Best free iPhone apps
By Joseph Hanlon on 12 June 2009
If you are like the editors at CNET.com.au, then the first button you pressed on your brand-spanking new iPhone read "App Store".
Apple's Phil Schiller recently quoted the total number of apps on the Store to be "50,000", a number as daunting as it is impressive. With that many new apps to choose from it can be a difficult task to sift through the goofy, quirky and downright useless programs to find those that genuinely have a place on your shiny new phone. We've been downloading apps and putting them through their paces for a year now, and below is the shortlist of our favourite apps that are available for free.
CheckTubes
Being seen with one of the hottest gadgets of 2008 isn't enough. You need to be able to prove it is better than the rest. CheckTubes tests the speed of data transfers from the network carrier to your gorgeous iPhone and maps the speeds and your location using Google Maps.
Remote
The name says it all — a remote control for iTunes on your computer or your Apple TV box. Remote connects using Wi-Fi and controls your playlists from afar. We tested Remote with a PC (gasp!) and found we could navigate iTunes faster from the iPhone than we could using the sluggish PC interface.
Google Earth
Like the desktop version? The iPhone app is even cooler because it can pinpoint your current location and "tilt" your view as you tilt your phone.
Shazam
Similar to Track ID found on Sony Ericsson phones, Shazam identifies songs based on a recording it makes of a 30-second clip of the track that it sends to a database. After you discover the name of the song, you can buy it from iTunes or watch the clip on YouTube if it's available.
Facebook
Maybe this is a personal prejudice — there is also a Myspace app for those that way inclined. Unlike most pared back mobile versions of Facebook, the version for the iPhone gives you nearly complete control over your profile. View friends' profiles and photos, chat with them online, update elements of your profile and even turn the iPhone's camera on and take a new pic for your blog.
Twitterific
Twitter apps are a dime-a-dozen on the App store, but our pick of the freebies is Twitterific. Its darker colour palette is sexy and it features everything you'll need to keep your friends up-to-date on what's for lunch.
Stanza
An e-book reader that gives the classics a 21st century flare. With access to a huge collection of material and a clean, clear interface featuring dynamically adjustable fonts, reading a novel using your iPhone seems entirely possible. In the database we found 1984 by George Orwell and Tolstoy's War and Peace, and that's just scratching the surface. Stanza can also read PDFs, HTML and Word documents.
iTranslate
In the future, it seems, learning a second language will be all but unnecessary. iTranslate can translate blocks of text between about 40 recognised languages displaying the results on screen or inserting them in a new email.
Darkroom
The new iPhone 3G S may have auto-focus baked into the new 3-megapixel camera, but for the rest of us using the older 3G model there's Darkroom. This app adds a spirit-level-like tool to the camera and waits until your hand is still before taking the pic. The results are often sharper than you could expect using the iPhone's standard camera tool.
Tower Bloxx Deluxe Free
This is a favourite of ours from Java platforms. Tower Bloxx is that perfect mix of strategy and speed that works so well in iPhone games. Build the tallest buildings and conquer the city block.
Find the best Apple iPhone 3GS plans available.
Topics: app, apple, mobile phone, store, iphone
Related Articles
Comments (28)
-
isicko commented on 09/02/2010 22:37
Would you like some fun games and humour, out this new iphone app called iSICKO
Shake to clear the screen and try another puke at random
http://bit.ly/986BGN -
CoA commented on 06/02/2010 18:43
Itouch 1v is incorrect, as pointed out by dtn. Jailbreaking is perfectly legal, downloading "cracked" versions of software without paying the copyright holder is illegal, but as there is a HELL of a lot of applications out there created by jailbreakers for jailbreakers, Itouch 1v's logic is like saying buying a car is illegal because you might get a DUI one day...
-
dtn commented on 22/01/2010 21:47
Jailbreaking is not illegal it is completely legal, but it does void the warranty.
Getting apps without paying is not the same as jaibreaking that is getting cracked apps, and requires a jailbroken iphone but just jailbreaking for third party apps is not illegal. -
Itouch 1v commented on 22/01/2010 18:38
That's correct. You are entitled to do anything with your iPhone if you have bought it. But with jail breaking, you are voiding copyright law because you didn't actually buy the apps. Therefore stealing, therefore illegal.
-
2bobsworth commented on 18/12/2009 22:29
How can Jailbreaking an Iphone be illegal? I bought mine outright. I own it! I can smash it with a hammer! I can Jailbreak it!
-
Little boy commented on 11/12/2009 10:40
Just downloaded Colorix and Traffic Rush. Cool games!
-
AN commented on 27/10/2009 22:11
BTW JAILBRAEKING IS NOT ACTUALLY ILLEGAL YET
-
Pam Carroll commented on 18/09/2009 11:30
Hi Brian E,
We do in fact have a list of the Best Aussie iPhone apps -- check it out here http://www.cnet.com.au/aussie-iphone-apps-339295495.htm -
Brian E commented on 17/09/2009 22:51
How about a list of the best Australian iPhone apps?
-
Post your own comment
Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.
ConnectThe Explain Series
-
Microsoft Windows® 7. Your PC, simplified.
Windows® 7 has been designed to be more reliable, more responsive, and to make the things you do every day easier.
Must read
-
Telstra Next G mobile phones
Telstra claims its Next G network covers 98 per cent of the Australian...
-
Best iPhone alternatives
Just because you don't want an Apple iPhone 3G doesn't mean you don't want...
-
Top 30 iPad games we'd like to see
The iPad's large touchscreen is simply crying out to be used as a gaming...
-
Best mobile phones for $29 per month
Can't decide which phone to get on an AU$29 per month contract? Check out...
-
Top 5 PDA-phones
These hybrid devices combine the organisational features of a traditional...
| Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB | 30 plans |  1% |
| Nokia N97 | 43 plans | 5% |
| HTC Magic | 16 plans |  1% |
| Nokia E71 | 49 plans | 1% |
| Apple iPhone 8GB | 42 plans | 1% |
| Apple mobile phones | 1% |
| Nokia mobile phones | 3% |
| HTC mobile phones | 3% |
| Blackberry mobile phones | 2% |
| Sony Ericsson mobile phones | 1% |
More comments...