Ten iPhone apps I own and would recommend to a friend.

I have a friend who recently gave in to temptation and parted with some hard earned cash to buy a nice new iPod touch. I wasn’t with him at the time but we were soon exchanging notes via Skype. To be honest I’m not sure who was more excited. I found it hard to resist sending him a flood of messages telling of the great things he could do with his new toy. At one point in the conversation he wrote, “at some point if u don’t mind u could make me a list of useful software?”

I have just under a hundred apps on my touch and below are the first ten I would recommend to a friend. Some make the grade because they are so useful whilst others just score points on interest factor. I haven’t included any of the default apps. Lets start with the application that guides me through my daily tasks.

01 WhatTasks – To-Do application – http://www.whattasks.com

I recently discovered that the single thing that keeps me focused and prevents me from running around like a headless chicken is a short daily to-do list. Having tried quite a few to-do apps I settled on WhatTasks. This app seems to hit that sweet spot between being too complicated and too simple.

In its simplest form it can be used to create multiple basic to-do lists, but it is also feature rich enough to satisfy the needs of those who subscribe to the GTD management methodology. WhatTasks is available as a Lite and Pay version.

02 iThoughts – Mind mapping tool – http://www.ithoughts.co.uk

Mind mapping tools are a great way to note ideas in a logical and graphical manner. iThoughts is such a tool for the iPhone. It is easy to use and has import and export facilities that allow you to send files to and from your computer in a range of common formats.

03 FileMagnet – File transfer and viewer tool – http://magnetismstudios.com/FileMagnet/

FileMagnet can transfer files from your computer to your iPhone and allow you to easily view them. It consists of two parts; an app for the iPhone allowing you to view the files that have been transferred and an application for your Mac or PC allowing you to specify the files to transfer. Simply drag your files to a window and they get wirelessly transfered to your iPhone. If you don’t have FileMagnet open on your iPhone at the time they patiently wait in line until you do. FileMagnet can display many common file formats.

04 Remote Tap – Remote desktop application – http://www.readpixel.com/remotetap/

This is one of those app’s that I don’t think I will use very much but would willingly recommend to a friend just because of its wow factor. RemoteTap allows you to wirelessly view and control any Mac over your WiFi, 3G or EDGE. It is easy to set up and has been cleverly developed to provide features that make manipulating your desktop and applications on such a small screen relatively easy.

05 Instapaper – Read web pages offline – http://www.instapaper.com/iphone

Have you ever found a web page you want to read but don’t have time to read it? You could throw it to the abyss that is your bookmarks folder and forget about it, or you could use Instapaper. A simple but very useful idea consisting of a “Read Later” link in your browser tool bar enabling you to easily mark web pages you find interesting, plus an app on your iPhone enabling you to read those pages at any time. If you open your iPhone app whilst connected to a network it will download any new pages you have marked allowing you to read them offline later. Instapaper is available as a free and more advanced pay version

06 Stanza – eBook reader – http://www.lexcycle.com/

Stanza is a free, feature rich eBook reader. It connects to an online catalogue where you can download your book selections from thousands of free titles. Your library can then be organised within the app and displayed as lists or in a “cover flow” style similar to Apple’s iTunes. Many aspects of Stanza can be customized to suit your personal requirements including colors, contrast and print size. It is surprisingly comfortable to use and it is free.

07 Fring – Instant messenger – http://www.fring.com/

If you use any instant messaging services such as iChat, MSN, or Skype then you may find Fring Useful. Fring allows you to add many of the popular messaging services and removes the need to have multiple applications. Fring is free.

08 StarWalk – Astronomy application – http://vitotechnology.com/star-walk.html

This is a beautifully implemented application that puts the universe in your iPhone. It shows you a real time view of the sky based on your current location. You can rotate and zoom by dragging, tapping and pinching, clicking on any abject zooms in and provides additional data. One fascinating feature of this application is the ability to move through time backwards or forwards at any speed or jump to any time in the past or future. Watch the sky darken and the sun move below your feet as you fast forward through the hours.

09 Google Earth – A detailed photographic model of the Earth – http://www.google.com/mobile/apple/earth.html

This is another application that I haven’t really found much use for, but I still love it. There is something very seductive about being able to explore the entire globe in detail with a few taps and swipes of the finger. It is not as fully featured as its desktop counterpart but still rather good. Google Earth is free.

10 Remote – iTunes remote control – http://www.apple.com/itunes/remote/

Remote allows you to view and control your iTunes and Apple TV. It is incredibly quick and easy to set up and allows you full access to your libraries and all your playlists. Any currently playing media is displayed on the iPhone screen along with the usual transport controls and volume. Because Remote works via your WiFi it can be used in any room in your house so is more useful than a control requiring line of sight.

So there you have it. It was a difficult choice but of all the apps that I have on my touch these would be the first I would recommend. What’s your top App?

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