I am occasionally asked which iPhone apps I use. Here is my slightly annotated list. I have been following the jailbreaking movement and have included those apps at the end of list if I was to take such an opportunity to break the DMCA (according to Apple).
iTalk – nice recording app – it would be great if this app synced via iTunes (and maybe the paid version does?), instead, it syncs via wi-fi (at work, my laptop and iPhone are not on the same wi-fi VLAN so I set up an adhoc network from my laptop and have the iPhone connect to it) [free]
Google Mobile Apps – one stop shop for Google Apps and I use Google Notebook for non-sensitive notes – newest version recognizes speech and it works pretty well for me [free]
Twitterific – Twitter client [free]
Stanza – ebook reader with access to many free books – great for reference [free]
Air Sharing – simple file transfer to iPhone – just for storage – [free]
last.fm – internet radio – e.g., I set up a station with kid’s music so I have something for the kids to enjoy when we’re couped up somewhere [free]
AroundMe – location-based yellow pages [free]
Molecules – chemical modeler – not very useful but a proof of concept for ed (it only accesses the protein database so it only accesses protein molecules and there is no ability to adjust the molecular rendering [free]
Yammer – Yammer client for group-based microblogging [free]
RDP – Windows Terminal Services client [free]
VNC – VNC client [free]
Jott – voice recorded and transcribing tool (I cannot seem to begin using it regularly – I think I’m just not the right type for it) [free]
GraphCalc – scientific function visualizer – being a science guy I feel like I have to have something to do this – just in case [free]
TouchCalc – scientific calculator – sure beats the default calculator [free]
Remote – iTunes Remote for synced Mac – I don’t really use my Mac as a media center but who knows… [free]
Joost – video aggregator [free]
Palringo – instant messenging aggregating client – pretty good but I have issues with the Mac app because it seems to require restarting after the computer wakes from sleep [free]
Google Earth – worth it just for the multi-touch interface [free]
GPS Tracker – might be a nice tool for breadcrumb trail – I have since uninstalled this one as I just haven’t found a case where it would have come in handy [free]
Pandora – internet radio – pretty much like last.fm [free]
Midomi – music identificiation – way cool and I use this about 2 times per week [free]
Tape Measure – just puts up a few inch ruler – I recently deleted this [free]
Say Who – voice comman recognition – I have not been using this as much as I though I would [free]
Walkie Talkie – push-to-talk app which might be good if you have limited minutes on th phone and you are communicating with other iPhone users who can use the app – we tested his to see if we could use it as a VOIP solution but like all other 3rd party iPhone apps, it requires the person to leave that app open[small cost – $1.99?]
Lose It! – app to help manage a diet [free]
USA Today – USA Today news client [free]
Drinks Free – Bartender reference (you just never know) [free]
BigOven – recipe database [free]
Tuner 440 – tunes sringed instruments including bass guitars – it works but is prone to issues and is no where near the quality I found in freeware for Windows and Windows Mobile [free]
Sudoku – game (just in case Sara goes into Sudoku withdrawal and she needs something just to get by [free]
Evernote – universal note taking and clipping tool – I have not really start using this much but would plan to begin using it a lot since its Firefox add-on is awesome [free]
Jailbroken apps that I would install/use if I was giong to jailbreak my iPhone
qik – real time video streaming using the iPhone camera – [free but requires jailbroken iPhone]
cycorder – gives the iPhone the capability of recording video like qik – I am guessing this saves the video as files that can be synced to the computer easily but I wouldn’t know [free]
DigiLite and MiniPiano – cool musical instruments [free]
NES – Nintendo game emulator – I have ROMs of all my old games and would love it if one could play them on an iPhone alhough there seem to be mixed results regarding the quality of the accelerometer and game pad interfaces [free]
There are a number of ways to create a tethered modem for one’s laptop with a jailbroken iPhone and it sounds like some are fairly easy to do but they are probably higher on Apple’s radar since they give added benefit that AT&T would otherwise be charging customers.