iphone Apps reviews & collections - Updated News

Ref: mashable.com, itunes.com

New Knol Updates:

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Updates: New iphone Apps below

Notification & push message Apps for iphone:

Chat and Instant Message Apps

BeejiveIM: Web - iTunes: By far, my favorite instant messaging app for the iPhone, BeejiveIM ($9.99) combines Google Talk, Yahoo!, MSN, AIM and more all under one program for your iPhone. Now you'll receive IM notifications even when you have the app closed.

YoFrog: Web - iTunes: YoFrog ($.99) is a mobile group chat application that allows you to chat with all your friends or business associates (who also need YoFrog) at once. No more SMS mayhem! With version 1.1 (sent to the App Store last week and waiting for approval), you'll now be instantly notified when your contacts are trying to chat with you. They also have a free, Lite version.

Textfree Unlimited: Web - iTunes: Textfree ($5.99) allows for unlimited text messages (for one year) to any other US mobile phone. You'll need to set up a username for people to text you directly, so it's not ideal for your contacts - but probably not a bad deal for anyone who sends a ton of text messages and doesn't want to upgrade to their carrier's unlimited plan. Push notifications for Textfree will now notify users as soon as a new message comes in (imagine that!). They also have a Lite version that limits you to 15 messages per day and is ad-supported.

IM+ with Push: Web - iTunes: A popular instant messaging app, IM+ ($9.99) can now update you in real time when you receive an IM. You can manage IM with all of your contacts from any of the instant messaging platforms, including Skype.

To-do List Apps

RememberTheMilk: Web - iTunes: One of the most popular web-based to do list managers (and my go-to web app), RTM will now instantly notify you when you have a list item that's due. The RTM iPhone App is free, but requires a Pro account with Remember The Milk for $25 per year.

ToodleDo: Web - iTunes: Another solid to do list manager, you can purchase their iPhone app ($2.99) to use with your free or paid subscription to Toodledo. Push notifications will let you know when an item with a due-date is coming up.

ReQall: Web - iTunes: ReQall (Free) is a unique information manager for to do items and other reminders. If you haven't used it, I'd suggest trying it for a week to see if it makes sense for you. Open the app, speak, and let their system convert your speech into a to do item. The app now supports push notifications to instantly notify you of upcoming events.

Reminder Apps

BillMinder: Web - iTunes: ($.99 on sale) The next update of this bill reminder application promises push notifications. Just set your due dates and make sure notifications are turned on. Now you'll never forget to pay a bill again accidentally, at least.

NotifyMe: Web: Not to be confused with Notify.me, the IM notifier app, NotifyMe (price unkown) is yet to be approved by the app store, but promises notification for anything you can think of. Set it to notify you when your favorite TV show is about to start, when you are supposed to call back a client, or when you need to change the cat box! You'll need to set up each alert, but the developer promises you can set up a new alert in as little as two taps. The free version (with some limitations) is in iTunes now.

Occasions: Web - iTunes: Occasions ($.99 on sale) notifies you of the birthdays and anniversaries of your iPhone contacts. You can also add more information about each contact or add reminders for people not on your phone's contact list. For me, this is great. I manage all of my contacts in GMail and they're synced to my phone automatically, so now I can get notified of the events in their lives, without having to do much extra work.

Other Apps with Push

AP Mobile: Web - iTunes: The popular free news app now supports push notifications of breaking news. However, it seems like it might not be working properly (serious lag time and not all notifications coming through). If this gets fixed, it could be very useful for those of us who can't stand missing the latest North Korean missile launch.

AreMySitesUp: Web - iTunes: While push notifications are not yet available for this app, they promise that it's coming. For an app that is built to "notify" you when your web site goes down - push would be ideal, of course. Their app is a free companion to the Premium membership on their site (starts at $25 per year). There is also a Lite version of the app that works with their free plan.

Zillow Real Estate: Web - iTunes: If you're looking for a home, it doesn't get much better than Zillow (Free). While you could always find houses for sale near your location (no need to enter an address), you can now get push-notified of new listings that match any of your saved searches.

E*Trade Mobile Pro: Web - iTunes: For the investors out there, you probably know you can already manage your E*Trade account with their iPhone App (Free), but now they've introduced push notifications. You'll get stock and account alerts pushed directly to your phone's screen. Next time you miss that big opportunity, it won't be E*Trade's fault!

