My sister got an iPhone today. Naturally, she asked me for some recommendations. So while I was typing them up for her, I might as well share them. (Please note that many of the links below will link you directly to the iTunes store page for the application.)
- Phone Different Store (SmartPhone Experts) – A good selection of cases and accessories for your iPhone.
- BodyGuardz – clear film for the entire iPhone to protect from scratches if you prefer to hold the “naked” phone.
- SmartPhone Experts SidePouch – I’ve been using this style of case from SmartPhone Experts for years, first with the Treo and now with the iPhone. Silent magnetic closure (great for pulling out the phone during meetings or classes without velcro or snapping sounds) and very durable. My Treo case lasted almost two years and my iPhone has lasted over a year and still practically perfect. And its only $25.
- Apple Remote (free) – control iTunes on your WiFi network.
- Google Mobile App (free) – access all things Google, and it searches content your phone.
- Jott (free) – create voice notes that are converted to text and manage lists.
- LinkedIn (free)
- Facebook (free)
- AOL Instant Messenger (free)
- OmniFocus (Mac & iPhone Application) – probably the best GTD to-do application, with a desktop application to go along with it. Not cheap, but I use it all of the time.
- Evernote – universal junk drawer, works on Mac, PC, iPhone application and from the web.
- 1Password – Password Manager + Automatic Form Filler (Mac & iPhone application)
- Air Sharing – turns your iPhone into a wireless drive (WebDAV server) so you can drop files into it from machines on your WiFi network. You can then browse and view all compatible file types (Word, Excel, PDF, iWork, RTF, Text, Movies, etc.).
- AP Mobile News Network (free) – news stories from the AP News Wire.
- NYTimes (free) – news stories from the NY Times.
- WeatherBug (free) – weather for your iPhone with doppler radar.
- Wikipanion (free) – Wikipedia on the iPhone.
- WhitePages Mobile (free) – people & business search, reverse phone look up.
- Sol Free Solitaire (free) – you need to have solitaire, plain and simple, and this version works very well.
- Morocco (free) – Othello game that works very nicely, and the price is right.
- Trism ($2.99) – Similar to Bejeweled but with triangles which fall in the direction that the phone is leaning.
- Spore Origins – seriously fun and challenging game which is perfect on the iPhone, and especially fun if you happen to be a biologist. (I’ve been stuck on level 29 for a while, any tips to get through this, please post in the comments.)
- Bubbles (free) – start this app, hand the phone to your 3-year old and go to the bathroom in peace.
- Lightsaber Unleashed (free) – a blatant ad for the Star Wars iPhone game, but this gives you the motion based lightsaber and now includes theme music. Similar to the above, start this app, hand the phone to your husband and go to the bathroom in peace.
If you have any other suggestions for iPhone newbies, post them in the comments.