(Download Theme)

Apple iPhone Review

History in Brief
The iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs at the Macworld 2007 Keynote, January 9th, 2007, at 9:42AM. (The same time appears on the iPhone in many ads and photos.) Before that, it was the subject of many fanboy photochops and speculative rumors. It was referred to as the Jesus Phone in December 2006, a move that we at Gizmodo now kind of regret. (Wikipedia's page has a lot more history.)[top]

Hardware

The iPhone's corporeal self is composed of a plate of optical-quality glass featuring a slot for an earpiece up top, a home button on the bottom, which together sandwiches a 3.5-inches. This is a very yummy sandwich. There's a stainless steel rim bevel flush around the face, which caps the aluminum body. The home button brings you back to the main menu if your phone is unlocked, much like a TiVo remote's TiVo button. Some have wished it had a secondary function with a double tap or hold, but I like it as is.

The aluminum rear has a distinct rocker for ring, earpiece, headphone and speaker volume, as well as a toggle for ringtone off, which mutes all sound but that from the iPod functions. The matte finish won't show scuffs, unlike that of an iPod.

On top, there's an instant standby/wake button. It can trigger shutdown if held long enough and then followed up with a finger swipe on the touchscreen. There's also a SIM tray that you eject by paperclip or pin. The headphone jack has that quality of...lameness. It's recessed, so many headphones, minijack cables and cassette adapters for the iPod or any portable media player just won't fit. Belkin sells an extension adapter for $10, but this design feels almost malicious in nature. A shock coming from friendly Apple.

The iPhone's 2MP, 1600x1200 camera is located on the top left of the back, and is nothing more than a recessed lens. No flash. More on how it performs, and what it lacks, later.

The bottom back of the iPhone has an Apple logo dead center, and some etchings: "iPhone" in a large font, with the words "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.", Model, IMEI, FCC ID, serial numbers, as well as capacity (8GB or 4GB in a little rectangle).

The bottom fifth or so of the back plate is plastic, which houses the radio antennas. That places it as far away from the headphone jack as possible for minimal interference. (There's still some GSM buzz at times, when using a dock or a cassette adapter, but never with the stock headphones.) It also houses the 30-pin dock connector you're familiar with from generations of iPods, and a speaker, which is unrated but fairly loud, especially since it appears that only one of those grills is actually a speaker with the second grill possibly being a mic. Bass and ringtones above 50% definitely overdrive the little guy, so I'm not sure many of these speakers will last beyond year one.[top]

(Still to come...)

Apple iPhone 3D view - 360° spin

Hover your mouse cursor over the image to see the phone spinining. In order to see the 360° rotation you will need the free Flash plugin installed in your browser.(Need Java Plugin Installed)

iPhone Video Converter

Avex DVD to iPhone Video Suite is a One-click, All-in-One solution to create iPhone videos from DVDs, TV shows and home videos.
The software features superb video/audio quality, the fastest conversion speed (Up to 3x faster). And it's easy to use! A great software for iPhone users.
· Convert DVD, Tivo, MPEG, WMV, AVI, DivX/Xvid, RM, MOV videos, etc to iPhone MP4 video.
· Built-in X!-Speed™ transcode technology. Up to 3x faster than conventional converter.
· Fully optimized for Dual-Core, HyperThread Processors, SSE2/SSE/MMX/3DNow!
· Support H.264(High quality) and MPEG4 video in MP4 format used in Apple iPhone.
· Adjustable video size for playback on iPhone and on TV screen as well.
· Optimized settings for superb video playback on Video iPhone.
· Support conversion in batch mode.
Download Here

Box.net does remote storage for the iPhone

Box.net, providers of free and paid-for Web storage have a slick new front-end for iPhone users. Once logged into your box.net account, you can access all your files and folders, using a scrolling hierarchical interface similar to that of the iPhone and iPod. Since it's still the same old Safari browser, you can't actually download any of the files to your iPhone, but it works great for viewing images, natively supported movie files, PDFs, Office documents, and text files on the go.

The real reason this would excite most people is the possibility of accessing music files to get around the limitation of the iPhone's 4 and 8 GB capacity. Unfortunately, in its current state, music files aren't working yet--despite the fact that the iPhone is perfectly capable of playing them. According to the folks at Box, it's the way it's been coded on their end, and a fix is in the works.