Tasks, Lists, and Notes [Paid]

OmniFocus - (App store rating 3.5 stars) - This $19.99 iPhone app, which syncs with OmniFocus v1.5 for Mac, brings sophisticated task management to your phone. The app supports text, image, and voice tasks, creates a custom list of nearby tasks to complete, and keeps track of tasks by project, place, person, or date.

Things - (App store rating: 3.5 stars) - Manage to-dos, notes, due dates, and projects for about 10 bucks. Things is perfect for GTD types because it lets users sort tasks into either the inbox, today, next, scheduled, or someday folders. Unfortunately, Things does lack the ability to sync to iCal or Outlook, and only Mac users can sync to a desktop version of Things.

Checklist - (App store rating: 3 stars) - For 99 cents, Checklist doesn't offer much-just a single list-but it's an extremely simple alternative for managing a to-do list.

Time Trackers

Timewerks - (App store rating 4 stars) - With a robust feature set including data export, multiple active stopwatches, customizable rates per task type, sales tax calculations, and HTML-formatted invoices, Timewerks is an essential app for independent contractors.

iTimeSheetLite - (App store rating 2.5 stars) - Use this free and limited feature app to manage times per task. Just open up the calendar, select a date, add a task, select if the task is billable, set task start time, end time, or total duration, add notes, and save. For a more sophisticated and advanced approach to tracking time, try the $5.99 version.

TimeLogger - (App store rating: 3.5 stars) - Perfect for anyone who needs to track their time, TimeLogger, which costs $2.99, works even while other programs are running. You can also start multiple timers, adjust times, associate tasks with clients and categories, and create custom text or CSV reports of your logged time.

Account and Password Management

A Personal Assistant - (App store rating: 2.5 stars) - Access and manage all your online accounts in one place with the free A Personal Assistant app. Once you add your accounts (like bank accounts, social networks, and online shopping accounts), you can continue to manage those accounts password-free from the app. The app also provides users with a master itinerary, and financial overview complete with transactions and balances. For security purposes, the company behind the app, Pageonce, uses 128 bit SSL encryption, and users can remotely disable access should the iPhone get lost.

eWallet - (App store rating 3.5 stars) - For $9.99, eWallet, from Illium Software, offers password management with 256-bit AES encryption, and the ability to sync information to a PC. Store passwords, PIN numbers, user names, bank accounts, travel clubs, calling cards, health info, and travel club info.

LockBox - (App store rating: 3 stars) - A free alternative to eWallet, LockBox lets users store and protect private notes, passwords, credit card numbers, and PIN numbers. User data is encrypted and protected by an additional custom-created secret code.

File & Computer Resources

Mocha VNC Lite - (App store rating: 3 stars) - Control your WindowsWindows, Mac, or LinuxLinux computer from your iPhone with this handy app. If you're like me, you'll need to use the setup wizard to get started, but once you're server connection is setup you're good to go. This app is 100% free, ridiculously cool (just play around with your comp while the app is running, you can watch it update in real-time), useful, and a new personal favorite. The $5.99 version, which doesn't seem necessary, comes with a few additional keys, as well as support for right-click, hover, and mouse wheel maneuvers.

FileMagnet - (App store rating: 3.5 stores) - This $4.99 app lets you copy files from your PC or Mac onto the iPhone, making it easy to use your iPhone as a portable drive. You can also transfer files wirelessly with FileMagnet Uploader, an additional (but free) download.

MobileFiles - (no reviews) - At $9.99 the MobileFiles app doesn't come cheap, but it does come with the ability to access, view, and manage Office (you can even edit Excel docs), iWork, and PDF files right from your phone.

ACTPrinter - (App store rating: 3 stars) - Print from your Mac to your iPhone? At $1.99, this app, in conjunction with the companion software, gives Mac users the ability to "print" documents for easy iPhone access. As a nice bonus, all bar codes from documents can be scanned right from the iPhone's screen, making it more convenient than printing physical copies of boarding passes or electronic tickets.

Search

CoolirisCooliris - (App store rating: 3 stars) - This is a really neat little free app that lets you search and discover images (or YouTubeYouTube videos), across sites like FlickrFlickr and SmugMug, via a beautiful 3D wall.

