So I’ve had my iPhone now for about four months. Anyone who knows me in real life knows I’m practically a zealot for the thing. I absolutely love (just about everything) about it.
A little over a year ago, I had switched from Verizon to AT&T so that I could get my hands on the iPhone 3G. Well, Verizon managed to lure me back with a series of pretty outstanding incentives. During the short time I had the phone, there were a handful of complaints that I had about it. The usual of course, (no picture messaging, no video capture, no landscape texting). Finally, with the 3GS, all of my complaints were addressed, and frankly, I can’t really think of anything I wish was there that isn’t! So, naturally, I abandoned Verizon and moved back to AT&T. (And I don’t know what you all are talking about, I don’t even notice a difference in service).
So, as I have been planning on writing this for a few weeks now, the time has come. This is a list of my absolute favorite applications for the iPhone. These are all apps that I use on a regular basis. They appear in no particular order.
Vlingo
Lets up update multiple social networking sites at once. I use it for Facebook and Twitter. But the best part is, it has built in voice recognition so that you can speak you updates rather than typing them. Perfect if you on a long car ride or something. Vlingo is free.
Rowmote Pro
Rowmote lets you control your Apple computer with your iPhone. It has a built in touchpad for the mouse (full control and gestures, just like the Apple touch pad), a full keyboard, and an Apple style remote for media control. It also has built in support for lots of different applications—not just Apple’s Front Row. Among them are VLC, Plex, Last.fm and even Safari. Rowmote Pro is $4.99. It may seem steep, but when you add up all the different apps you need to do what Rowmote Pro does, it’s actually quite reasonable.
Dictionary.com
I like to avoid general web browsing in Safari when there’s a specialized app alternative. The Dictionary.com app is just that. It also includes a thesaurus. But best of all, all the info is localized in the Phone. The app predicts which word you’re looking up, and results are instantaneous. The only drawback: it takes about four seconds to start, which feels like an eternity. Still faster than Safari though. Dictionary.com is free.
WifiTrak
WifiTrak is a wifi scanner that will look further than the built in one. And it really does work. It can be set to refresh constantly which makes it perfect for scouting out open wifi networks in a pinch. And, because it’s in your phone, it can be used while you’re driving (something you can’t very well do with an open laptop). Once you find a network, then you can pull out your laptop and get to work. WifiTrak is $0.99.
The Weather Channel
The lite version and the paid version are the same, but one has ads. The Weather Channel app is more complete that the native weather app—namely with hourly and weekly reports. The Weather Channel is Free, or $0.99 depending how tolerant of ads you are.
Shazam
Identifies songs. Hear a song, open the app and find out what it is. Works about 90% of the time. I use it to identify music in movies and tv shows. The app also provides a portal to online stores selling the songs. Shazam is free.
Apple Remote
Browse and control iTunes on your computer. I love it because it lets you browse you iTunes library like it’s your iPod. See album art, rate songs. It’s pretty much all there—except coverflow. It also supports song requests by other iPhone users who are guests.
Movie Genie
Once again, I like to avoid Safari when there’s a specialized app. Movie Genie browses the IMDb website for movie and television information. It has about 90% of the website’s functionality. Movie Genie is $1.99, but it should be noted that there is now a free app put out by IMDb, but I know nothing about it’s functionality.
Cheap Gas
Pretty self-explanatory. Uses your current location to find the cheapest gas. Also provides a quick link to directions and a weird augmented reality function. Cheap Gas is free.
ProCamera
Among other things, it adds zoom and anti-shake to your camera. In fact, it makes the camera down-right usable. It has video function, but there are no special features for the video, which is kind of a blower. Perfect for photos though. ProCamera is $0.99.
RedLaser
RedLaser is a barcode scanner. It’s way faster than any other barcode scanner in the app store and it’s product search is far more thorough, even including local results. I thought this kind of app was useless until I found RedLaser, and now I rarely shop brick-and-mortar without using it. RedLaser is $1.99.
SmartSync
Syncs your phone contacts with your Facebook account. This is good for the compulsive people like myself who want to have all the last names and pictures possible for the contacts in their phone. It works fast and has plenty of options to keep you from accidentally overwriting information. SmartSync is $1.99.
Dragon Dictation
Simple voice recognition and interpretation. But the key is that it’s really, really good. No need to over-pronunciate. Just speak normally and Dragon figures it out almost every time. It doesn’t do anything else, but offers quick links to copy text and jump to email and text messaging. Best part is, Dragon Dictation is free.
Last.fm
Everything we love about Last.fm radio, on the iPhone. I use this all the time to find new music when I’m away from the computer. I recommend it over the Pandora app. Last.fm is free.