A feature I'd like to see that simply isn't possible is to upload several iPhone-captured images to your box.net account in bulk. The good news is that you can get around this by e-mailing the files as attachments to your box.net account via the iPhone's mail application.

Here's a short clip of the new interface, opening up image, text, and PDF files over a Wi-Fi connection.

IM solution for your iPhone and browser: eBuddy

eBuddy is a strange mix of a typical Web company. While the lowercase "e" in front of the name might suggest it's a survivor of the early 1990s dot-com boom, it actually started out in 2003 and resides not in the Silicon Valley, but Amsterdam. It's also one of the few companies I've seen that has put almost its entire press kit on Flickr. eBuddy specializes in Web-based IM, which might sound familiar if you've ever used Meebo or the Web version of your favorite chat client. eBuddy works with three of the major clients, including AIM, MSN, and Yahoo. The latest release, which came earlier this month, runs all three at once.
Besides running on your browser, in the last two months eBuddy has been moving into the mobile space. It has a handy Java-based client that will run in nearly every phone, along with a version you can point to with your mobile browser. Just a few days ago this mobile version was optimized for the iPhone in order to get it to work with the Safari browser.
I spent a few minutes with it this morning, and came away impressed. iPhone users get a scrollable buddy list and tabbed chat windows. The buddy text is easy to read, and if you need to come in closer you can simply pinch. Instead of relying on a scroll bar to browse through your contacts, you just hold two fingers to drag it up or down. This worked some of the time, but more often it would simply scroll the entire page instead. You can also use this two-fingered scroll to read the contents of an IM conversation.
The chat interface itself is really simple, including the input box, which gives you a rather large selection of emoticons in case you feel like skipping the typing. If you need to jump back to the buddy list, you can do it from any window, which is helpful. All in all, it's a very simple solution for IMing on the go, and one of the better ones I've seen thus far.

iPhone Twitter action with ThinCloud

Between text messages and the Web, there are about a million ways to use Twitter on your iPhone, but ThinCloud would like to think that its sheer style will make you bookmark it for future Twittering. What makes ThinCloud so special? It's very finger- and eyeball-friendly, much more in fact than Pockettweets, which we took a look at last week. It's got huge buttons and a friendly graphical interface with thumbnails for browsing and checking up on your friends. Unlike Pockettweets, however, there's no way to star (or favorite) messages you like.
iPhone link:
http://twitter.thincloud.com/menu/

Booksearch.app

Want to get the best price for a particular book? Simply enter the ISBN number in this simple iPhone app to get a list of the lowest available prices from several sites around the Web. Though the interface for Booksearch.app is nothing to write home about, the functionality (and saved money) might help you overlook the...look.
iPhone link:
http://iphone.campusbooks4less.com/
Web site link:
http://campusbooks4less.com/

Earthcomber

If you have a taste for adventure and exploring the places you visit, check out this iPhone app that helps you find cool stuff in your area. Though the front page asks for a registration, you can click the "Try it now!" link to get a feel for Earthcomber. Simply enter your ZIP code or any city and Earthcomber finds all the cool stuff in that area, like parks, bars, live events, museums, restaurants, and tons of other stuff. With this app on your iPhone, you'll never say "there's nothing to do" ever again.
iPhone Link:
http://mobile.earthcomber.com/phone/comber/getLooklists.do
Web site link:
http://www.earthcomber.com

Griffin iTrip StationFinder

Have you ever been on a road trip trying to find a good radio station only to sift through tons of static before finding anything? With Griffin iTrip StationFinder for iPhone, random radio scanning is a thing of the past. To find the music to fit your mood on the FM dial, just touch the state you're in followed by the city to get a list of FM stations right on your iPhone. We would have liked a small description of each station along with the genre to get a feel for what we're choosing, but knowing which FM frequencies are available is pretty helpful in an unknown town.
iPhone link:
http://stationfinder.griffintechnology.com/
Web site link:
http://griffintechnology.com

Heysan

Probably one of our favorites for chat programs on the iPhone, Heysan lets you sign in on three different popular networks. You'll be able to log in to MSN, AIM, and ICQ for instant access to your buddy lists and regular chat commands. Yahoo and GTalk are coming soon, according to the developer's Web site.
iPhone link:
http://m.heysan.com/
Web site link:
http://heysan.com/

