I live 24/7 with my iPhone. It is my constant, unwaivering companion. I fell for my iPhone the second I got it (sorry for the romantic twist, it is Valentines time after all). Therefore, by extention, I fell for the App Store.
I have six and a half pages of apps on my iPhone 3G (old school, represent), and more sitting on my Mac. Seeing I have so many apps, I thought I would share my favourite 16, or one full iPhone page’s worth (excluding the dock) of apps. So here they all are, with a quick review.
Facebook
This app needs no real explination. Being the Facebook tragic I am, it’s only logical that I have an app that let’s me read my news feed, post content and chat IM-style. If you have an iPhone, and have a Facebook account, you should have this app. It costs AU$0.
Bejeweled 2
Bejewled simply has to be the most addictive game ever invented. So simple to pick up, Pop Cap Games has done a fantastic job adapting the game to the iPhone platform. Bejeweled Blitz is my favourite mode, because I can compete against Facebook friends, taunting them with my skills by built-in Facebook publishing. Replay value is extremely high. It costs AU$3.99, but is worth every sent.
TweetDeck
As with Facebook, I have hopped on the Twitter bandwagon. TweetDeck for iPhone is a beautiful adaptation of the powerful desktop client of the same name. Syncronisation of columns across the iPhone and desktop clients makes this app perfect for extremd Twitter social media (much like myself). Like the desktop app, this one is free.
Flight Control
A fun little game where you act as flight controller. What is especially important about this game to me is where it was created and written: Australia. The game is simple, with that ‘one more try’ factor that makes this game so alluring. It is also very affordable: AU$1.19
Stanza
Stanza is a nice little app for reading on the iPhone. It understands most-to-all of the major eBook formats. Adding books is done via the built-in store, or via Wi-Fi for books on your computer. Best of all, it’s free.
FourSquare
If you enjoy partying, this is for you. A native application for the web app, FourSquare allows you to find parties, gatherings and new places hang out. Find where your friends are, and compete against them to rule the week. This one is free.
Trailguru
If your a data obsessed geek like me, and you enjoy walking/running, then this is for you. Track your speed, distance, elevation and lots of other pieces of data, which you can then upload to the web for vieweing. The whole service, including the app, is free.
Sleep Cycle
Keeping the theme with well-being apps, Sleep Cycle allows you to sleep with your iPhone. But not how you are all thinking (shame on you!). Sleep Cycle is an alarm clock that detemines you phases of sleep through the night. It uses this data to wake you up at the optimal time before your set time, at which the alarm goes off anyway. This costs AU$1.19, but is amusing and informative.
Convert
The single most beautiful and powerful unit converter, Convert has it all. It handles all your normal conversions, plus typography and data size conversion. A calculator is also included. A little expensive at AU$2.49, but you get top quality for your money.
Google Mobile
We all know Google. You search with it by typing. We’ve all been there, done that. But this app allows you to search by voice! It is incredibly accurate in my experince, and great if your lazy. Also has direct links to all of Google’s mobile apps. It’s free, so just get it. It impresses everyone.
Shazam
You’d have to have been living under a rock to not have seen this in action. Don’t know the name of the catchy song playing? Open Shazam, hold your iPhone near the source, and voilà, now you know! Available in two versions, one free (with tagging limit), and a paid version (AU53.99, no limitations). This one impresses too.
Wurdle
Are you a word game nut? Wurdle is an addictive mix of find-a-word, and Boggle. You can choose to have a time limit or not, grid size, minimum word length, board colour, and so much more. It makes funny noises, which somehow makes words fun. It is AU$2.49 from the Store.
WordPress
This app is how I write basically all of my blog posts (including this one). It is free, and offers all the tools you need to write, categorise, organise and upload posts to multiple blogs. It is free, and is the premiere app for anyone with a WordPress blog.
UrbanSpoon
Like FourSquare, UrbanSpoon helps you find new places, but this app speialises in places to eat. I used it in a recent trip to Sydney, where I had no idea of places to eat. UrbanSpoon found three fantastic places to eat when I urgently needed it. It provides ratings and contact details, and is location aware, so the app has everything covered. It is free from the App Store.
CameraGenius
If your into multimedia as much as I am, then CameraGenius is a good buy. It adds some basic functions to the photography experience on iPhone. Things like alignment grids, timed shots, burst mode, zoom, tips and an easy to press button make this app what it is. At AU$2.49, it’s a cheap way to a better camera.
iVideoRecorder
If like me you’ve hung onto your iPhone 3G, and are still mad about no video capture, calm down and take a look at this. It’s still early days, but this app already blows my mind. The developers have manged 10fps at 320×240 resolution from a still-only camera. it looks middling in full light, not so much in low light, but improvements have been quick, so I expect this to get even better even faster. AU$1.19 will get you this app, which is really worth it.
Hopefully this (lengthy) insight into my iPhone has introduced one of two new apps to you (and told you way too much about myself). Please support the App Store and it’s developers by buying and providing positive comments and constructive feedback on the store.
DISCLAIMER: Prices shown above were correct at time of publication. Issues with support are of the concern of Apple and application developers. No responsibility is accepted for data loss or any other kind of issue caused by using the suggested iPhone applications.