Top 10 Best iPhone 3G Apps
Posted July 12th, 2008 | 25 Comments
After finally getting my iPhone 3G yesterday I spent most of my time playing with the Apps and App Store.
It’s early days but there already some amazing Apps available for the iPhone. This list features a wide range including task management, social networking, file transferring, location aware fun and even games.
1. FileMagnet (£2.99)
FileMagnet is the app that Apple forgot. I’ve no idea why Apple does not allow access to transfer files too and from the iPhone. What’s the point in carrying around a 16gb hard drive with us everyday if we can’t use it for anything but music, video and photos?
Portable Storage Device
Once you have installed FileMagnet on both your iPhone and your Mac you can drag and drop any files into it to sync between the devices. Making your iPhone a 16gb portable storage device.
Open & View Files Too!
It then goes one step better and not only allows you to transfer and store files but also lets you open and view them on your iPhone!! It supports PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, images, movies and even complete folders!
Rating: 10/10 (The best iPhone app so far. It has no faults and is a bargain)
Purchase FileMagnet
2. Shazam (FREE)
This app really blew my mind when I first tried it!
You hold your iPhone to any source of music, be it TV, radio or whatever. Shazam ‘listens to it’ and identifies it for you in seconds!! That is it’s most obvious feature but it actually does so much more.
It works with tags and comparing the tags you make to it’s databases. You can then buy the music you hear. Imagine you are in a pub playing a track you like but don’t know. Hold up your iPhone, let Shazam identify it and then purchase it automatically! Amazing!
Additional features include viewing related videos on YouTube, personalising Tags with photos and emailing Tags to contacts.
Rating: 10/10 (Another perfect app. Technology ahead of it’s time!)
3. Vicinity (£1.79)
Vicinity is another app which takes advantage of the iPhones GPS and location awareness.
Using your current location it quickly provides lists of nearby services such as banks, pubs, restaurants, taxis and takeaways, giving their distance from you as well!
Not amazingly useful when your in your home town but could be invaluable when traveling to new places.
Another interesting feature is bringing up Flickr photographs taken in the vicinity and also Wikipedia pages of local interests.
Rating: 7/10 (Works well and a good insight into how GPS is more useful than just maps.)
Purchase Vicinity
4. Things (£5.99)
Things is one of my most used programs on all of my Macs. It’s a task management system which can implement David Allen’s GTD system. I really would be lost without it. The idea of having my To-Do lists with me on my iPhone at all times is very exciting. There are other GTD apps around, but Things is the cleanest, easiest to use and most Mac like. The introductory price of just $9.99/£5.99 makes it worth an early investment. Rating: 8/10 (A stunning app and a bargain too)
Purchase Things
5. OmniFocus (£11.99)
Before Things came along OmniFocus was my task management app of choice. I’m still not 100% converted to Things and there are bits of OmniFocus which appeals to me also.
Amazing Location Awareness
The iPhone App of OmniFocus is streets ahead at the moment with one amazing feature. The location awareness of the iPhone is implemented so well in this app. For example using your location OmniFocus can create custom lists to show you tasks you need to complete nearby. Maybe you have a separate list for at the office? Or a shopping list which can be shows as you approach the store! It’s not cheap though, it’s twice the price of Things and the OSX desktop app is also expensive. Rating: 9/10 (I prefer Things to OmniFocus overall but the location awareness features really give it the edge)
Purchase OmniFocus
6. Twitterific (FREE)
Twitter is the marmite of social networking. You either love it or hate it. Personally I love it. I also love Twitterific for OSX, the iPhone version is every bit as good! If you use OSX and Twitter you probably already use Twitterific. If you use Windows now is your chance to see what you’ve been missing! Rating: 7/10 (If you Twitter you will love it.)
7. NetNewsWire (FREE)
NetNewsWire is my RSS reader of choice for the Mac. I like Google Reader NNW is just so much more polished and has some nice features such as posting to del.icio.us. I use quite a few different Macs and read my RSS feeds on all of them. NNWs built in syncing works great and i’m so happy that I can read the same feeds on my iPhone now and keep them all in sync. Rating: 8/10 (Every bit as good as the desktop app)
8. Remote (FREE)
Remote is a very simple but quite useful app. It allows you to control the music on your computer or Apple TV with your iPhone over a Wi-Fi network.
You can play, pause, skip, shuffle music from your whole iTunes library as well as viewing album artwork and searching.
Rating: 8/10 (Not as exciting as most of the other apps but it’s free and very useful)
9. Super Monkeyball (£5.99)
Apparently Super Monkeyball is quite a famous game. Personally I have never played it before though. It’s by SEGA and is obviously a quality game.
