My Favorite iPhone Apps, Websites & Services

I am a huge fan of iPhone. It is a revolutionary device. Calling it a phone, even a smart-phone seems odd to me. I prefer to call it my pocket brain! :-)

Since everyone always wants to know what apps I have and use, here's the quick run down. I will clean this up when time allows. (Last updated 8/10/2009.)

Must Have Services:

  1. Apple's Mobile Me - if you are NOT an MS Exchange user (corporate email) you want to use Mobile.me (www.me.com) to synchronize your contacts, calendar and email wirelessly. This service does this wirelessly using the cell network. It basically keeps your contacts and calendar in sync with both your PC and your MAC. This service costs $99 per year, but it's well worth it. It also has an awesome feature called "Find my iPhone". If you loose your phone, you can go to the Mobile.me website and have it show you on a map where your phone is and even to delete your data from your phone remotely.

Native Apps:

  1. MeetMe - awesome mapping application which let's you enter your address and that of a friend you want to meet. Then, it helps you find a meeting spot somewhere in between!
  2. BeeJive - instant messenger client that supports AIM, MSN, FaceBook, Yahoo and more.
  3. Google - awesome "voice" search and more.
  4. AAA Discounts - gps database of nearby "deals" to AAA members.
  5. The Weather Channel - a bit better than the built in weather app.
  6. Google Earth - It's just cool.
  7. Spark People - This is my "diet."
  8. Zenbe Lists - awesome for things like grocery list. Michelle and I point to the same list so we each have the same grocery list. You can use this for TO-DO lists also. Uses a web account which is free.
  9. Evernote - a WEB powered cross-platform notes application (much better than the built in because it synchs your notes with your PC/MAC and WEB.)
  10. JOTT - awesome service to REMIND yourself of stuff via email AND SMS (requires website subscription, but it's pretty cheap.)
  11. Toodledo - great task management app (requires website subscription.) If you are a list person with lots of To-Do items, this app and website are great.
  12. Loan Shark - awesome calculator to figure out home payments, car payments, etc.
  13. Sirius/XM - If you have a satellite radio subscription and you get their "plus" service you can listen to your channels via the iPhone.
  14. AOL Radio - free internet radio. Lots of choices.
  15. Pandora - free customizable "radio" channel based on what you like.
  16. Shazam - If you hear a song you like, fire up Shazam and place it next to the speaker. After the program listens for a few seconds, it will find the song for you AND give you links to buy it.
  17. uStreamTV - To watch internet type shows streamed by every day individuals.
  18. i.TV - decent TV and movie listings.
  19. Amazon - Shop on Amazon. ALSO, take a picture of ANYTHING. Within minutes they find it for you and provide you links to buy it online through amazon.
  20. SnapTell - take a picture of ANY book, CD, DVD and they find it for you and provide you links to purchase online AND in your area (based on GPS.)
  21. Ebay - nice ebay interface to buy and sell things.
  22. iRibbit - if you buy on eBay, this one is essential to "win" auctions
  23. eReader - an "ok" reader for eBooks
  24. MOVER - as featured in the apple commercials, lets' you "send" and "receive" items between iPhones.
  25. Bump - same as MOVER pretty much.
  26. iEmoji - you want these cute characters which are iPhone only!!
  27. 1001 Ringtones - just cool ring-tones
  28. FreeMemory - to "free up" as much memory as possible on the phone. Great utility to "clean" your phone without needing to do a reboot.
  29. TweetDeck - if you are on Twitter, this is the best client for the iPhone.
  30. Twittelator - another good Twitter client for iPhone.
  31. TwitVid - let's you share iPhone videos on Twitter
  32. Pngle - to update your social network status in ONE transaction. Great if you do a lot of social network stuff.
  33. Facebook - no need to explain.
  34. Linked In - ditto.
  35. Skype - if you want to make international calls, the SKYPE app lets you do it much cheaper than on your phone plan (requires skype credits, but they are cheap.)
