Some recommendations...
Stream live Freeview TV to your iPad using TVCatchup.com (so long as you have a TV Licence of course):
Sign up for free at
TV Catchup, and then simply visit
http://ipad.tvcatchup.com/ using your iPad's browser.
Play iTunes-unfriendly videos, such as Xvids in the .avi container...
1) Sync on to the iPad with iTunes, and play with
CineXPlayer [£1.79] (or VLC [free] if you managed to get it before it was pulled from the App Store).
or
2) Stream to the iPad using
Air Video [£1.79].
More Apps...
BBC iPlayer official app (better than using the browser) [free]
4oD Catch Up [free]
Sky+ (excellent Sky TV guide plus Sky+ Remote Record function) [free]
Sky News for iPad (excellent news app) [free]
BBC News [free]
Engadget for iPad [free]
Atomic Web Browser (alternative to Safari, has tabs & other features not found on mobile Safari, plus is better at remembering passwords) [£0.59]
1Password Pro (password manager for iOS, can sync with 1Password on other iOS devices & with the desktop version) [£8.99]
Dropbox (access Dropbox cloud storage on the iPad) [free]
File Browser (access shared folders & NAS drives on the iPad) [£2.39]
iWork productivity suite (Pages, Keynote, Numbers) [£5.99 each]
Couple of games...
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [£2.99] (retro adventure game, with an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack by Jim Guthrie)
Infinity Blade [£3.49] (hack 'n' slash action, optimised for the iPad 2's improved speed & graphics)