Those of us who have iPhones had a few favorite apps over the last year (I sort of count, I got mine at the end of the year, but I've been living vicariously for quite some time now). We laughed, we cried, we sang, we shot each other. While some of our favorites are new in 2009, some of them are oldies-but-goodies that keep getting better. I thought I'd share the list with you. As a point of full disclosure (because, as you know, bloggers are transparent), I haven't used every single one of these apps (almost every one, though), but someone here has! Enjoy!
Non-Games
Great recipe app with filtering, a nifty feature called "Spinner" that "spins" up recipes by shaking your phone, and the ability to save favorites.
Never before has converting numbers been so beautiful and fun.
Track packages via shipment carriers and stores. Also, check your packages location on a map.
Do I even need to explain this one? Recipes! Smooth interface, favorite-ing ability, and a shopping list integration.
Create notes, sync your notes, access your notes - and it accepts notes of all media types.
Great Flickr uploader with a nice Twitter integration.
It is what you'd think it is. Some like it, some like third party apps like "Flickit" a bit better.
Track where you visit, and your friends. Unlock badges, compete with your friends, and become the "Mayor". Businesses are even offering deals to people who check in frequently. Really fun!
Similar to Foursquare, track the places you visit most. Also, track your friend's whereabouts, find items, and unlock pins. Beautiful design.
Create grocery lists and sync via the cloud with others. My wife adds something on her phone, I see it on mine. Also, it learns the order you go through the store and rearranges your list accordingly.
Use a Safari bookmarklet to save websites to read later, syncs automatically to the iPhone and a few other apps also.
The famous Amazon reader on the iPhone.
Stream live video one-to-one with anyone who has the app. Look for this genre of apps to take off in the near future.
Amazing way to measure your environmental impact through eating. Tells you what food is local, where it's coming from, and where your closest farmers market is. Also, really nice design.
Mint continues to shine with efficiency, a great UI, and a fun way of tracking your finances. Tag your purchases on the go and view your budget. Also, it has an additional security pass-code option.
There are a few apps out there for the DC Metro, but this one is pretty cool. It provides next train information, maps, and a snazzy augmented reality integration to find the closest metro stop.
Love this app. Shows you new cinema releases, the latest DVDs, trailers, and all with a wonderfully integrated Rotten Tomatoes score. Also, it flawlessly integrates with Netflix.
For our favorite NYC employee - displays alerts, subway maps, and a Google Map mashup.
Book your reservation with OpenTable's iPhone app. It's been around for awhile, but it's still great.
A simple weather app for those of us who care about how the app looks. Super simple with fun animations and gestures.
For those of you who aren't a big fan of the Google Reader interface, Reeder provides a desktop integration for Google Reader.
Uses GEO location to keep track of your runs. A cheaper (and some people claim "better") alternative to Nike+.
Does anyone not yet know what this is? It magically hears a song and tells you what it is. Magic.
Skype
We still love it! Ahtough, I can't seem to find it in the iTunes store right now...very strange.
An alternative to Last.FM and Pandora, this has a few extra tweaks that make it just the right fit for some of us.
This actually pulls in real radio (yes, it still exists). Listen to NPR...or...ummm...annoying loud people in the morning.
For the photo lovers, Tiltshift Generator generate fake depth-of-field effects on your photos.
This is a late contender, but it basically allows you to manage your Mac via your iPhone. It's incredibly powerful, but tough to describe. Check it out.
If you're not using TripIt, you're really missing out. TripIt has a free and paid app (much like their free and paid service) and both make traveling much, much better.
One of our favorite Twitter apps - when it's not hogging all the memory.
This gets the most votes from Viget peoples.
And yet another (free) Twitter app we enjoy.
Through a series of filters and questions, UrbanDaddy helps you determine where you should go next (food & drink related). Pretty cool idea, and a great example of branded utility.
Love! It's free texting/chatting with push notifications, theme customization, and full MMS capabilities. It integrates flawlessly with your contacts, and has a super smooth interface.
If you find yourself whiteboarding quite a bit, this app helps take photos of those whiteboards that are actually legible.
If you're into impulse purchasing, this is your app! If not, the descriptions are always hilarious.
Games
Addicting game in which you have to jump your way to freedom. Decent music too.
This thing won more awards than I can count (I can't count very high). It calls itself the "Tetris and Bejeweled of the Tower Defense genre" whatever that means.
This game is so addicting. Land aircraft on runways while listening to your iPod music (or, go with sounds off). Amazing.
Take a crash test dummy to its limit by knocking him around. Sounds violent...it sort of is, but fun violence!.
Man this game is just fun! You roll these little fella's around by tilting your iPhone, and their voices take me back to the days of ToeJam & Earl.
Guns. Design. Web. iPhone. Yes please.
This app is good old fashioned humor. Carl repeats whatever you say in a crazy voice. Also, you can actually interact with him to get him to laugh, yell, etc. (think Elmo, but less creepy).
Sort of like TalkingCarl, you just record a message and select a funny voice to repeat back what you said. It also happens to be quite pleasant to look at.
Very similar to Scrabble, allows you to play "Words" with friends. Words and friends sold separately.
Hoped you enjoyed the list!
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