Kudit Tip Calculator

If you have ever wondered just how much to tip your server after a restaurant meal, this iPhone app is for you. Simply enter the total cost, use a five-star rating system to rate your service, then select the number of people (if you're splitting the cost). We like this app, but question whether people will pony up $1.95 for a 3-month subscription to use it. Register with Kudit to get a 15-minute free trial.
iPhone Link:
http://www.kudit.com/applications/tipcalculator/
Web site link
http://www.kudit.com/

EPage Classifieds

One of the largest classified ad spaces on the Web is now available on your iPhone. Whether you're looking for a used car, a job, real estate, or other items, EPage offers easy navigation and photos of items for sale. The interface for browsing classified listings is excellent and a search feature makes it easy to find what you want quickly.
iPhone link:
http://epage.com/js/iphone/index.jsp
Web site link:
http://epage.com

Fluther

Got a question? This app for iPhone lets you put your question to the masses at the Fluther.com Web site. Whether you want third-party advice on where to buy children's clothing or the best recipes for chicken cacciatore, someone out there probably has the answers you need. You'll need to register at Fluther.com to start asking and reading the latest questions.
iPhone link:
http://iphone.fluther.com
Web site link:
http://fluther.com

iPhone Scriptures

Take the Bible with you wherever you go with this app for iPhone. The Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon are available for your perusal with easy-to-use navigation.
iPhone link:
http://readscriptures.com/

iPhoneMiles

If you do a lot of driving for your job, you probably have some system for recording miles that involves writing down your mileage regularly. The only problem is, those little papers and notepads get lost and nobody likes frantically searching through their glove box when it comes time to report their travel expenses. This little app for iPhone lets you record your mileage easily with touch controls that let you list the job, the distance, the date, and more. You'll need to register to use this free app.
iPhone link:
http://iphonemiles.com

iPhone app: Dailymotion

Dailymotion, a European competitor to YouTube, has come up with an excellent app that finally brings video content to the iPhone all via the Safari browser (YouTube videos can only be accessed via the onboard YouTube application). The iPhone-friendly portal page looks a lot like the YouTube app, and when a video is selected, a small information page pops up with the video thumbnail on the upper-left corner. There's a tiny Play icon on the thumbnail, and when that's tapped, the video blows up to full size and looks almost exactly like a video from the iPod video player, complete with the same video controls. Why do the videos from this Dailymotion iPhone portal play, when videos from the YouTube Web site can't? Because the YouTube videos require a Flash player, and the Dailymotion iPhone videos are specially Quicktime-encoded to run on the iPhone. Brilliant.

New York On Tap

This application for iPhone was designed to help you find the best bars in New York City while on the go. Even as a tourist, you'll always know where the nearest bar is with this application. Search for bars by name, cross-street, or even by what's close to the bar you're at currently. When your night is over, New York On Tap will also help you find the nearest subway to get home.
iPhone link:
http://newyorkontap.com/mobile.aspx
Web site link:
http://newyorkontap.com/

Mundu's got a slick, multiclient IM for iPhone

Amid the growing group of instant-messaging solutions for the IM-less iPhone, Mundu (a Webware 100 winner) has just released a new contender that handles four of the most popular chatting protocols with a fantastic interface. If you're an iPhone user, just navigate your Safari browser to http://iphone.mundu.com, which takes you to a log-in screen with access to your AIM, Yahoo, MSN, .Mac, and Google Talk accounts. You can log into all of them simultaneously, although there's no master password system like you get with Meebo.

Each client gets its own buddy list, and any additional conversations get their own tabs. To start a conversation, just tap a user name of one of your friends who is logged in. There's a simple form that pulls up the iPhone's keyboard when clicked. Similar to the iPhone's built-in SMS app and iChat, conversations show up as color-coded speech bubbles that can be scrolled back and forth with your finger. The refresh rate is also instantaneous, so you don't have to keep reloading the page to see new comments from your friends.

