The sixty-four thousand dollar question... How to sift through all of the new iPhone applications and find the gems? For me, it is a three step process.
- First, I review the new additions to the App Store on a regular basis (daily), for one reason or another, Apple removed the ability to view new applications by release date across all categories. Thus, I now use newsfeeds via NetNewsWire, the feed I use is from Pinch Media at www.pinchmedia.com , they have 4 feeds available, I subscribe to the "NewApps" & "Updated" feeds. These feeds gives access to a quick listing of all the new apps loaded since the last time you checked. The feed lists the title of the app, with a link to the description from the App Store. I go through the list and look for interesting and/or familiar titles and research from that point.
- Second, the Mac/iPhone blogosphere is where it is at, I have a dozen or so blogs that I follow religiously (TUAW, Macworld, Gruber, Arse, etc). If there is a fancy new useful iPhone application, it does not take long to be covered by the above mentioned blogs. Also the Blog roll on this website (right column) is a handy reference as well.
- Lastly, from time to time, I will check the App Store from my phone and review the categories looking at top paid and top free, to make sure I have not missed anything that may have bubbled to the top. If I see something interesting, I read the reviews and google for more information. I must say, I usually do not find the reviews on iTunes accurate or helpful, too much clutter!
The signal to noise ratio is still high with the App Store, it seems like there are a lot of "me too" applications, flashlights, tip calculators, & more recently - fart applications! But there are also real productivity tools available today! Things that were science fiction 5 years ago! Explore & Enjoy!
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