Google Mobile App - (App store rating: 3.5 stars) - Along with the myriad of other things you can do, the Google Mobile AppGoogle Mobile App lets you search GoogleGoogle with your voice. Just open the app, select the Search tab at the bottom, lift the phone to your ear and speak very clearly. Make sure you really enunciate those voice queries, though, because the voice recognition software can be tempermental.

YPMobile - (App store rating: 3 stars) - For the yellow pages enthusiast, YPMobile takes the heavy lifting and time-suck out of searching. With a plethora of features like nearby business and event search, the ability to create custom plans, add favorites, and share with friends, YPMobile is a much handier resource than its hard copy older sibling.

Reading Online and Off

Instapaper - (App store rating: 3 stars) - Instapaperinstapaper lets users create offline versions of web articles for easy access and viewing when the web is just out of reach. You'll need to visit the Instapaper website to create an account and get the Read Later bookmark, but once that's done you can use the app to view your bookmarked pages. The pro version costs $9.99 but adds position-saving, tilt scrolling, and adjustable fonts.

BookShelf - (App store rating: 3 stars) - A multi-format eBook reader that supports text, HTML, Palm, and FB2 formats. This $9.99 app also enables users to save bookmarks with names, and customize font and color schemes. Books are downloaded using the ShelfServer application from iphonebookshelf.com.

Read Demon - (App store rating: 3 stars) - You'd probably be more productive if you could read faster, right? Read Demon, at $4.99, has speed reader lessons with adjustable reading speeds, customizable text size, and a words per minute counter, to help you master speed reading.

If You Jailbreak

Search - (rating: 4 stars) - Install Search (not to be confused with Searcher) to do just that-search. You can search your phone and the web for pretty much anything; search through your mail, SMS, notes, and contacts. Available via Installer and Cydia.

Insomnia - (rating: 3 stars) - This app will prevent the iPhone from sleeping, allowing background apps and WiFi to continue running even when the screen is switched off. It's especially handy if you're using one of the many IM apps and still want to continue receiving messages, or make yourself appear available.

iPhoneNotes (NA) - Mac users will need to install the OpenSSH app from Cydia or Installer, and the iPhone notes Mac desktop app, but the end result is a simple notes application that you can access from your phone. iPhoneNotes just enhances the standard Notes app by adding colorization, and the convenience of being able to edit notes from your phone or desktop.

Kate (rating: 3 stars) - Kate offers a package of tools that you can install separately. It's pricey ($22.50 sale price for an unlimited license), and a little bit more complicated to install, but Kate offers Smart Dialer for faster calling options, FaceLift for screen customization, uCalendar for a quick Calendar view, Reminder for audio or silent reminders of missed calls or messages, System Font to change fonts, and Privacy to turn off certain notifications.

i2Reader - (rating 3 stars) - An eBook reader for FB2 and TXT formats. The trial period, just 3 days, lets you test out i2Reader and cool features like full FB2 support (for annotations and hyperlinks), auto-scroll, book grouping, dictionary support, and themes. Should you choose to buy, be ready to spend $35.

Creative App for iphone:

Drawing Apps

1. Finger Paint- For 99 cents, you can enjoy finger painting on your iPhone/iTouch. The Finger Paint app gives you control of color, size of brush and opacity. Pictures can be saved in your photo album and you can draw directly on your other album photos.

2. Scribble - Scribble is a multi-touching drawing, painting and tracing tool. The app allows you to shake to erase the picture, which is reminiscent of the classic "Etch-a-Sketch" toy.

3. Color Tilt - This app allows you to finger paint in 4, 096 colors, which lets you create very complex works of art, and gives you the ability to create 3D graphics effects. It was selected as the iTunes Top Paid App of 2008 by Apple.

4. Layers - Allows you to create art using 5 layers, so that you can develop more complex images. It features high quality brushes, a full-featured eyedropper tool, adjustable brush sizes, an undo history tool and the ability to export images as hi-res PSD files or JPGs.

5. SpinArt - This app allows you to swipe the canvas at varying speeds to create spiraled art effects.

6. Anarchy Graffiti - This is a fun application that allows you to vandalize your photos with graffiti art. It is complete with sound effects for "realistic" graffiti action.

7. iCanSketchIt - iCanSketchIt is a competitive drawing game that determines the best finger-sketch artist in the world. It works by challenging artists on their accuracy and speed via unique drawing games. It has 80 levels with a sketch grading system and online scoring, and the app is supported by community chat rooms and allows you to communicate with other players.

