

So when the family calls for popcorn with the rental movie, you can check the list and see that you bought it. If you don’t know where you stored it, you can make a list for that, too.

Now,which will it be? Will you step into the shopping world with the precision and organization of a well rehearsed dance troupe on Broadway or hit the cereal aisle like a howling Pict attacking Roman invaders?

The choice is yours and Splash makes that choice very easy.