The object of the game is to navigate through a variety of obstacle courses against the clock. Of course they get progressively harder and there are 5 worlds and 110 stages!
PSP Rival?
I was very impressed by how good it looked and sounded. It really does give the iPhone the potential to be a rival for the PSP and NintendoDS if more game manufactures take it seriously.
Of course the iPhone would be limited by it’s lack of buttons but DS style games would work well with the touch screen and others including Super MonkeyBall utilise the accelerometer amazingly effectively. (You tilt and turn the iPhone and the ball on the screen moves accordingly)
Rating Me: 8/10 (A seriously impressive game, wouldn’t be out of place on a PSP)
Purchase Super MonkeyBall
10. Cube Runner (FREE)
Cube Runner is another game which using the iPhones built-in accelerometer. It’s not as pollished and professional as Super MonkeyBall but it is every bit as addictive and it’s also free!
You basically tilt the iPhone to control a spaceship which you fly across Star Wars type landscapes avoiding cubes which get in your way.
Rating: 7/10 (Less impressive than Super MonkeyBall but is addictive, fun and free!)
Anything to add?
So there we have it. Obviously the app store has only been open for 2 days so things are very likely to change as this post gets older.
Feel free to add your own suggestions to the comments, i’d love to try out some more recommendations.
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Kevin Crenshaw - Productivity Coach
12.07.08
Nice list, thanks!
Unfortunately, Things for iPhone currently doesn’t support *tagging* of tasks either, so it’s useless for true GTD (which requires contexts). We had to relegate it to the Non-GTD-Compliant section of our GTD Software Comparison Table:
107+ Researched GTD Software Apps
A few other GTD-verified apps for iPhone are listed there for those still searching–not to take away from your great suggestions here…
Kun Dang
13.07.08
I know its geeky, I know its useless, but I love Starwars and the Free light saber app is my fav at the moment. -Ok you can shoot me now.
Peter Craddock
13.07.08
Thanks for pointing out FileMagnet! Bought it immediately upon seeing this post.
I haven’t (yet) bought Super Monkeyball, but I wish there were a way to test apps before buying them…
Shaun
13.07.08
Thanks for the comments guys!
Kevin: I hadn’t noticed the lack of tagging at the time of this post. It is a major downside but it is very early days, hopefully it will be added once the syncing is sorted. I like your post btw, I love GTD!
Kun Dang:The light saber app very nearly made it onto my list! I love it too! Nothing wrong with being geeky!! I have MacSabre on my laptops also, it’s much safer to be swinging a phone around that a full laptop ;)
Peter: No worries at all. I know most of them are very obvious, I wish there were mode hidden gems like FileMagnet around. I definitely wish there was some sort of demo process as well. There are loads of pay apps i’d like to try before I buy.
Annabel
13.07.08
You haven’t mentioned Tap Tap Revenge and Aurora Feint yet.
They are both games, both great and both Free.
Tap Tap is like a Guitar Hero for the fingers and very addictive. Great fun
Aurora is a fantasy puzzle game. The graphics are great and it has the feel of a paid game. It’s also very addictive.
Thanks for pointing out File Magnet. I think I need that!
ModestMouse
15.07.08
Cool list! You should take a look at NetSketch. I downloaded it the other day and one of my friends got it this afternoon. You can draw with people over wifi and it works pretty well. Seems like there aren’t too many apps that really use the networking capabilities of the iPod like that
glib
15.07.08
As far as I can tell, Vicinity never made it out of beta, Or perhaps it just missed the deadline for the launch, but either way it’s not in my app store.
Shaun
15.07.08
Annabel & ModestMouse: Thanks for the suggestions, I will be checking your recommendations out.
glib: I’m not sure if it’s beta or not, it doesn’t mention that it is and it works great so i’m assuming not… it is definitely in the UK app store though, I don’t know about any other countries but it’s number 9 in the Top 50 here.
Free iPhone 3g 4u
15.07.08
I had a NES emulator for my first gen iPhone but I can’t work out how to get it onto my 3G one. It was a great app and had some great games that worked really wellon the iphone
I also had a SNES emulator which used a bizarre control system and was rubbish!
Has anyone found any emulators for the iPhone 3g?
Damien
16.07.08
I have tried Evernote. Basically it allows me to sync my notes easily. While the iPhone mobile notes does not have the sync feature, Evernote, in my view, has effectively replaced it as the best note app.
