64 Seriously Cool iPhone Applications

February 6, 2009
By

James Maguire

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Also see a September '08 update: Top Ten Free iPhone Apps

Plus: 81 Tasty iPhone Apps

Summer 2009: iPhone Apps: the Top 46 Oddest

Okay, you’ve bought your iPhone, showed it to all your friends, and learned to love it. The thing’s cool. But now you want more. You want your iPhone to sing and dance and play with you. You want more functionality – and more fun – and you want tons of freebies.

With that in mind, peruse this list of iPhone apps. Lots of cool tools. Weather, sports, news, games, music, an eBook reader, even time management apps: they’re all here. Check ‘em out...

Personal Productivity

1) Befree 4 iPhone
Enables remote control of your PC from your mobile device. It’s freeware, but the paid pro version allows you remote access to all the files stored on your PC hard drive.

2) iBay
Search eBay on your iPhone. (You bought that handheld to help you shop, didn’t you?)

3) iWebSaver
Lets you save your favorite Web sites and applications to your iPhone (or iPod). It’s simple: type in an URL, click “Save it now,” and chose “Add bookmark.” Also available as the iWebSaverFavlet

4) 911 Help
Turn your iPhone into a safety device: this app displays a big bold red 911 sign visible dozens of feet away from the device. It flashes to help others realize you need assistance.

5) Can I Drive Yet?
Helps you calculate if you’re sober enough to operate a motor vehicle; enter your relevant data (how many drinks, your body weight, etc.) and it spits out an answer, using national blood alcohol standards.

6) BarCheck
When you’re shopping in your neighborhood store, enter the numbers on an item’s bar code to get review and prices from Amazon, Google and Yahoo. Yup, it’s smart shopping.

7) Widgetop
Helps you manage your collection of widgets. (A widget is a software app that lets you do something. An example is a menu bar or a toggle switch, but there are zillions.)

8) Dictionary
Not just a dictionary, but also a thesaurus. Comes in handy when you’re typing that business email and you want to seem suave.

9) Calorie Counter
Calculate your daily calorie intake based on age, weight and exercise level. If you’re feeling disciplined, it also gives you a number to shoot for to lose weight. (Cupcake, anyone?)

10) Currency Exchange
Keep track of the relative value of the world’s major currencies. Watch the dollar’s precipitous fall right there on your handheld. You might also try eSignal’s Currency Exchange Calculator. In theory the two apps should produce the same numbers.

11) Mortgage Payment Calculator
Calculate your monthly payment on that monstrously expensive house that you can’t afford. (I haven’t yet found an iPhone app that calculates foreclosure costs.)

xRay for the iPhone

12) ModGuitars.com Tuner
Helps you tune your guitar. Very useful for those lunchtime gigs that help you pay for your pricey gadgets.

Fun and Enjoyment

13) iDoodle
Let’s face it: you’re too productive. But with iDoodle, you can wile away the hours drawing on your iPhone – circles, polygons, many colors. Designed specifically for the iPhone.

14) xRay
No, it’s not real, but it might fool some of the people some of the time. Tap the screen, hold it over a friend’s hand (someone who scoffs at the iPhone, for example) and tell them you’ll “xRay” their hand. A stock photo of an xRay will show up. Very juvenile, and very cool.