Are you a little confused about the "Home Screen"? While the name itself may be a little odd, the "Home Screen" refers to the screen a smartphone or a tablet like the iPad that appears when you first boot it up and log into the device. On the iPad, this is the screen with all of the app icons on it. The Home Screen is also the screen displayed when you close out of an app by clicking the Home Button.

The Home Screen has several pages, depending on how many apps you have downloaded from the App Store. You can navigate between pages by swiping your finger across the screen from left to right or from right to left. Here are a few more tasks you can perform on the Home Screen:

• You can access notifications by swiping from the very top edge of the screen down towards the bottom of the display. The Notification Center will appear as you drag your finger down. Learn more about the Notification Center.
• You can access Spotlight Search by resting your finger in the middle of the display and sliding it down. The Spotlight Search can be used to search for anything contained on your iPad, including apps, music and movies. This makes it a great way to search for that app rather than moving from page to page in the Home Screen hunting for it. Learn more about Spotlight Search.
• You can also move apps, delete apps and create folders from the Home Screen. You start this process by holding your finger down on an app until it begins jiggling. You can delete apps by tapping the "X" button in the upper-right corner of the app, but you can't delete apps that were pre-installed on the iPad like Safari or Mail. You can move apps by holding your finger down on one and -- without lifting your finger -- moving it around the screen and 'dropping' it by lifting your finger. If you 'drop' it on another app, you will create a folder containing those apps. Learn more about moving apps and creating folders.

• The Home Screen also contains a dock. This dock displays the same apps regardless of which page you are on in the Home Screen. You can move apps to or from this dock, or even put a folder containing your favorite apps on the dock. This is also a good place to move the Settings app so you always have quick access to it.
• The Home Screen is topped by a status bar that shows the time, whether you are connected to Wi-Fi or a 4G network, and the amount of charge left in the iPad's battery. This status bar is usually available in apps as well, though some apps disable the status bar to make use of the entire display. A handy feature of the battery meter is to let you know if your iPad is charging. When the iPad is plugged in, a lightning bolt will appear in the battery icon to inform you that it is properly charging.

A Guided Tour of the iPad