Top 10 iPhone Apps: Real-World

Well, it’s been 2 months since the iPhone release and the development scene has been growing like crazy. I’m too scared to try out any of the hacker stuff but there are a ton of great articles on the daily updates at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW). The most enticing application of which (for me) is the NES Emulator which I really (really) want to try out as well as just simply being able to add app icons to the front screen. It is truly amazing how quickly all this stuff has come together.

The web app community has really taken off as well, going much further than I thought would be possible so quickly. However, there are still some annoying limitations to these iPhone web apps so I’ve decided to first write up a Top 10 of what is currently available followed by a Top 10 of iPhone apps that I would love to see in the future (though they might not be possible with only the MobileSafari interface).

Top 10 Real-World iPhone Applications

• Google Reader — My number one site visit on my iPhone. Just a good solid RSS reader that’s easily browsed on the iPhone. I love the way the reader app I use on my iPhone is the same as the one I use on my desktop so I never end up reading the same stuff twice. I imagine there is an app out there that better fits the the iPhone look (rather then the non-iPhone-specified Google Reader Mobile page) but I have yet to find one that syncs well for both mobile and desktop use. The tags feature definitely makes browsing through many feeds much easier.
• Battle Fleet — One of my favorite iPhone games, the implementation is so simple yet flawless. The best part about this game is how you hardly even need EDGE to play it. There’s a short initial load and then it is pretty much ready to go… perfect for those times when your EDGE speed just ain’t cuttin it.
• Brick Shooter — Yet another iPhone game that relies very little on my EDGE connection to run past the initial load time (coincidence? I think not). Although the screenshots and description sound very similar to your traditional Bejeweled rip-off, this game truly has a unique flavor that feels very much its own. I find myself playing this game way too freakin often.
• iPhlickr — Great for browsing Flickr photos and pulling up one of your own… almost makes me think I could free up some room by nnot syncing all my photos. Only wish it had your friends list for easily browsing friend photos and had a way to add photos to your photo library. The Interesting Photos Taken Today page is awesome for flipping through and seeing some truly beautiful photos.
• Showtimes — Very nice iPhone implentation, feels like a true Apple app in it’s presentation and simplicity. The short list of info along with a small movie poster icon is invaluable information on the fly when you’re minutes from a movie decision and can’t remember what movie No Reservations is ("oh yah… that chick flick with the chefs… let’s see something else, baby. How about, Bourne Ultimatum?"). That was enough to push it above MoviesApp which has additional benefit of being able to check different dates, but doesn’t have the nice movie summary info.
• Pocket Tweets — I’ve slowly been pulling myself out of twitter as I’m finding it to be a collosal waste of my time and attention span with little payoff in return. If all my IRL friends were twitter, er… -ers then it might be more valuable. But of the many Twitter iPhone apps available I found Pocket Tweets to the prettiest and easiest to use. And now with the latest iPhone firmware update the page never auto-scrolls to the top after a full page load on EDGE (when I’m usually halfway down the list). The biggest problem is that there isn’t a “page 2” for twitter updates, a problem when you like to read all of them and haven’t for a few days.
• CheapMF — This program allows you to look up basically any product and it will give you reader reviews to get you an idea of whether or not something sucks before buying it. I love this program because I am a total impulse shopper and it’s great to know when I’m about to waste my money. Now I only waste money on stuff that gets good reviews.
• GetLeaflets — Technically this is a small collection of apps, all fantastically designed to display beautifully on the iPhone. The implementation is great and it’s worth keeping an eye on for future developments. Honestly, I use it mostly for browsing newsvine, as it seems to be the best news reader for now.
• JiveTalk — Apple forgot to add iChat to the iPhone so if you want to chat you have a couple of decent choices. I’ve seen a lot of buzz about Meebo but I actually much prefer JiveTalk which just seems to work much faster and smoother. It feels almost as smooth as if it were a true app. I don’t do a ton of in-the-road IMing but when I do JiveTalk easily serves what I need.
• iPhone Pepper — When you’re a website stats junkie like I am there is no better way to get your fix on the go than installing the iPhone Pepper and pulling up your website’s Mint on the go.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I’ll list my Top 10 In-A-Perfect-World Apps, i.e. a wishlist of iPhone Applications that I would love to see but do not exist.