It's the beginning of the New Year, and everyone is publishing their lists of the best iPhone apps for the previous year. Below are the iPhone/iPod apps I used the most in 2009.
Games
Second on my list of favorite games is Real Racing ($4.99; firemint.com), a very life-like racing game. My short list of additional honorable mentions includes Battle Bears ($0.99; battlebears.com) and Jelly Car 2 ($0.99; walaber.com).
Productivity
Task2Gather
($0.99; task2gather.com) has great task/time management features and a collaborative task sharing capability. Remember The Milk (Free with a Pro account; rememberthemilk.com) is a simple but worthy time management tool. It is a to-do app with many worthwhile features to help you get those tasks completed in a timely fashion.
Network Management
I use Files Lite (Free; olivetoast.com/files) from my iPod touch for quick network file-sharing. The full paid version ($4.99) now has an added feature for e-mailing documents.
Streaming Audio
FStream
(Free; sourcemac.com/?page=fstream) is high on my list of streaming players for the iPhone, but Pocket Tunes ($5.99; normsoft.com) is rapidly replacing it. Both allow you to quickly find and play Internet radio streams. Both support stream recording, but Pocket Tunes has more organizational features, and the stream playback can be redirected through Safari, allowing you to listen while accessing other apps on your device.
TV and Video
i.TV
Free; www.i.tv
I use i.TV to find TV shows in my area. It presents listings for nearly all the channels my cable provider offers and allows me to view short videos, movie trailers, rent movies via Netflix, and much more.
Messaging Apps
Meebo.com
Meebo.com is a Web-based solution that does essentially the same thing and works from Safari on the iPhone or iPod touch.
Education, Search and Reference
Google Earth
(Free; google.com/mobile/iphone) is great for more down-to-earth 3-D map reference and search capability. For quick access to Google services, check out the free Google Mobile app.
Bonus: My top hardware accessory
Sony iPod+iPhone alarm clock/dock
$99.95 (Model #ICF-Cs10iPBLK); sonystyle.com
This is where my iPod touch lives when I'm not actually holding it. It provides decent audio quality and comes with a handy remote control. My iPod touch slips into the dock easily and fits in it securely—even when the iPod is in its Griffin protective case.
These are all winners in my book. I use them, enjoy them, and am more productive because of them. Isn't that the formula for a "Best" app?