The whole app has a very organic feel that's just right. It's one of the few IM apps I've used on the iPhone where it doesn't feel like you're fighting an interface to make it feel like a desktop app. I also have to give Mundu credit for creating a neat bubbly effect on the chat tab when you've got an unread message. Sometimes it's just the little things that make Web apps more fun to use. In this case, the function is just as good as the form.

iPhone app: uPhoneHome

A few weeks ago, we told you about Leaflets, an iPhone-friendly portal that presents a series of small Web applications on a single page. It turns out there are many more portals like this out there, and uPhoneHome is one such site. Instead of having to sign up to use the site like you do with Leaflets, uPhoneHome doesn't require a log-in at all. You can go ahead and add all kinds of iPhone-friendly Web apps to this page (everything from Facebook to Meebo), and arrange them by date added, categorically, or even alphabetically. The one downside is that there seems to be too many apps on the page, and you don't have the option of selecting the ones you really want to use. But if you want a single page for access to most of the iPhone apps out there, uPhoneHome makes a great home page for your iPhone's Safari browser.
iPhone link:
http://uphonehome.com/

EasyTask Online

Are you the list-making type? Grab this application for the iPhone, which helps you manage your tasks and to-do lists. You can also use it with the Mac OS X client, so you can sync tasks from your Mac to your iPhone. You'll need to register to get started.
iPhone Link:
http://www.easytaskmanager.net/iphone/index.html

Web site link:
http://www.easytaskmanager.net

Expense View

With all the bills and expenses of daily life, most of us need to follow some sort of budget. With Expense View for the iPhone, you can post your expenses as they happen and then track and analyze your money on the ExpenseView.com Web site. You'll need to register to use this application, but fortunately it won't affect your budget: It's free.
iPhone Link:
http://www.expenseview.com/gadgetLogin.aspx
Web site link:
http://www.expenseview.com

Facebook for iPhone doubles as a massive phonebook

There's been a lot of buzz over the iPhone optimized version of Facebook in the past couple of days, and with good reason--it rocks. It does nearly everything the full version of Facebook can do, sans apps from the Facebook apps platform, which I assume are on their way later this year. Everything is rolled up into a tight little package using a simplistic set of two rows of tabs to cover core navigation, and a sliding interface that mimics the iPhone's signature UI. To get there, just point your iPhone (or browser) to http://iPhone.facebook.com.
If your friend's listed their phone number, you'll be able to call them with the touch of a button.
Like the full version of Facebook, the iPhone iteration centers around your profile, friends, messages, and the home tab, which contains the Facebook news feed, along with any upcoming events and notifications. You can browse profiles and check out your friend's links (which open up in new Safari windows). The real killer app though is the call option, which will pop up assuming your friend has made their phone number available. This works with e-mail addresses too, but the phone numbers basically turn Facebook into one big mobile phonebook for your friends.

iPhone keeps your golf score

If you just can't figure out how to use that pencil that comes with your golf scorecard, or your handwriting is not quite up to par, then there's always the iPhone golf scorecard.
This application allows you to keep scores for up to four players. You simply tap the names of your foursome into your iPhone and then tap in the corresponding scores. Your iPhone keeps everything nice and neat. Then just add up your score at the end of the round.
If you are the ultimate iPhone geek (and an avid golfer), this is the application for you. Fire up your Safari browser, and log on to iphone18.

ForeFlight

If you're a commercial or general aviation pilot, you know it's crucial to get the airport, aircraft, weather, and routing information you need to plan and execute a flight before you reach the airport. With ForeFlight for iPhone, you can get airport directories, flight times, and weather information right on your phone. This helpful information for pilots requires a subscription which costs $7.50 per month or $75 per year.
iPhone Link:
http://iphone.foreflight.com/
Web site link
http://foreflight.com

ChunkLove

Responsible consumers check around for the lowest prices before taking the plunge on a purchase. This oddly named app for iPhone helps you find the biggest deals at Amazon.com based on the price slash percentage. You can also select items by category to narrow your search for hot deals. Our only warning is that items come up in a long list with thumbnails, so loading might take a while if you're not within high-speed Wi-Fi range.
iPhone Link:
http://chunklove.com/

SurveyGizmo

SurveyGizmo for iPhone lets you create and participate in polls about anything under the sun. Match up your votes with other users about the next president of the U.S., where we go when we die, whether you're a dog or a cat person, and other funny and interesting poll questions. Results turn up in a pie graph for easy viewing.
iPhone Link:
http://mobile.surveygizmo.com/
Web site link
http://www.surveygizmo.com/

Quip

This simple app for iPhone offers up a daily quote for your entertainment. Famous philosophers, celebrities, and others are quoted each day. Flip back through previous days for more interesting quotes and use Quip's interface to send particularly interesting quotes to friends.
iPhone Link:
http://onetrip.org/quip/?pass&go
Web site link
http://onetrip.org/apps/?pass

