William Hook via Flickr
Apple's iPhone is a powerful device within its' own right, but perhaps its' greatest achievement is its' ability to run rich and diverse applications.
The plethora of apps available in the Itunes store has allowed iPhone users to tailor their phone towards their life. The sheer volume of apps whilst in general is beneficial, makes finding those application gems a little harder. The charts provide some assistance, but do not always reflect what are the best applications.
So today I'm going to demystify the app store somewhat, and provide some recommendations on what to get. The selection has also taken into consideration price, and is tailored towards those who want to spend as little as possible to get the most out of their iPhone. Aside from standard apps I will also be placing emphasis on apps for medical students and health professionals. For each app, I shall provide a brief overview, any pros or cons and in some cases and a link to a similar app.
Listed below are apps available to Australian consumers and all prices are in Australian Dollars.
For applications in different categories please observe the links at the bottom of the page.
General
Banking Apps
The major banks (Westpac, CommBank, ANZ goMoney and NAB) of Australia each offer their own free iPhone Apps. Allowing you to view your balance, make payments, locate branches, and ultimately provide you with control of your money.
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The biggest problem for iPhone 4 users at this stage is that not all apps have updated to support retina display, therefore they can be a bit of an eye-sore.
Commsec App (Free)For those with Share Accounts (with Commonwealth Bank) the CommSec App looks professional, is simple to use and delivers the necessary tools to manage your share portfolio.
Evernote is like a scrapbook for your pocket. It collates photos, written notes, voice recordings which can be accessed from your phone or via your PC/Mac. Using the search feature you can nearly always find later anything you are looking for, with Evernote even recognising text (and making it searchable) in photos. One of the most useful Apps running on my iPhone.
Cons: Be aware that Evernote's conditions essentially stipulate that any information stored with it can be used by the company at a later date. http://www.evernote.com/about/tos/ While unlikely to be abused, if you have sensitive data you may consider alternatives.
A top rated App, Evernote won 'The Best Mobile App Award' from Techcrunch, Mashable and Webbys.
Youtube: Evernote Preview
Itunes Link
Dropbox is a service that allows you to sync and upload files to the web from your computer/phone. This app allows you to access your Dropbox on the go, giving you access to your files on the go. View documents (e.g. word), presentations (e.g. powerpoint), photos, videos and listen to audio clips. Files can be shared (via email) or copied and pasted to other apps.
This app requires a Dropbox Account which you can create for free, giving you 2GB of storage.
Youtube: Earlier Dropbox Version
Itunes Link
File App (Free)A file manager for your iPhone. Transfer files from your computer via USB or Wireless for viewing on your iPhone. Supports Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF and others), PDF, MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), iWork (Pages, Numbers and Keynotes), OpenDocuments (OpenOffice -Text, Spreadsheet, Presentation), Plain Text and RTF (Rich Text Format), Audio (MP3 VBR, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, CAF), Video (standard iPhone formats : H.264, MPEG-4), Web Archives, HTML and ZIP files.
Itunes Link
Quickoffice Mobile Suite is for those who need a more feature rich file manager. View, edit and share your documents to the wider world. Supports similar documents as to FileApp above. Information is transferred via over wireless. If you need to edit documents on the go, this app should be able to meet most of your needs.
Itunes Link
Quickoffice also offers a further improved App which I've yet to try called 'Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite'. Check it out here.
If you are connected to the Google ecosystem in anyway, this is a must have app. It is easy navigate to Google's many apps (Gmail, Calender, Docs, etc) and search Google using the iPhone's keyboard or your voice. The recent addition of Google Goggles can give you information about objects you photograph with your iPhone.
Itunes Link
Read it later free or Instapaper free (both Free)
Both Read it later and Instapaper offer a way of viewing your webpages later offline. There are differences in their feature sets so check them out, but they both achieve the same goal. I personally prefer Read It later.
Cons: Instapaper Free is Ad-supported.
Click on the Icon below to access each app.
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When you don't know what a word means or looking for a similar word, Dictionary.com has the answers. The Dictionary.com app offers nearly 1,000,000 words and definitions and 90,000 synonyms and antonyms, all of which can be available offline. It is particular useful for those who play the free game Words With Friends Free which is essentially Scrabble.
Cons: The free version is ad-supported. Also does not seem to be supporting Retina display currently.
Itunes Link
Created by Aussie developers, Consume is a Usage app which can keep you informed of your mobile phone, broadband, packages, toll cards, rewards cards usage and credit, and much more. Consume has a simple, elegant interface and provides all the basic details necessary concerning one's accounts.
Itunes Link
Coming up on Friday, Multimedia Apps for the iPhone.
Feel free to share your favourite apps by commenting below.
Top iPhone Application Series 2010
General | Multimedia | Photography | Social Networking | Medical: part 1, part 2 | Health, Lifestyle & Travel
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