I'm cheap. I haven't purchased TapaTalk. However, I've found the Chrome browser for iPhone/iPad to work REALLY well with GCM and it's free.
I don't even view the mobile version of the site. Lately, almost all my viewing is on the iPad, with a little phone and computer mixed in. Just thought I'd mention, since not everyone likes to pay for apps. My issue is not being able to get a "lite" version to know if I'd even like it before dishing out the cash.