Football and baseball on your iPhone

The baseball pennant race is closing in and football is about to start, so what could be better than up-to-the minute info on your favorite sports team on your iPhone?
Fumbleview is an iPhone application that keeps real-time track of your NFL team's games as they fight through the season. You will see up-to-the-minute plays, and all you have to do is pick your team from the drop-down list to get in on the action. With the football season only a couple of weeks away, this one will be a hit.
Pickleview is a similar application that covers Major League Baseball and shows a baseball diamond with live graphics of on-base runners and pitch counts. Simply go to Pickleview or Fumbleview on your iPhone to check out these applications. A game has to be in progress for you to appreciate the power of these applications.

The iPhone as business tool

At the Office 2.0 conference next week, I'll take a close look at the iPhone as a platform for business applications. The conference organizers are giving out iPhones to all paid attendees. So everybody will be asking the question: Is the iPhone ready for business?
My preliminary finding: Not completely. And just for one little reason: The iPhone's onscreen keyboard cannot be called directly by a Web-based application. The keyboard pops up automatically whenever there's a form on the screen that needs keyboard input, which is fine--but if the user is running a Web application that uses a more sophisticated data-entry method, such as an Ajax-based online word processor or spreadsheet, the keyboard doesn't come up. Hard-coded applications like iPhone e-mail don't have this limitation. But there's as yet no easy way for developers to create true applications for the phone, only Web-based services. Developers could write their own onscreen keyboard utilities, but that's overkill, considering that the iPhone has one lurking just under the surface on every browser page.
This is why Zoho's iPhone suite, iZoho, is pretty, but of only limited usefulness.
Anyone who knows of applications with workarounds, please post them here.

MarbleJumper

This simple game is based on a board game in which you jump over marbles to remove them from the board. Now on the iPhone, you can challenge yourself wherever you are to get as many marbles off the board that you can. Even though this game is terribly simple, we found ourselves trying to beat our best score several times.
iPhone Link:
http://buchman.mobi/MarbleJumper

NewsMatch

Do you stay informed of the latest news around the world? This fun quiz application for iPhone tests you on the news of the day, by showing you pictures that you need to match up with the headlines. Once you've matched the story with a picture, NewsMatch will take you to a small blurb of information. Though we like the concept of the game, if you're not already a news junkie, this probably isn't the best way to get the news.
iPhone Link:
http://labs.openlaszlo.org/ipdc/newsmatch05
Web site link:
http://www.laszlosystems.com

iTunes adds ringtones

At a special event in San Francisco today, Apple's Steve Jobs announced that a new version of iTunes (download for Windows or Mac; CNET review) will allow users to create their own ringtones from more than 500,000 songs in the iTunes store. The ringtones will cost 99 cents, in addition to the price of the songs themselves. The custom ringtones can last up to 30 seconds and can be created from any section of a song.
The new version of iTunes, expected later tonight, will eventually add a bell icon next to songs in the iTunes store that are eligible to become ringtones. Although the update is scheduled for a release today, the ringtone feature will not be available until sometime next week.
The kicker, of course, is that the ringtones will only work on the Apple iPhone. However, considering that the pricey little device topped all smart phones for U.S. unit sales in July, there should be a lot of people who will appreciate the new ringtones feature in the new iTunes.
 Download iTunes for Windows and Mac.

New iPod gets Wi-Fi iTunes Music Store, YouTube, Web browsing

This morning, Apple unveiled the iPod Touch, this year's latest must-have gadget that's the first bona fide iPod to have built-in Wi-fi, the Safari Web browser, and the YouTube app iPhone owners have come to love. That's not the most groundbreaking aspect, though--this thing's got a full version of the iTunes Music Store that you'll be able to use for shopping right on the device. You can preview and buy songs that will sync up to your iTunes library when you plug it in back at home. The idea is similar to the Music Gremlin, and the Sandisk Sansa Connect, except you're getting the added benefit of Apple's entire online catalog.
Also groundbreaking is the inclusion of Apple's Safari Web browser, which features the same functionality you get on the iPhone. For enterprising Web app creators, this is huge. The iPhone's somewhat prohibitive price point (even after this morning's $200 price drop) and two-year service agreement with AT&T limited many from purchasing the device. Despite this, the explosion of Web apps that have been built specifically for the device is staggering. Companies have become so enamored with the idea of a special iPhone version of their site, it's becoming nearly as prevalent as building a Facebook app.
Despite the inclusion of YouTube, there are two mysteriously missing apps from the iPod touch. The Google Maps app, and the Mail app, which gives users first party support for popular mail services like Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL mail. Between the two, the mail app is the more important in conjunction with Safari, as users will have to use two separate windows and their favorite Web mail client to actually e-mail someone in Safari. The experience on the iPhone is a little more seamless, with the device simply opening up a new message in mail.

