What applications are the earliest testers of the Apple iPad trying out? Even though the "official" launch day for the new slate touchscreen computer isn't until tomorrow, April 3rd, several journalists and even some celebrities have already got their hands on one. And what are the top applications for folks like this? There are the usual suspects, of course: The Wall St. Journal, iBooks, Netflix (yes, it was true !), USA Today, ABC Player, NYT Editors' Choice, NPR and others. But all these apps are free, big-name brands and precisely the sorts of things the iPad was designed for. What's more interesting is a glance at the paid applications list for the iPad. Sponsor iPad's Top Apps the Day Before Launch Yesterday, iPad applications became available in the iTunes App Store. They appeared in searches for terms like "XL" and "HD" - the new acronyms developers are using to denote which of their mobile apps have been reconfigured for the slate's larger screen. And although very few people actually have their iPad yet, a number of iPad apps have been downloaded, either by the early testers themselves or by those who are preparing their collection for tomorrow's first-time sync. In the free applications list, there are few surprises. From one to ten, the top free apps are: iBooks, Netflix, ABC Player, USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, NYT Editors' Choice, NPR for iPad, Twitterific for iPad, eBay for iPad and Shazam for iPad. Early Trend: iPad is Used for More than Media Consumption However, the paid applications list hints at two early trends that may bode well for the device's future and one that may not. First, the good news. The iPad, despite its consumer appeal, is already making headway as a productivity application.