It’s been sometime (almost a year) since I did my iPhone review and listed the apps I use.  Since then, I have stopped using some apps, started using others, and new ones have come out.  Because of my own life, I am partial to productivity apps, location apps, Bible apps, and some fun ones. I don’t game on the iPhone, nor do I use any Mac related apps.  In any event, I’ve tried to list what I think are useful apps, with links to the main website (the app name) and the direct link to open iTunes and download the app.  The rating is very subjective, and based on how useful I think the app is, or could be if I used it properly.  That means:

***** -Essential, something I use daily

**** – regular rotation, used at least once a week, and I’d be very disappointed if lost

*** – adequate, a bit clunky to use, but used at least once a month

** – has some promise, but not regularly used

* – use it only very occasionally, not that helpful or easy to use

• Adela Voice Dialer – I got this when it was free (now it is $4.99).  This is a pretty good voice dialer.  The downside is that you can’t activate it just from a Bluetooth headset (like Blackberry dialers), you have to open the app.  The upside is that the voice recognition is good.  I would only recommend this for iPhone 2G/3G users.  The native Voice Control for 3GS is better. (iTunes link) **
• AirSharing – this app uses WebDev (a network protocol built into Windows) to transfer files (PDF, Word docs, etc) to your iPhone and also allows you to view them.  A very nice app.  So if you need information to carry around (like your wife’s Christmas list), just make a PDF of it and put it on your iPhone.  It is now $4.99 for the basic version (I got it free when it first came out) and $9.99 for the PRO version, which has additional features (most of which are Mac specific, so I didn’t get it). (iTunes link) ***
• Amazon Mobile (free) – allows you to easily browse and shop Amazon from the iPhone (including accessing shipping and other info).  You can purchase right from the app.  It has some additional nice features, like the ability to take a picture of items to make a wish list. (iTunes link). ***
• AOL Radio (free) – this allows you to get a large number of radio stations (internet and web versions of air stations) to play over your iPhone’s speakers. **
• AP Mobile (free) – News app that takes advantage of OS 3.0’s push notifications to send you notifications of breaking news. You can also use it to browse news stories.  (iTunes link) ***
• Aroundme (free) – This is an app that can tell you types of places around your current location, such as grocery stores, gas stations, banks, etc.  Can be very useful when away from your usual stomping grounds. (iTunes link) ****
• Bloomberg – the built in Stocks app is great for checking out whether the market is up or down 500 points today, but this app gives much more detail.  And it is free. (iTunes link) ****
• Calcutipr (free) – Calculates the tip on a restaurant bill.  There are dozens of free tip apps, but this is the best in my mind.  You can set it to divide by the number of persons in the dining party, subtract tax, and change the tip percentage.  And it is easy to read. (iTunes link) ***
• Chase Mobile (free) – This app lets you find ATMs and branches close to your current location (using the iPhone’s built in GPS).  You can also check your bank balances in an iPhone friendly format. (iTunes link) ***
• Constitution for iPhone – a free copy of the Constitution, optimized for iPhone viewing (iTunes link) ***
• Dial Zero (free) – this app gives you details on how to get through a key prompt maze to get a real person at a great many companies. It is often faster to use than even looking up a number for a company via Google. (iTunes link) ****
• Dual Level ($0.99) – ever wondered if something was level?  This app is turns your phone into a level.  Surprisingly useful, even for a non-tool guy like me. I got it when it was free, now $1. (iTunes link) ***
• Evernote (free) – this is the iPhone version of the Evernote service (which is free) ****
• Expense2Go – you can track expenses, submit them to salesforce.com and even take and attach pictures of receipts (iTunes link) ***
• Facebook (free) – the iPhone version of this popular social network.  Makes posting and reading from iPhone easy. (iTunes link) *****
• Flashlight (free) – this app turns the screen of your iPhone bright white (or other colors), allowing it work like a flashlight in the dark.  It is surprisingly useful. (iTunes link) ***
• Flixter (free) – an iPhone app linked to a movie social network, where you can watch trailers, share info, etc. (iTunes link) ***
• GasHog (free) – lets you track gas usage and mileage. (iTunes link) ****
• Google Mobile App (free) – perhaps the best app out there.  The new version allows you to submit a voice search to Google.  So if you are driving around and need an address for a company, you can simply speak into the phone the name of the company and it will provide Google search results.  It also intergrates with Google Docs, and Google Apps. *****
• Grocery IQ ($0.99) – This app allows you to keep your grocery list, including brands of specific products, on your iPhone.  You can set up the layout of the store to have it help you buy products in the order you are walking through.  It was upgraded toallow more than one store layout recently.  My wife loves this. (iTunes link) *****
• iheart Radio (free) – streams Clearchannel radio stations.  I use it to listen to Rush Limbaugh on the Houston talk station occasionally. ****
