iPhone apps 101: A guide to the first Apps you need on your iPhone
17 Oct 2008
I recently bit the bullet and became a lemming.. I purchased an iPhone. I can single handily say that this is one of the best purchases I have ever made. In less than a week, this has become my favorite gadget of all time. If you don’t have one, you don’t understand how amazing they are. I recommend getting this little device as quickly as possible.
In order to make your life easier, I will periodically post a blog about my experience with my iPhone. Seeing as this is my first post, I will make a few recommendations as to my favorite apps thus far.
- Facebook – this App will be the obvious first choice for most people who would buy an iPhone. I must say that I love this app – unconditionally. The features implemented in the iPhone version of facebook are incredible and include many great features including, mobile pic uploads to comments, status updates, etc.
- myspace – this app is almost as obvious as facebook. It provides all the practical features that normal myspace does, but on your iPhone. Basically – it gets it’s job done.
- twitterific - Now, this app is only important if you actually use twitter. If you don’t know what twitter is, it is a “micro” social networking tool that allows you to connect with colleagues on an update level. This app provides all the status updates on one page for you and your friends. I love it.
- Shazam / Midomi – These are amazing tools that do essentially the same thing. Have you ever been listening to a song and wondered what it was? This tool will find out THAT SONG. It doesnt matter if it is a radio, tv show, internet clip, or a CD, these apps will find out the title and name of the song for you. On top of that, they will connect you to iTunes OR youtube so you can hear the song again. Simply Amazing.
- Pandora – Pandora is a 2.0 music website that streams music to your computer or iPhone based on your preferences. It is a fantastic way to find music and bands you may have never heard, but based entirely on music you enjoy. I only recommend this if you use your iPhone around Wi-Fi hotspots
- Wikipanion – Like the other apps I have listed – this is a simple app for browing Wikipedia Entries.. It is nothing special, but for what it is, it does it well. Easy download.
- FlyCast – This app is similar to the satellite radio concepts, except it’s for the iPhone. It’s a decent app, but if you have Genius and Pandora installed, you could honestly pass on this application
- Remote – if you have a Mac, this app is amazing. If you have a windows PC, it’s still pretty good. this app basically turns your iPhone into a remote that lets you control your iTunes and similar programs.
- I Can Haz Cheezburger - This is just a personal favorite. It provides daily updates from the I Can Haz Cheezburger website IE the LoLcatz. It provides a nice little break from the day and lets me giggle a little bit.
- Units – All in one app that provides unit conversion for almost every type of unit. Simple, but effective in determining measurements.
- Labyrinth LE – A classic reborn. Labyrinth LE is a free version of the Labyrinth game. Although you may only play the free levels, this application demonstrates how advanced the iPhone is as a device. I recommend downloading this program and playing through the free levels.
- Lux Touch - Do you like RISK? who doesn’t? This game puts Risk on you iPhone and does it very well. I absolutely love this game. I cannot wait for the full version to arrive – it will probably be the first application I actually go out and purchase. Perfect time waster and fun little game.
pownce- similar to twitter but with more options, not as popular but i like it
fring- save minutes making calls in wifi areas to those who have fring or skype
where- looking for a quick location, great for traveling especially with keywords in search mode
aqua forest- a physics puzzle game with the an extra thrill of reaction among different types of materials.ex fire wood=more fire ex.fire water= steam
aurora feint- of of the best and addictive puzzle games and its free
tris- because you get a better quality game then the shitty official 1 and it’s free
vnclite- not for everybody, but its nice to know you can control your computer from your phone if you needed to
pangeavr- not as useful but fun to use and explore 360 degree photographs all over the world by tapping pinching and rotating the iphone
lastfm- similar to pandora with more of a selection as well as more homegrown artists
weatherbug- look at various weather stats at the tap of a button, as well as an option to check the live radar (basically the weather channel in a fraction of the time)
earthscape- similar to google earth with user submitted photos added to their location
trapster- find out where the nearest hidden traffic cam is, or various other speed traps alerts you to proximity warnings
election 08- keep up to date with the current poll numbers as well as various poll stats from different states
take…car- similar to gpark but free (works well when finding your car in large parking lots, or on vacation finding your way back to your hotel especially after more then a few drinks)
idoodle2lite- pretty equivalent to paintbrush for windows on the iphone
bloomerg- watch the economical roller coaster we call the stock market from the safety of your phone while other programs do this bloomberg excels at providing extra information such as graphs and articles to better understand the rise and falls. Also a descent GUI.”
