Reviews of iPhone/iPod Touch Apps

[Q-Eye]

I had a problem with my iTouch after dropping it as well. The "home" button stopped working. When I went to the Apple store, they just verified it wasn't working and gave me a "new" one (possibly refurbished) on the spot. They didn't ask if it had been dropped -- I would have told the truth -- they just replaced it and gave a 3 month warranty on the new unit (I only had one month left on the original).

My recommendation, don't lie but don't necessarily volunteer information either. It's their job to determine if the repair is covered under warranty, not yours.

[C. A. Bridges]

Application: HFS
Price: Free
Requirements: N/A
Grade: A

Not strictly an iPhone app, but it simplifies a few of them. For those looking for a way to get your old ebooks onto your new iPhone/iTouch, I've found HFS to be the easiest.

It runs from a single small file (you can even run it from a flash drive) and starts a mini-server with a new IP address. You drag your files to it and drop 'em. Now open eReader or Stanza on your device, click on the Add Books icon, and select Another Site. Type in the IP address HFS is displaying (usually something like http://192.168.1.5/) and you'll see the list of files you've added, which you can then download easily (easier than eReader or Fictionwise, since you don't have to log in).

You can also add HFS to your Windows shell so that when you right-click on a file, you get an "Add to HFS" option. Very easy to use, no ads, no malware.

I've gone from Palm VII to Palm E to Palm T|X to my new iPod Touch, and have been buying ebooks for almost 10 years. I was so glad to find this.

http://rejetto.com/hfs/

[DianaS]

I downloaded WritePad Pro to my iPod this weekend, hoping that I could synch with PhatNotes on my PC. So far I haven't had much luck with the program, either synching or even starting new notes. The Navigation button, etc in the user manual don't seem to match what I get. I have a message into Phatware support, so we'll see what happens. PhatNotes on the PC and on Windows Mobile is great and I'd really like to keep using it.
Diana

[Silly Rabbit]

Evernote sounds like MS Office's Onenote (though, I have never tried the handheld version). That's not a complaint, I would love that on my Touch when I get one.

I'm kind of hijacking this thread, but not much, I hope. Evernote is similar to Onenote but I use them both but for different purposes. When I'm researching or brainstorming or documenting something that's complex, I much prefer Onenote.

I tend to use Evernote to keep copies of emails that I want to remove from Outlook (b/c Outlook only keeps X number of emails & then you have to archive in order to get more.) I also use EN a lot to make temporary notes to myself & love Evernote's screen clipping function. IE if I pay something online or buy something online & don't want to open Quicken right then to make an entry, I screen clip it & then can add it into Quicken, later. And right there is the confirmation number or whatever pertinent info I want to enter into Quicken. (I tend to always have EN open.)

Another thing I use EN for is keeping track of coupons. I make an entry for each coupon & when it expires. Rather than having to skim through them all, I just go into EN & see what I have. I just started using EN for coupons, so I don't know how well this will end up working. Also, I don't have piles of coupons. So if you use a lot of coupons, this would probably be more trouble than it's worth.

This is one app that has caused me to use the iPhone more than I thought I would and the Palm TX less. IE, my husband travels a lot & the woman who makes his reservations always emails me his itineraries as a Word document. I used to have to save the attachment to the SD card for the TX. Now, I just open up the document, do an EN screen clip & boom! The next EN sync lets me access it from my iPhone. Sweet!

[yorker]

We need some more reviews on the apps. I'm sure do to some when I get my iPhone soon.

[Silly Rabbit]

If you don't mind jailbreaking your iPhone, Intelliscreen & Intellidial are two apps that I love & that prevented me from returning the iPhone. They are not free. I use Intelliscreen to keep notifying me of missed calls/vms/emails until I acknowledge them. I use Intellidial to call my four most frequently called numbers w/o having to unlock the screen.

[brickman65]

We need some more reviews on the apps. I'm sure do to some when I get my iPhone soon.

Tell us what you might be in the mode for. There are soooo many. Help us narrow it down.

[Silly Rabbit]

Application: Evernote
Price: Free
Requirements: Evernote account
Grade: A+
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You have to use Evernote to understand it. Imagine a world where you can instantly store anything you need to remember in any form that you want. Want to write it down? Okay. Want to take a picture? Okay. Want to record an audio note? Okay.

This app lets you do it on your iPhone. You can also download the software that lets you do it on your computer. Amazing, amazing stuff if you've got a lot to rememeber.

The app itself is snappy and easy to use. Put in your account information and you're off.

Additional info from RobbM: Evernote's "servers have OCR (optical character recognition) technology, so if you take a picture of, say, a sign or a menu or something with words on it, after a few minutes (or less actually), the OCR will allow you to search for the text in the photo itself. I've tried it with handwritten notes, and it works, but it pays to have really good handwriting!"

Ditto that. I've been using Evernote since ~last Oct to store old emails so I could clean up Outlook & still be able to (hopefully) quickly find old/archived emails. (Long story.) But my usage of EN quickly ramped up when I got my iPhone. The bad news about EN is that unless a note is "favorited" on your iPhone, you're screwed if you don't have internet access. I'd also have to say, when I've scanned images (IE a print ad for a restaurant I want to go to) & plop it into EN, my 3G iPhone can take a while displaying it. Text is (of course) much faster as are screen caps.

My girlfriend & I have mothers who have known each other for 50 years. (Which is how we met.) We try to get them together at different places each month or so. Since my mother is a picky eater (she's 92 & legally blind, so can't read the menus), I will check out the menu on the web ahead of time to find something she will enjoy. I'll then screen cap it to EN & then I just have to call it up when ordering.

[yorker]

Here are some I'm interested in and already downloaded on iTunes:

1) Text+
2) MapQuest Mobile
3) FileAid

Basically Note apps and Traveling apps are what I look through the most.

[brickman65]

Here goes!

1) Text+.... I actually downloaded that. I did not really like it. The app has to be open for it to work and the notifier will cost you money. Of course it is free so it will not hurt to try it. You may love it. I personally use SMStouch for free texting. Works through my email but it is $2.99.

2) MapQuest looks good but the Google Mobile App is the best IMO. It will actually track you as you travel kind of like a cheap GPS. Very Cool!

3) Look at QuickOffice Files. It is on Sale for $0.99 not free like FileAid but I believe it does more.

Here is a short list of USEFUL FREE apps that I have that you may look at:

The Weather Channel
WhitePages
EverNote
GoogleEarth
Kindle
eReader
Zipcodes
Units
Heat
First Aid
Facebook
Tweetdeck
Loopt
Pandora
Slacker
Fandango
iTV
TV.com
Night Stand
Woo Button (funniest app ever. totally pointless)
Skype
Fring

There are plenty more but let me know if you have questions about these. I also have plenty of Paid Apps as well as Games but I left them off for now. Digest these first.