• iMExchange ($7.99/free lite version) – this app syncs your Outlook Exchange Notes and Tasks (Exchange accounts only, not “normal” Outlook setups) with the iPhone.  I find it very useful to keep my tasks in front of me all the time.  The Notes feature is not as useful now that iTunes finally syncs notes.  I say not as useful, because the iTunes sync still requires connecting the iPhone to the computer, and this is automatic OTA (“over the air”).  The free version (iTunes link) allows viewing only, the $7.99 version (iTunes link) allows full editing on the iPhone. *****
• JotNot ($3)– this app enhances pictures you take to allow them to be used like scans you send to someone.  It has presets for Whiteboards, Pictures and documents, and you can save the result in various formats (email sized jpg  or PDF).  It basically “cleans up” and sharpens pictures of things that you are sending for information, not for pictures. (Review link,  iTunes link) ****
• Kindle for iPhone – Don’t have a Kindle? Don’t worry.  You can download free (or paid) kindle versions of books from Amazon and read them on your iPhone.  The type is very clear, and it would be a good idea to use this while deciding whether to buy a Kindle or not.  Better still, if you do buy a Kindle, you can sync your reading (including the place in the book you left off) between your Kindle and iPhone. (iTunes link) ***
• NY Times (free) – read the NY Times in easy format. (iTunes link) ****
• Packing Pro ($3.99) – This app allows you to pretty painlessly create packing lists.  It has templates for families, business travel, type of travel, etc.  We used this for a three week trip up north to see family. (iTunes link)  There is also a lite version for ($0.99) ***
• Pandora Radio (free) – a free radio program that allows you to create your own type of radio stations (by music selections).  It integrates with the web version. (iTunes link) ***
• Pastie (free/$1.99) – this app allows you to send quick messages with preconfigured text (like, “I’ll be home in 15 minutes”).  The free version allows 3 saved expressions.  The full version is $1.99 (Lifehacker review, Another review site) ****
• Read it Later (free) – this is the iPhone interface for a web service that “saves” WebPages for you to read later. Very useful if you come across a story or blog you want to read, but don’t have time to just then. ***
• Remote (free) – control iTunes on your computer from your iPhone. (iTunes link) **
• reQall (free) – allows you to speak notes, tasks, etc into your iPhone and it converts them to text.  You can view them in the app, and also have them emailed to you. **
• Roboform Online (free) – Not an app, strictly speaking.  It is a webapp that allow you to store all your passwords using the Roboform application, which I highly recommend.  Roboform allows you to have odd, hard to guess passwords (it will generate random passwords of nearly unlimited length, and then remember the login).  You can jump to the website and autofill the passwords from your browser.  The downside is that it did not work with an iPhone (no computer, no Roboform in browser).  Roboform Online solves this. ****
• Shazam (free) – this app “listens” to music that is playing and then searches a database to find the information on the song.  Very fun if you are listening to the radio wondering “Who sings this?” (iTunes link) ***
• Showtimes (free) – rated among the best movie finder apps.  You can find out what time a movie is showing near you, search by theater or search by movie. (iTunes link)
• Sportacular (free) – easily see sports scores (iTunes link) ****
• The Weather Channel (free) – see weather for your area quickly and easily without having to input into a web page.  Standard version is free, Max version is $3.99 (which I don’t think is worth it) (iTunes link) *****
• Transtar (webapp, free) – again, not technically an app.  This webapp (click the icon and it opens a webpage) give Houston traffic information and camera shots. *
• TwitterFon (free) – allows you to post to your Twitter account from the iPhone. (iTunes link)  There are a million (OK, maybe a 1000) Twitter apps out there.  I like this one because it is simple and does not crash.  I don’t have (or need) 5 Twitter accounts, and I don’t follow 1000 people, so this works just fine for me.  If you need more, there is a $4.99 PRO version (iTunes link) *****
• Typing Genius ($0.99) – This app is like a typing tutor for iPhone. (iTunes link) **
• Urbanspoon (free) – gives restaurant suggestions based on your location. (iTunes link) **
• USA Today (free) – the iPhone version of the newspaper. (iTunes link) ****
• vCarder ($1.99) – Until OS 3.0, there was no way to send a contact vCard to someone via email (something you can normally do using email programs).  vCarder stepped into the gap, and made this possible, which was VERY nice.  Now that there is some native iPhone support for sending a contact, vCarder still has its uses.  You can send it to multiple recipients, save and quickly send to the same recipient, and best of all, edit the information that is sent (i.e. send a contact’s email and work number only, but not the home number you have). (iTunes link) ****
• Voice4Mail (free) – a free app that sends recorded audio messages to an email address.  You can send someone a note/email via voice instead of typing (iTunes link). ****
• Where (free) – this app uses your location to tell you what is around you (Starbucks, gas prices, etc.).  It is free, but has some ads. (iTunes link) ***
• Wordpress (free) – create and read your Wordpress blog entries (iTunes link) ****
• YouVersion Bible (free) – a very nice and user friendly Bible program (iTunes link).  You can download free versions (KJV, NKJV, ASV) but need an internet connection for others (ESV, NIV, NASB). *****

Here are also some websites to visit for your iPhone:

www.ilounge.com

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/12/25/so-you-just-got-an-iphone-now-what/

http://lifehacker.com/tag/iphone-apps/

http://gizmodo.com/

http://iphoneapppodcast.com/