With the release of iPhone and iPod Touch 2.0 software comes the much coveted Apps. Over the weekend I got to download and play around with some of them. Most of the ones I downloaded were free, and I think the biggest thing stopping people from paying for more apps is that there is no way to "try before you buy". So it is a crap shoot if you actually plunk down money for an iPhone app. But anyway, here are some of my favorites:
Facebook -> OK, it is debatable as to whether or not Facebook itself is actually useful, but if you use Facebook you should probably get this app for your iPhone. It is free and it is slightly more streamlined than the Facebook iPhone specific web page.
Google -> No debate about how useful Google is. Again it is slightly more streamlined than the Google iPhone specific page but it is very similar to it.
Yelp -> I really like the Yelp app because it incorporated location based viewing of restaurants and other businesses. This will be very useful when traveling or just trying to decide on a place for lunch. I highly recommend this app, and it is free.
NYTIMES -> Basically a streamlined view of the New York Times. The difference between getting this app and surfing to their page via Safari is that with the app you don't have to zoom in and out. So if you read the NY Times regularly you should get this app. And it is free.
PhoneSaber -> This is a goofy app that shows a light saber from Star Wars and when you swing the iPhone around it makes the same sounds. Goofy but luckily it is free.
Urbanspoon -> I've been thinking about writing an app like this for a long time. It is basically a randomizer that can help you decide what to have for lunch. And it uses your location to isolate the randomness to the area close by. Free and it should be good for some entertainment and good variety in lunches.
SmugShot -> This one is only useful if you have a SmugMug account, which I have, and recommend everyone else do the same (especially if MSFT buys out Yahoo! and thus Flickr). This is cool because you can open the app, log in, and take pictures with your iPhone and upload them directly to the album of your choice in SmugMug. The photos are automatically geocoded with your location, and SmugMug plays well with Google Maps so you can quickly and easily see where you took your photos on the map. You may find that useful for a whole multitude of reasons. I like it and plan to use it extensively.
OmniFocus -> I paid $20 for this app, and to me it is by far the most useful one thus far. It is basically a todo list, but if you have the right infrastructure it can be your one todo list to rule them all. I will dedicate a post to this app shortly.
Facebook -> OK, it is debatable as to whether or not Facebook itself is actually useful, but if you use Facebook you should probably get this app for your iPhone. It is free and it is slightly more streamlined than the Facebook iPhone specific web page.
Google -> No debate about how useful Google is. Again it is slightly more streamlined than the Google iPhone specific page but it is very similar to it.
Yelp -> I really like the Yelp app because it incorporated location based viewing of restaurants and other businesses. This will be very useful when traveling or just trying to decide on a place for lunch. I highly recommend this app, and it is free.
NYTIMES -> Basically a streamlined view of the New York Times. The difference between getting this app and surfing to their page via Safari is that with the app you don't have to zoom in and out. So if you read the NY Times regularly you should get this app. And it is free.
PhoneSaber -> This is a goofy app that shows a light saber from Star Wars and when you swing the iPhone around it makes the same sounds. Goofy but luckily it is free.
Urbanspoon -> I've been thinking about writing an app like this for a long time. It is basically a randomizer that can help you decide what to have for lunch. And it uses your location to isolate the randomness to the area close by. Free and it should be good for some entertainment and good variety in lunches.
SmugShot -> This one is only useful if you have a SmugMug account, which I have, and recommend everyone else do the same (especially if MSFT buys out Yahoo! and thus Flickr). This is cool because you can open the app, log in, and take pictures with your iPhone and upload them directly to the album of your choice in SmugMug. The photos are automatically geocoded with your location, and SmugMug plays well with Google Maps so you can quickly and easily see where you took your photos on the map. You may find that useful for a whole multitude of reasons. I like it and plan to use it extensively.
OmniFocus -> I paid $20 for this app, and to me it is by far the most useful one thus far. It is basically a todo list, but if you have the right infrastructure it can be your one todo list to rule them all. I will dedicate a post to this app shortly.
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