My "Go To" Apps for the Decade... Part 1.

Yeah, why not a "decade list"?  The iPhone is has been with us for 2.5 years, we have had Apps for 1.5 years.  Below is a list of Apps I use daily, having ubiquitous access to their functionality is a game changer.  In the early 90s Bill Gates preached "information at your fingertips", ironically Apple's iPhone platform is delivering... information at your fingertips.. and a whole lot more!

In no particular order:

• Evernote:  access to everything!  Used as a "shoebox" for pieces of information, Evernote truly represents "information at your fingertips"!  A+++  (and they keep adding functionality.. the latest release lets you pick and choose what you want to store locally on your iPhone)
• TWC Max:  I recently switched to The Weather Channel App from Accuweather for 3 reasons - the 36 hour forecast, Explore Map -with configureable overlays and traffic cams.  Solid weather... at your fingertips!
• Facebook, Twitteriffic Pro and NetNewsWire - I gouped these three together because they all give access to feeds of one type or another - all are solid applications that I access multiple times a day.
• Instapaper Pro & FileMagnet: Both application have a killer feature... "tilt to scroll".  I use FileMagnet to store PDF files, usually manuals that I want to read/browse, on my iPhone.  Instapaper Pro is the perfect application for a smartphone!  "Read Later" - mark any webpage from any browser, desktop or mobile safari and then sync Instapaper and.. presto... the webpage is on your iPhone distilled to an ideal format for reading on the limited space of a smartphone screen.
• Google Mobile App, reQall & Dragon Dictation: voice, voice, voice..
• Navigon, Maps, MotionX-GPS - Navigon has replaced my Tom Tom GPS in the car and my Garmin handheld for hiking/biking.  Navigon with the optional traffic service has proven it's worth and the new upgrade gives access to search Google for POIs.  MotionX-GPS is a GPS logger with many uses...

Wow.. I have several more Apps to cover in Part 2.

Dragon Dictation is a killer app

After a couple weeks of use I have found Dragon dictation to be one of my most used application on my iPhone. Voice recognition is fast and fairly accurate. The UI for working with the text is well thought out and easy to use. I highly recommend getting this application.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Gift from Evernote! A New version 3.2 on Christmas Eve

Evernote has given us a significant upgrade to the iPhone client.  Evernote 3.2 for iPhone adds the ability to select folders and store them locally on the iPhone (for premium users), giving you access to your notes when you have no network connection.  Notes created on your iPhone in the Evernote client are stored locally by default. 
Editing rich-text notes!?  ... not quite yet, but in 3.2 you are given the option to append or to "copy", with copy, a text copy of the rich text note is created and you then edit the new text copy.  The original rich text note is not lost, it is sent to the trash bin where it can be recovered.
Another new addition is the ability to search while the application is syncing notes, pre 3.2 I found it very annoying.. to launch Evernote with a search in mind, then have to wait for syncing to complete before I could proceed with the search... annoyance fixed!  Thanks Evernote.  Speed has been addressed as well, launch on my 3GS is now almost instantaneous.
Overall, it looks like a very good incremental upgrade to what I consider an incredible service!  Evernote is my brain!

i.TV version 2.1.1 - Replaces multiple Applications

i.TV is not a new application, it has been on the App store for a long time, but there is a new release 2.1.1 that was published on 12/11/09.  The new release caught my eye, I read the release notes and realized this one application.. if it does all that is promised.. will replace at least 2 separate applications on my phone.
After three days of use, I can say that it works as advertised, plus it has added a Roku remote and offers functionality for ATT's U-Verse that I was missing.

• i.TV replaced my dedicated Netflix queue manager.
• i.TV replaced my dedicated Movie application.

As i.TV is basically the swiss army knife of entertainment, if offers an excellent Netflix queue manager and provides all the functionality of a movie app.
i.TV now includes a remote for TIVO and Roku, I can vouch for the Roku remote.. works great!
As an ATT U-verse subscriber, iTV is a godsend... I can now ignore ther terrible U-verse guide... and setup favorites on my iPhone and sort by show subject!

i.TV is free, it does have in application advertising.

Highly recommended.

Triumverate of Productivity

Three Apps that are either new or recently updated... I am finding these apps useful for data capture.

• Dragon Dictation (Free) - great for composing a quick email, text message or twitter message.. while driving!
• JotNot Scanner ($4.99) - turns your iPhone into a pocket scanner.  Support for multiple page PDF creation, share to Evernote and webDAV.  The new version includes a form of camera stabilization (SW implementation).  Very good results.
• Dan Bricklin's Note Taker ($1.99, there is a free lite version) - Data entry via your finger!  It works.. try it... the only think missing.. OCR to convert the image to text.  As it stands now, this app will be useful for quick notes.

Good stuff.