iPhone Applications
Now that the App Store is available there are many great downloadable iPhone applications, however, there are still many sites that are only accessible through the web browser. Here’s a list of websites that have great iPhone interfaces:
- www.amazon.com - This easy interface allows you to always check amazon for prices before you buy something in the real world.
- m.google.com - A simple way to get access to most of your Google services.
- www.fandango.com - Check movie times when you’re on the go. Combine this with the Tomatoes downloadable application for movie reviews and you won’t go wrong.
- forums - There isn’t an application to view forums on your iPhone, so you have to use the browser. My favorite forum: Supertopo
- craigslist.org - Possibly the only website out there that doesn’t need an iPhone specific interface for it to be extremely usable.
- www.digg.com/iphone/ - A nice Digg interface.
- iphone.ebay.com - eBay for your iPhone. Never get sniped again!
- www.getleaflets.com/ - A nice collection of iPhone formatted content, from RSS feeds to sports, weather and more.
- iphone.facebook.com - The iPhone browser optimized version of Facebook. Now that you can download their application, this is less useful, but still good if you need to do things that the application doesn’t allow you to.
- m.yahoo.com - Yahoo has a good set of mobile services available here. Most notable is their oneSearch, which brings you search results optimized for your mobile phone.
Here’s a list of my top 10 free iPhone applications. Also, make sure to check out other great iPhone applications.
- Remote - this app is at the top of everyone’s list. In short, it allows you to control your iTunes from your iPhone over your wireless network. It gets fun when multiple people fight for control of the music
- Wordpress - mobile blogging at its best. This application makes it easy to post to your Wordpress blog and allows you to post images from your phone too.
- Shazam - this application can amazingly identify what song is playing on the radio. It is impressively accurate and only had trouble with mashups in my tests. Great for road trips.
- Facebook - Slick interface to Facebook that gives you access to your messages, status, chat and contacts. A very promising start from the top social network.
- Twitterific - A nice Twitter application for the iPhone. It allows you to easily post links to photos you’ve taken on your phone via twitpic.com.
- eReader - This eBook reader allows you to download eBooks from its site as well as any other site. Try manybooks.net for a good selection of free books.
- Yelp - a simple mobile interface to Yelp. It allows you to search for businesses around you and is very useful.
- Pandora - stream music to your phone. It works great on all iPhones and is a great radio replacement if you hook it up to your car’s stereo.
- AIM - good old instant messaging on your iPhone. There are also ways to use this to avoid text messaging charges.
- Tomatoes - This Rotten Tomatoes application lets you look up movie ratings in a quick and easy user interface so you don’t have to go to the web. Handy when you’re at the theater and trying to decide what to see.
The iPhone has an overwhelming number of games available in the App Store, so I put together a list of the top games. This is a mix of both paid and free games, so there’s something for everyone. There are also many amazing iPhone applications that you need to have if you own an iPhone.
- Super Monkey Ball - this game took the iPhone by storm from day one and within the first thirty days, generated $2 million in revenue. To play, you move the iPhone around and the monkey in its ball moves in that direction. So simple and fun! If you collect all the bananas in a level on the first try then you will see a crown in the lower right of the screen. Do that for all the levels in a world and you will unlock a bonus level! This app costs $9.99 but you’ll get your money’s worth.
- Labyrinth Lite Edition - I nearly forgot about this old game and it’s a brilliant adaptation for the iPhone. Gameplay is similar to nearly every other iPhone game on the market - use the accelerometer by moving the iPhone around! This game is free and highly recommended. There’s also a full edition available for $6.99 that allows you to download many more levels, including those created by people in the community.
- Texas Hold’em - another classic from Apple itself. You can play with your friends over Wi-Fi or against the computer whenever you want. I’d like to see a multiplayer version over Edge/3G because it’s way better to play against other random people instead of the computer. This will put you back $4.99 but if you’re into poker, then it’s the best way to keep up your game while you’re on the go.
- Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3d - Crash Bandicoot was a great Playstation game and this brings all that Crash fun to the iPhone. I’d like to see a second version of this with expanded gameplay aspects, but this is awesome for the 1st generation of iPhone games. For $9.99 it’s not too pricey and it’s available in Spanish.
- Sol Free Solitaire - Solitaire has to be one of the top software games of all time. What computer doesn’t have it? Well, now you can bring that good old fashioned fun to the iPhone and it’s free!
- Crossword Light - Crosswords are a great pastime and they are perfect for the mobile phone. The light version includes 30 puzzles which should be enough for a casual player, but if you are serious about the game then you’ll have to put down some cash for the full version that allows you to download new puzzles.
- Sudoku (Free) - Sudoku has become popular in the U.S. over the past few years in the casual gaming world and this mobile version is a nice addition. The free version comes with only a few puzzles to get you hooked and you’ll have to throw down $2.99 for the full version with 200 puzzles.
- Tap Tap Revenge - Popularized originally on hacked iPhones, this application made it to the App Store and features a great two player mode on a single phone. You tap the screen to the beat of the song playing and the best person wins! This game is free.
- Brain Tuner - This is an easy and fun way to keep your brain sharp when you have a minute of downtime. It’s a free app that tests your math abilities and the same company makes an iGoogle gadget version if the iPhone app isn’t enough for you.
- 300 Bowl - Just like bowling became an instant classic on the Nintendo Wii, I think that bowling is perfect for the iPhone. This game costs $3.99, which is nicely less than a lot of the other games out there.
