I’ve had my iPhone for almost a year and I love it. One of my favorite things about the iPhone is the App Store, and how I can add so much functionality to my phone with a single app! In lieu of the release of the new iPhone 3GS, here is a list of my favorite (free) iPhone apps that add the most to my iPhone user experience¹:

• TweetDeck
  I’ve tried TwitterFon (free) and Twitterrific (free) for a Twitter app on the iPhone, but TweetDeck is my favorite. With TwitterFon and Twitterrific, only one Twitter account is allowed, but with TweetDeck, you can have multiple Twitter accounts as well as customize different “filters” for which tweets you want to see, as well as any mentions (@replies) or direct messages. Also, the ad support in TwitterFon and Twitterrific really slow down the downloading of new tweets when loading the app – TwitterFon was fantastic before they added ads in the free version! After testing other Twitter apps, TweetDeck is definitely the one I recommend.
• Facebook
  Everyone has a Facebook, and while not everyone may be as addicted to Facebook as I am, it is always very handy to be able to access your Facebook page at any given moment. It’s pretty much the same as the actual Facebook website, minus all the extra applications a Facebook user can add to their profile, like Bumper Sticker, Food Frenzy, or Facebook quizzes.
• Shazam
  Shazam is a fantastic app that identifies what songs are currently playing. Sometimes when I listen to the radio or loudspeaker and will hear a really great song, but I don’t know the song title or the artist. With Shazam, I merely load the app and wait for it to work its magic. It spends about 30 seconds recording the music, and then it analyzes the track and downloads the track info. It’s a lifesaver for any music lover!
• Wikipanion
  I usually come across a name, place, event, or other term in conversation that either I am unsure about or two differing opinions cause some (friendly) bickering. Wikipanion is very useful when it comes to situations like that, as it’s Wikipedia for the iPhone. Wikipanion’s format for the iPhone makes it a lot easier to surf on Wikipedia rather than load the website up in Safari.
• AroundMe
  When you load AroundMe, it inputs your coordinates into a database and generates a list of nearby locations like restaurants, hospitals, and movie theaters². This is very handy, especially when you’re in an area you’re not very familiar with. This app was incredibly useful when I first moved to Washington, DC for college and had to find my way around the city!

1. I’m not including any games in this list, because that warrants its own entry! [↩]
2. AroundMe actually finds a lot of nearby locations. The full list is: Apple retail stores, banks, bars, cafes, gas stations, hospitals, hotels, movie theaters, parking, pharmacies, pubs, restaurants, supermarkets, taxis, and theaters. It can also give the weather forecast, other nearby locations, and you can save a list of favorite locations. [↩]

Tags: friday five, iphone, recommendations