From the beginning, users having marveled at the ability of the iPad to display crisp video in a portable package, while remaining less taxing on the eye than the smaller screens of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Its utility is certainly above reproach, but the fact that it only natively supports H.264 and MP4 video files has really limited its use, particularly for those who acquired most of their video content on a PC, where the AVI format is ubiquitous.

As was explored last month, one solution is Air Video, an app that allows users to stream video from a host computer over a network or even over the Internet. Of course, as convenient as Air Video is, it comes with its own set of limitations. While it allows for the conversion of any file type, including AVI, it is at the mercy of the internet connections involved. Even at the best of times, the quality is never going to pass for a native file.

Enter CineXPlayer. For the first time since the launch of the iPad, users are able not only to play AVI files on their iPads, but play them natively with no messy video conversion. The fact that CineXPlayer actually made it through Apple’s approval process for iTunes is actually something of a surprise, since every other AVI video player submitted to date has been rejected. Has Apple finally seen the error of their ways, or did this one just manage to slip through the cracks? Who cares! Just download it.

Actually getting movies into the app requires an indirect approach, since you can’t add AVI files to the Movies section of your iTunes library. Instead, you just plug your iPad into your computer, pull up the App tab under your iPad, and scroll to the File Sharing section. It lists the apps that utilize file sharing, one of which should be CineXPlayer. It’s only from there that you can add AVI files.

The app itself is actually rather sparse as far as features go.  The controls are extremely barebones, but it does give you the ability to delete movies from within the app as well as saved resume states for all of your movies. There really isn’t much else to speak of, but it’s really difficult to complain, since CineXPlayer is the only app capable of doing what it does, much less for free.

If playing AVIs is something you’re interested in, it’s advised that you download the App quickly. Apple has been known to change its minds in situations like these, and you don’t want to miss out on the fun.