  36. nMobile - map app of where there are speed traps. Used with your GPS as you drive.
  37. Cheap Gas - database of cheap gasoline near your location. Get a "Gas Buddy" account for being able to "report" prices.
  38. Flixster - awesome movie look up tool AND hooks up to FaceBook so your friends know what you want to watch and how you've rated movies.
  39. Fandango - to buy tickets for movies via the iPhone.
  40. Speed Test - awesome to see how fast you are reaching the Internet.
  41. WiFiDirectory - helps you find nearby locations that offer WiFi. Remember, with AT&T iPhone in the US you get free WiFi at all ATT hot-spots. Use this app to locate nearby hot-spots of all kinds.
  42. RDP/VNC - these are actually two apps, but if you ever connect to computers remotely, these are both good clients using the RDP and VNC protocols respectively.
  43. Air Mouse - control the keyboard and mouse of a remote computer. Useful to control a computer from a distance - say a media center computer that displays on your big screen TV. In essence acts as a wireless keyboard / mouse to a computer.
  44. Folders - a good tool to carry files (pictures, videos, documents) inside your iPhone.
  45. eTrade Mobile Pro - If you use etrade, gives you complete access to your account, even real time quotes.
  46. Mint.com - a compliment to the mint.com website. It's ok... if you use mint.com.
  47. PayPal - access your paypal account from your iPhone - even transfer money to others. It's not "complete" in my opinion and lacks many of the features of PayPal's website, but it's decent to send money and check your balance.
  48. Zillow - check the values of your real estate from the iPhone. Also, if you are in a neighborhood and are wondering if a certain home is on sale (or the estimated value of a home) just fire up this app and it uses GPS to tell you what's happening around you in terms of values, for sale, etc.
  49. FedEx - if you use the carrier and have an online account (which is free - you pay for what you ship) this is an awesome tool to prepare shipments (although that's time consuming on any phone) but also to check the status of your shipments.
  50. AnalyticsApp - if you use Google Analytics to monitor the traffic of a website, this app connects you to all the Analytics data in a super cool interface that is easy to use.
  51. Dictionary - a great free app with definitions for words, even pronunciation using the audio of the iPhone.
  52. FlightTrack - a great way to track the flights of friends and family you might have to pickup at the airport OR if you are traveling.
  53. MailPhotos - yes the iPhone camera app let's you send photos via email in full resolution which can be time consuming, especially if you are in an area without 3G or WiFi. This app allows you to change the size and quality of the photos before sending them.
  54. HP iPrint - if you have any HP network attached printer, this app lets you print photos directly to the printer from the phone. It's super slow for high resolution pictures, but if you use another tool to reduce the size of an image, it might work faster (though I've not tried that yet.)
  55. Camera Zoom - since the iPhone does not have a zoom, this app simulates that wirelessly. Allows you to "zoom in and out" before taking an iPhone picture.
  56. CropForFree - an app to crop iPhone pictures "in phone". Also allows rotate of images.
  57. CinemaFX - allows you to apply effects to your pictures "in phone".

 

Games I like:

  1. Flick Bowling
  2. Flick Fishing
  3. 21 Pro
  4. Tetris
  5. P.Solitaire
  6. Bejeweled 2
  7. Casino
  8. Frenzic
  9. Monopoly
  10. Flight Control <- This one is AWESOME!!!

 

iPhone enabled Websites / web apps:

  1. Google.com - great for searching, of course. Also has GPS aware searches now, so you get local results first.
  2. Google.com/voice - awesome manager for your phone (not VOIP) if you have Google Voice.
  3. Smartsheet - awesome "excel like" sheets to keep track of to-do items and more.
  4. GetDropBox.com - a great service to keep files in SYNC between computers and MACs. Has an iPhone website as well so you can access your files via iPhone.
  5. NBC.COM - pretty decent and you can watch some episodes.