Update: Going on vacation? Check our Top 10 Travel Apps for the iPhone here!
With over 350.000 apps in the iTunes App Store, it can get tricky to find the most useful apps out there for your iPhone, but we're here to help! This list naturally reflects our subjective view, but we still feel that some of these are among the best free apps in 2011. Feel free to leave a comment if you think we left something out!
Our Top 10 list of the most essential, useful apps out there:
Dropbox features a direct link to your dropbox account, direct upload of images and videos from your iPhone, access and reading of a variety of file formats (including pdf and word documents).
The 'Favorites' function also lets you store and use documents directly on your phone, negating the need to have a constant network connection to check your files.
This free app is not only a must-have productivity tool, but also a fast and easy way to transfer photos to your computer without plugging your phone in.
2. Facebook (Link)
The Facebook app doesn't really require an explanation, being one of the most popular apps for the iPhone.
Beyond the obvious functionality like reading your news feed and checking your friend's profiles, you can connect to Facebook chat, or use the 'Places' function to check in to your current location, and show your friends what you're up to!
Get in on the social media craze if you haven't yet!
(Free App)
Number 3 on our top 10 list of the hottest iPhone apps is the best travel app for the iPhone. This app has a global database of 520.000 sights, with built-in GPS and map functionality, GPS bookmarks, and guided audio tours of all points of interest included. We're admittedly biased here, but it's pretty damn cool!
Must-have app to get the most out of your vacation!
+Save Money by not having to buy travel books and guides!
More Info: www.iguidu.com
Number 4on our list is the best alarm app on the App Store: Sleep Cycle Alarm. This cool app monitors your movements during sleep, and chooses the most suitable light sleep phase to wake you. Specify a 30-minute time window you want to be woke up in, and you'll definitely feel the difference - you'll feel much fresher and rested.
Although the first paid app on the list with a price of $0.99, it's definitely worth the price.
Check our full app review for more info!
Check our full app review for more info!
5. Skype (Link)
The Skype app offer the same functionality of the software. Pretty self-explanatory, huh?
All you need is a Wi-Fi or 3G connection, and you're set to use this app to voice chat, or video chat with your friends on Skype. (be aware that you'll need an iPhone 4 for the latter though!)
As an added bonus, voice chat feels and works like a regular phone call! It's possible to have Skype run in the background for easy availability, but it's a tough drain on the battery.
Best of all, this is yet another free app!
6. Yelp (Link)
Best described as a "mobile what to eat/drink/buy tool", Yelp offers bookmark support, review drafting, and a search function that works really well. Added functionality includes address and phone nr. search, augmented reality overlay (pretty cool!), and reviews.
Using the iPhone's built-in GPS, this free app is an excellent way to find new restaurants or shops to check out.
7. Pandora (Link)
To quote the description from the app store:
"Pandora Radio is your own free personalized radio now available to stream music on your iPhone or iPad. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a "station" that plays their music and more music like it."
"Pandora Radio is your own free personalized radio now available to stream music on your iPhone or iPad. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a "station" that plays their music and more music like it."
Not much to add here, it's much like last.fm used to be like, and it's free!
Shazam offers a boatload of music-related services, but the only one we really care about is the holy grail... This app can actually identify the songs that are playing in your surroundings!! This one has saved us much annoyance, not having to wonder for hours about the title of that one song we heard on the radio!
As an added bonus, you can also instantly buy and download the identified track from iTunes! Woo!
It's free, but it only lets you identify 5 songs per month. The premium on the other hand offers unlimited song "tagging".
This is a useful app for all iPhone users, thoughtfully developed by Apple. It's free, and it find your device if it gets stolen or lost, along with other neat functions, namely: remote-wipe of all data, playing sounds, leaving messages on your lost iPhone, and remotely setting a passcode lock.
The only downside to this is that you'll need to find another iOS device, install it, and sign in with your Apple ID to be able to track you lost iPhone.
This is yet another extremely useful application for the iPhone that can prove seriously useful:
"TeamViewer provides easy, fast and secure remote access to Windows, Mac and Linux systems."
After a quick install on your computer and your iOS device, you can instantly get remote access to your computer at any time. Extremely useful if you've got processes running that might need monitoring, or if you just need access to documents or files on your machine.
A++!
Yup, we now. Angry Birds is a game, and not the utility-type app this list is about. However, we just couldn't resist the temptation, so here we go.
The legendary pop cultural phenomenon straight from the iPhone: Angry Birds. At $0.99 you can't go wrong with this game: addicting action, puzzles, and hundreds of levels.
Check back for out next Top 10 in a little while: Top 10 iPhone Games 2011!