Free your ring, and your iPhone will follow

Here's some exciting news for those of you who have an iPhone and want to have the Star Wars Imperial March play every time your mother-in-law asks you for help installing the latest sudoku game: with a bit of file-extension tweaking and judicious use of the new iTunes 7.4 for Windows or Mac, you can now customize your ringtones without having to donate another 99 cents to Steve Jobs' favorite retirement fund.

iCoupie (iPhone App)

Remember the days when you would stand in front of an item at an electronics store and wonder whether you could buy it for less somewhere else? This little app for iPhone provides you with an automatically updating coupon book so you can quickly figure out if you're getting a good price on whatever you're shopping for. If you're looking for deals in general, try the Latest Coupons Feed, but if you want something specific, you'll need to drill down through iCoupie's numerous categories.
iPhone link:
http://www.icoupie.com/

Freeverse Sudoku

It's only fitting that one of the great game developers for Mac would dabble in the new iPhone gaming market. Freeverse Sudoku sports a smooth and beautiful interface for playing the addictive Japanese numbers game using the touch screen on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can even "pencil in" numbers to see how they work as you play.
iPhone link:
http://freeverse.com/iphone/sudoku/
Web site link:
http://freeverse.com/games/game/?id=7014

Feedme

There are several newsreader apps for iPhone, but this app might have the others beat--at least in the ease-of-use category. Opening this app gives you a list of categories to choose from. Once you pick a category, you're presented with all the popular feeds that fit the category. We especially like the way this app presents feeds from a site with a ticker, making it easy to pick out a good story as it floats by.
iPhone link:
http://www.feedmenews.net/

iTweet

There is a plethora of Twitter applications out there for the iPhone (PocketTweets, ThinCloud, and Hahlo, to name a few), but that didn't stop the folks at Illusion Factory from coming up with iTweet, yet another iPhone application to help you send Twitter posts that much faster. Like many of its competitors, iTweet will show you the Public Timeline, as well as your Friends Timeline, plus Direct Messages, Replies, and so forth. What sets iTweet apart, however, is that instead of loading an extremely long timeline, you have the option of only viewing new Twitter messages. This is invaluable if you're checking your Twitter messages over EDGE, which can be painfully slow. We also appreciate the large font and large graphics, making it easier for us to tap and scroll through pages. We definitely recommend giving this a try if you just can't get enough of Twitter on the iPhone.

iTypepad

Typepad, Six Apart's premier blogging service, has recently launched its very own iPhone application called, not surprisingly, iTypepad. Just head on over to http://i.typepad.com from your iPhone and you'll be forwarded to the login screen. From there, you can post to your TypePad blog without having to be near a computer.
iPhone link:
http://i.typepad.com/
Web site link:
http://www.typepad.com

Truphone routes iPhone calls over WiFi

From Demo: Truphone works on mobile phones that have WiFi and can route your calls over the data network instead of your cellular connection. Pretty useful for saving money, especially for international roaming, when calls cost a fortune.
The big news is that the company has managed to port Truphone to the iPhone. So now you can make really good use of that WiFi radio in it. In the demo, the presenter showed a call from a phone with no SIM card in it.