8. Fluid Motion Painter - Draw by injecting and manipulating the flow of ink. Watch it dance around the screen as the colors blend in a silky fluid motion, alter movement to create the effects you want and pause the frame when you're satisfied with the design.

9. Squiggles - An app specifically for doodling on a select image or photo from your album. You can decorate photos with overlay images and special stamp brushes.

10. Paint Light - A simulation of the classic Lite Brite, Pain Light lets you select from 24 different colored pegs, which you can use to create drawings. Toggle the light switch to see the colors light up.

11. Type Drawing - Selected by O'Reilly as Best iPhone App in their upcoming book, Best iPhone Apps. A unique drawing application that offers the ability to draw with the use of type. Type a sentence, word, or letters for each drawing, select font, size, color and opacity as well. Background papers or photos can be chosen, and the finished drawing can be saved in your album.

12. Light Writer - The app allows you create messages that can be moved in a steady motion while you take pictures in a longer shutter setting on your camera. Pick your own colors, images and even choose rainbow mode.

Photo Apps

13. Camera Zoom v1.1 - The iPhone doesn't have an optical zoom and the built-in camera doesn't have digital zooming capabilities. But this app allows you to zoom in and out in real-time when taking pictures up to 4x, as well as adjust the photo quality.

14. CameraBag - CameraBag lets you dramatically enhance your photos using 10 unique camera filter simulations like "Magazine, " "1974, " or "Fisheye." Layering can also be done to create unique effects.

15. Green Screen Studio - Allows you to choose or take pics and remove the background to add in new backgrounds from your library of wallpapers and photos.

16. ToyCamera - Like CameraBag, this applications features 8 different photos effects that you can apply to your pictures, including "Vintage green, " "Low Saturation, " "Toning Sepia, " and "HiCon Black&White."

17. Pano - Take panoramic images with up to 16 photos. The app features advanced alignment tools and blending and color correction algorithms. The panoramas you take can be saved to your phone in resolutions of up to 6800800. Panoramic images can be resumed should your phone be interrupted by calls or other notifications.

18. DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition - This is the next generation cable release for your Canon EOS DSLR Camera. Just connect your camera to a Wi-Fi enabled computer and you can instantly adjust settings, fire the shutter, review images, and even get a live viewfinder preview using your iPhone/iTouch.

19. Tattoo Shop - This app lets you add real-looking tattoos to any photo in your album. Ever wondered what grandma would look like with a skull on her arm? Now you can find out.

20. SpiritCam - More of a fun tool than anything, this app allows you to take photos and unique apparitions will appear on the shot taken. It makes for a fun prank to pull on friends as well.

Dropbox: Dropbox for iPhone is just an extension to the existing Desktop application. Using this app you can access any and all files in your Dropbox account.

Dropbox app for iPhone stands true to the statement "Access anywhere, anytime!". Though it does not let you open the files that are not supported by iPhone you can still access important office and other documents, which is pretty useful.

Dropbox is a free application, click here to download.

Remote: This falls into the Lazy-Tech category but super cool for what it does. "Remote" app for iPhone lets you control iTunes running on your computer using your iPhone. You can switch between playlists/songs/artists control the volume on your computer.

Before you start using this application, you'll have to pair this app with iTunes on the computer. People who've used some kind of Bluetooth device with their phones do know how paring works. Once you are paired with the computer, you are all set!

There is no need to be around your computer or even in the same room. As Remote works on your Wi-Fi network, you can control iTunes from anywhere as long as you are on the same Wi-Fi network.

Remote can be downloaded for Free, click here to download.

FileApp: This application turns your iPhone into an FTP server. Once you start the application you can type in the iPhone IP on the PC browser and start dumping files into the folder.

Every file that is placed into the FTP folder is transferred to your iPhone. These files include any office documents, Video files supported by iPhone, MP3 files, etc..

FileApp can be password protected on iPhone which lets you maintain the secrecy and confidentiality of the transferred files.

FileApp can be downloaded for free. Click here to download.

TouchMouse: Logitech came out with the best application to turn your iPhone into a fully functional mouse and a wireless keyboard.

Installation is effortless, as soon as the software is installed on the PC/Mac and iPhone/iPod Touch it magically starts working.

I've used other softwares which try to do the same thing but TouchMouse has to be the best!

