I thought I’d share my list of the top 4 most useful iPhone apps I have found, so far. I have no specific criteria – I’ll include onboard existing apps, free apps, paid apps and even PC or Web based apps if they contribute to the overall user experience.
1. iThoughts
Top of my list is this fantastic little mind mapping program. I’m a long time user of Freemind on the desktop. For those unfamiliar with mind mapping, it’s just a graphical way to get all of your thoughts down on paper. You can use mind maps to create To Do lists, document outlines or even project work outlines. I am currently managing multiple To Do lists and my personal goal planning (7 Habits style). As a Freemind user on th PC, I am really happy with iThoughts ability to export a Freemind compatible file, and save it directly to a secure, free online repository which I can access from anywhere. As a result, I am using iThoughts after hours and when not at my desk, and Freemind when in front of my PC.
The best part of iThoughts, and I find in general with the iPhone, is the intuitive and free-flowing GUI which doesn’t get in the way of actually getting things done. While the actual canvas for the mind map image can be many times the size of the actual screen, navigating around the map never seems like a chore on the iPhone.
2. Tecarta Bible Reader
Ok, so this one is perhaps more niche in it’s appeal, but hey, it’s my Blog. Being able to carry half a dozen different translations of one of the the world’s most popular books around with you without weighing you down is a pretty neat trick. I’ve only paid for one version (The Message), but four other translations are available free as streamed Bibles, or they can be purchased and downloaded within the app itself.
3. iOptusUsage
Again, niche inasmuch as it is really only directly relevant to a specific carrier. I was worried at the start of my monthly plan that I would quickly reach and exceed my monthly call and data limits. Optus provides a MyOptus service where you can log in online and check you usage and remaining credit for the month. The iOptusUsage app allows you to connect to this service direct from your iPhone, and it provides a nice GUI to display usage against your limits. With this little tool you’ll always know where you stand with your phone plan.
4. Documents to Go
I knew this one would be on my list before I even bought it, given two facts: a) I have been using the Palm OS version for years and wrote a whole book using it and b) there is no MS Word compatible word processor included with the iPhone. I ended up buying it a few days ago. I found the setup to sync with the desktop version pretty straightforward.
I do miss the simplicity of the Palm conduit approach to syncing though. Apple have not enabled a common, extensible, local approach to synchronisation of data between the iPhone and a PC for third party developers. iTunes is the obvious mechanism. Until Apple make a conduit available to third party developers, there will continue to be a variety of approaches adopted by developers to work around this omission.
Anyway, for anyone looking to do some serious word processing on the iPhone, Documents to Go gets my vote, and is definitely an option worth considering.
Anyway, there you go. Hopefully you’ll have found one or two useful new apps you might not otherwise have come across… actually, I should include the onboard Calendar app at number 5… (especially when sync’d with Google Calendar) but maybe next time…
Anyway, I shall continue being a Dummy for now, and will work through the rest of the book. Beyond that, I have my eye on a book by Deitel & Deitel (& Deitel) – iPhone for Programmers – An App Driven Approach). I remember enjoying their book on Java during my time at University, so I expect I would enjoy this book also, and they have a good approach to learning, which certainly goes beyond the Dummies paradigm.