Apple puts up iPhone Web app directory

Apple has put together a list of 204 Web-based applications for the iPhone in hopes of giving hacking-averse users some additional options for their phones.
The list, spotted by Daring Fireball, highlights a Facebook Web app as a "staff pick" by Apple. During Steve Jobs' presentation to Apple's developers in June, he also called out a Facebook application as an example of all the things developers can create without native access to the iPhone.
For most iPhone users, this list will satisfy the itch for additional utilities on their phones. For example, they'll be able to order movie tickets from Fandango, dictate thoughts to be recorded as text via an application called reQall, and remotely control the iTunes library with an iPhone or iPod Touch through the Roami application. But I get the feeling a few were added to pad the list, such as the Tip Calculator for iPhone (which already has a calculator on the home screen); The Wheel, for calculating "a baby's due date and the baby's gestational age anytime during pregnancy," and Coin Flip, which, well, flips a coin.
To be fair, most of the Web applications on the list seem pretty useful. However, it's not the same as having native applications written for the device, which we'll probably see up and running again soon now that the iPhone has been hacked once again.

iGolfScorecard iPhone app tracks your day on the green

Who needs a pencil to track a golf game when you've got a finger? Seasoned swingers will benefit from a finger-friendly iPhone app that stores course, par, and game information. The free iGolfScorecard lays it all out in an attractive interface.
Like many mobile apps, the simplicity here is refreshing. Bookmarking the site and creating an account are the hardest parts. Once that's ingested, you can immediately start entering course names and scores for 9-hole and 18-hole greens. iGolfScorecard tracks the par and stroke count for up to four players per game.
After the last swing, iGolfScorecard shows your overall scorecard and game statistics, including the total par and average. Once saved, you can in theory review statistics from a previous game. The scorecard I saved for my 9-hole game didn't immediately show up, which is disappointing, since the user experience up to this point had been blissfully smooth.
iGolfScorecard works but is missing two opportunities to win users' hearts. The first is a drop-down menu to feed in past course and player information on a new scorecard. If the iGolf databases can hold stats, they should certainly be equipped to list up your favorite greens and golf buddies so you don't have to enter them anew each game. There should also be a mechanism to store profiles for recurring games--much more useful for tracking weekly meet-ups at the same course with the same companion.
A more hoity-toity, but useful, addition would be fuller scorecard reporting--not just the ability to review old sessions, but a graph tracking cumulative performance per hole per course per game. Players wouldn't just use iGolfScorecard then, they'd rely on it.

WeatherBug now forecasting on iPhone

WeatherBug knows how to get around. The detailed weather reporting application for most combinations of desktop and mobile downloads, plus a WAP site, has let iPhone into the club. Now iPhone users can check out seven-day forecasts, animated radar maps, and real-time images from street-level weather cameras.
Incidentally, I learned an interesting factoid about WeatherBug. It began as educational curriculum and still has a strong program for schools and organizations subscribing to its weather warning alert system (e.g., "chance of lightning, soccer canceled.") That explains why the view of Sunnyvale, Calif., is taken from what looks like the roof of the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School, a small private school, rather than this well-known landmark.

iPhone App: Videos 4 iPhone

Videos 4 iPhone provides a solution for the iPhone's incompatibility with flash video. This app converts flash videos, helps you organize your favorite videos for easy access, and lets you submit videos to the developer's site. You can also choose to play videos over the Edge network or using local Wi-Fi.
iPhone Link:
http://videos4iphone.com/
Web site link
http://videos4iphone.com/about.php

Stars your pocket with Starry Night mobile

If you're one of those folks anxiously waiting for Google to release a mobile version of the sky layer they've got in Google Earth, you're partially in luck, because there's a comparable service called Starry Night (Download.com listing) that's launching a mobile version today. While there have been various iterations of the app in desktop and widget form for a while now, today makers at Imaginova are serving up versions optimized for Blackberry phones(Download) and Apple's iPhone(Download).
The app is dead simple to use: Just use your phone's arrow keys (or the Blackberry's rolling ball) to maneuver around the virtual skyscape. You can also zoom in and out, which will separate some of the constellations and planets that are bunched together. To help you in your quest, you can set the time of day when you're viewing the sky, and where you are. The default location when you're starting out is Canada, but you can switch it either with a ZIP code or your latitude and longitude coordinates, which admittedly isn't easy unless you're using a GPS-enabled Blackberry like the Curve 8310 and 8830.
The one thing severely missing on the iPhone iteration is any kind of touch implementation. If you're a fan of the Google Maps application, Starry Night is nothing like this, and you're stuck with some fairly limited zoom and movement controls that make it difficult to traverse large distances quickly. It's also a little slow to load, even over Wi-Fi. I still really enjoy the idea of having an entire map of the sky in my pocket at all times, and it can make for some boredom-killing goodness the next time you're gaping up at the heavens.