Click here to read more about Logitech's TouchMouse for iPhone. TouchMouse is a free application and can be downloaded from here.

HP Print: How about printing pictures right from your iPhone. Yep! HP Print lets you do just that. Once installed it searches for the compatible HP printers on the local network. Users can start printing as soon as a compatible printer is found on the network.

Click here to see if your printer is compatible with HP Print for iPhone.

Logmein Ignition: This is mother of all Desktop-iPhone related Applications. Logmein Ignition for iPhone is priced at $29.99 and works just like the "remote desktop" utility works on a windows machine.

Once installed and registered, you can use this application to connect to your desktop remotely. It works wonders on the Wi-Fi network and works very well on 3G as well. A 3G compatible app means you can control or look at what's happening on your desktop or laptop anytime from anywhere!

Live stream TV Apps for iphone:

Entertainment

netTV (Free/$2.99)

Available in both free and paid options, netTV offers live streaming access to over 200 channels from around the world, including a larger-than-usual number of channels from the US. The quality is generally pretty good, though I did experience some issues when first connecting to a channel, and of course it varies from channel to channel (depending on the source of the video stream).

TVUPlayer (Free/$4.99)

TVUPlayer plays live TV for over 300 channels, though only a handful of channels broadcast at the right bandwidth to play well. Some of the video feeds come in choppy or with audio syncing issues (I actually couldn't get audio to work at all), a result of the iPhone's hardware limitations according to the developers. Still, the app offers an impressive line up of live international television channels, even if many of them are strange.

WorldView Live ($2.99)

WorldView Live isn't exactly TV, but it is live streaming video. The app provides access to thousands of live web cams from around the world. Only a handful (about 60, according to the developer) are actually live video, but the app does offer an interesting, if voyeuristic, view of the world for armchair travelers.

BONUS: Television ($2.99)

The $2.99 Television application isn't live TV, but it offers access to an impressive line up of television video catch-up services. The app, which only works over wifi, lets users watch on-demand video from HBO, ESPN, NBC, FOX, CBS, Comedy Central, CNN, Sky and more.

News

FRANCE 24 LIVE (Free)

The live application from France's channel 24 news offers live, video-on-demand streaming from the network in French, English, and Arabic over wifi, 3G, and even Edge! Of course, the video will be pretty choppy and low quality over Edge, but it's unique among live video applications for even offering that option at all.

Al Jazeera English Live ($2.99)

Al Jazeera's iPhone app, from LivestationLivestation, has 24/7 live streaming of its English-language news channel over wifi and 3G. The quality is very impressive and the app is under active development - so bugs don't stay unsquashed for very long. If you are streaming over 3G, though, be aware that every 10 minutes you watch takes about 7.2mb of bandwidth, which is important to know if you're not on an unlimited data plan.

BBC World News Live (3.99)

Livestation offers a live streaming video app for BBC World News, as well, but the 3.99 application is only available in the UK (so I wasn't able to try it out).

Sports

MLB.com At Bat 2009 ($9.99)

Major League Baseball's MLB.com At Bat 2009 application may be pricey at $9.99, but it's well worth it for die-hard fans that want to keep up with their team or out-of-market teams on the road. The app offers live audio broadcasts of every game to all owners of the app, and two games are offered over live video each night. For MLB.tv subscribers, however, every game can be watched live via the iPhone app (excepting those blacked out due to local market restrictions). The quality of the video streamed by the app is very impressive, especially over wifi.

PGA Championship ($1.99)

The last of the pro golf tour's yearly majors, the PGA Championship, is next week at Hazeltine National Golf Club and the Professional Golf Association is making sure everyone can watch the tournament no matter where they are. The app gives users access to live video streams of four marquee groups (think big name players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Padraig Harrington) on Thursday and Friday, and two more groups on the weekend. You can also watch the entire field play through the course's par 3 holes during the whole tournament.

This is actually the third live video app the PGA has put out this year. They also had iPhone apps for tracking the Masters tournament and the US Open, and in March, CBS put out a March Madness application with live video of the year-end NCAA college basketball tournament. We'd expect both organizations to do the same in 2010.

TV 2 Sporten (Free)

If you like Norwegian football, then the free TV 2 Sporten app is for you. Jam-packed with live news and score updates, the app also has a live video section with goals and other game highlights. Of course, it will all make a lot more sense if you speak Norwegian.