A few of my friends are getting their first iPhone, so I thought I’d put a list together of my favorite apps, and let you add yours, to help them get started.
News
I like the New York Times headlines app; USA Today, Bloomberg for geeky finance news. The Weater Channel App is good for hourly forecasts, which Moms need especially when dealing with kids and sports.
TED – TED stands for technology, entertainment and design, and features some excellent presentations by some of the smartest people around- Al Gore’s slide show started out as a TED talk. Video and audio podcasts are available, and they have an app as well. And all of it is for free.
Tools/Utilities
-MobiQpons– specials and sales at local stores you can use from the phone. Sears, Hertz, Rite Aid, American Eagle, Banana Republic, Victoria’s secret and even Home Depot are included.
Fandango– Need to know movie times? Get ’em from your phone, no matter where you are- home or vacation, and locate local theaters.
Facebook– what every mobile mom is using to keep in touch besides Twitter.
Flashlight– simplest app ever, but works when you’ve lost something in the car and need just a little light.
Fuel Gauge– track your fuel economy and how often you are filling up at what price.
Pandora- Internet Radio- the Music Genome Project- find music you never knew you liked by letting it suggest music based on the music you already do like. Awesome service.
Versalist– Fairly good to do list, but I am trying out Stick it and Smart List as well, to see if they work any better for me. I wasn’t crazy about Tasks.
Shazam– hear something you like on the radio but don’t know the artist? Use Shazam to find out who it is, name of song, and even has the ability to purchase it from the application if you so choose.
Spend– a great Budgeting program- good for that vacation/walking around money and keeping track of what you are spending, if you are so inclined.
Take me to My Car– Parking app to help you locate your car- best when you are going to an event or are in a new area- tag your car on the app and make finding it again a whole lot easier.
Tipulator and TipCalculator– tip calculators- I like the interface with tipulator a bit better, personally.
UrbanSpoon– helps find restaurants based on location, type of food and price range- plus you can shake it to find a new set of listings. Fun and useful, especially when you’re out of town.
Wine Log and Wine List– not bad for tracking wines you’ve tried, had in restaurants and want to find again.
Print & Share– print stuff out from your phone on a local printer.
Photo Apps:
Camerabag- camera effects for your pictures – manipulate after taking them- transfer to black 7 white or other formats
Darkslide- flickr library on your phone
Flickup- upload your iphone photos to your Flickr account
Twitter applications:
I have a ridiculous number of these on my phone. Twitterlator Pro, Twitterific and Tweetie are my favorites.
Reading:
Stanza and Kindle apps- read books and Kindle books on your iphone. Stanza will let you download public domain books like The Count of Monte Cristo, Jane Austen, Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald and more. COuld be really useful for highschool and college students.
Fun stuff, Goofy apps and things to keep the kids busy:
Garf– a memory game like Simon.
Lemonade tycoon– let the kids try to become millionaires while you wait for a table or in pick up line.
Wordfind– just what it sounds like- a wordfind puzzle that constantly changes and refreshes. Good waiting room stuff.
Monkeyball– fun game my kids love (and I do, too although I am really bad at it.
JellyCar– silly car game my kids love. Easy for little ones to play with as well.
LightSaber– yup, for the jedi in us all.
PapiJump– simple, free game- get a ball to jump up a maze.
Text Twist– addicting word game
Bookworm- wordfind kind of game
Enigmo- fun game of getting water droplets into the right place- engineering in a small scale
Bejeweled 2- fun time waster
Health Stuff:
I am looking to get healthier in general, and I am starting to use these apps:
Healthcubby
iWatchr- wieght watcher diet calculator as an app
Ubisoft’s HealthCoach– also makes your iphone into a pedometer
Lose it!
iFood- Kraft’s recipe and dinner application, to help you answer every mom’s question- What’s for dinner tonight?
There’s obviously thousands of apps, and these don’t even include the AT&T wireless app, my bank’s mobile banking app, or the apps my husband and kids use all the time, but it’s a start.
What are your favorite apps? What would you recommend to friends just trying out or interested in the iPhone?