Tim Jervis
17.07.08
I replaced my NetNewsWire copy with Byline, an offline news reader that syncs with Google Reader. It does not yet support categories, but that is promised in the coming months. Meanwhile, I can keep up to date with the news when travelling in the tube.
Mr. Piink
17.07.08
I DL’d things and I love it. Very simple/useful/cool app.
I also DL’d a app called beatmaker. Wow. This thing is impressive. By far my favorite app. By far the most complex app I’ve come across. By far the most time consuming/entertaining. This thing is worth a look, believe me. Esp if you are into electronic music production. If so, this app is for you!!
Thanks for the list, it introduced me to things! Just what I needed.
Shaun
17.07.08
Damien: Thanks for the tip, Evernote does look fantastic! I have just installed it and will be giving it a try. I use Yojimbo on my Macs which is amazing and i’ve been considering purchasing Webjimbo which would allow me to have all my Yojimbo content on my iPhone. You might just have saved me $15 with Evernote!
Tim: Byline looks and sounds really great, I wish the apps would have trials or demos available though. I don’t really want to pay for any more Apps unless I know i’m going to use them. Thanks for the tip though, I just might give it ago ;)
Mr.Pink: Glad you like Things, it’s a great program. I don’t know if you use a Mac or not but you should definitely check out the desktop version if you do.
And thanks for letting me know about Beatmaker, I don’t think i’d get enough out of it to justify paying £12 but it looks good fun!
Spoo
18.07.08
I dont care what everyone thinks is the best app….. Its all about iPint!!!! Being able to drink virtual beers is just cool. Plus when you’re at a party or gettin wasted at a bar its a good way to start a conversation or get some attention!!!
Techno Quiz
23.07.08
Most of the applications shown are good for now. But keeping in mind the pace of updation and new products available online. These things will update to early. Apple will clearly have an excuse to relaunch the updated products again and again.
james
06.08.08
ToDo is great. I’m not sure about GTD, but it certainly helps me get things done and can sync with ToodleDo and RTM. I use this rather than Things as it can sync right now, and OmniFocus seems very expensive and complicated.
Texas Hold ‘Em is a great poker game.
Vicinity had a mention, but I find it to be hit and miss in the UK. Locly on the otherhand works perfectly here, and it is free!
jan
16.08.08
As far as apple forgetting about informations being transferred from and to iPhone 3G … Well U are right. Having iCal, Address Book as essential daily tool on Mac Apple must come with sync in next software update otherwise they, Apple took us for ride …
Not necessary to say, that “mistake” may fire back on Apple no question to ask …
Josh
20.08.08
You have to add WinAdmin to the list! It’s a Remote Desktop Connection port for the iPhone (haters can stifle it!).
If you’re not on the Windoze tip, grab the equally useful (and OSX Desktop friendly) VNC!
Have a few pints and control those boggish servers without ever leaving the Pub!
blake
12.10.08
look up appshare at appulo.us or hackulo.us or on google.com you have to add a source on your iphone= free apps
Matt
23.10.08
Try Pandora Radio, great for finding bands similar to the ones you already know and like. Wunderadio is great, too. It gives you access to most fm and am stations. I live in Alabama (not a great place for over the air music) but I can pick up every single radio station in the state. As far as games, Line Rider is great. Aqua Forest is very cool too. Its a neat little physics engine that lets you play with water, fire, and ice in different situations. Kinda hard to explain, but its cool anyway.The most useful app Ive found is White Pages. Its like having a Nationwide Phone Book and atlas with directions all in one. I hope this helps. Later.
iphone
17.12.08
Great apps. I think the 1st xbox game for the iPhone will be released soon
iPhoneAndKids.com
19.12.08
Great summary, thanks. 2 addition to these: Snaptell, which is like Shazam but for images adn Amazon’s app is very cool too for visual search
Cara
15.08.09
I just activated my first iPhone and have been going through apps all day wondering which ones were good. Thank you for the info.
Shaun
17.08.09
Hi Cara
Thanks for your comment and well done on getting your first iPhone!
Whilst this is a great list (if I do say so myself ;) ) it is also over a year old so be sure to check out the Top 50 in iTunes and also a few of the more recent posts on here.
I think a new post is due very soon though!
nadiana
11.10.09
nice list:) I like the remote one sounds really cool; I got a couple of apps from the latest release last week. I can say by far the best one out there right now in my opinion is the ITIM social networking application:) which lets you send and receive text and photos even without a signal:)
http://appstore.iphonedownloadblog.com/app/itim-text-sendreceive-free-sms-or-mms/
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