NEWSFEED
Have you recently picked up an iPhone or iPod touch? If you're new to the cult, er – club, then welcome to the wonderful world of the App Store. Apple's commercial tagline of "there's an app for that" is not hyperbole. There are so many thingees and digital doodads to download for your iDevice, such as games, recipe collections, music software, and photo toys.
With all of those apps, finding the essentials for your new device is truly overwhelming. You've heard this thing does it all, so where do you start? Instead of rattling off a mega-list of "If you like X, then you should download Y," were going to get specific and help you populate that device with seven of the best apps and games you need. And this list will not remain static. We'll keep coming back to it, updating it with new must-have apps and games because there will undoubtedly be no shortage of essentials in 2010 and beyond.
This list was updated on April 08, 2011.
Publisher: Twitter
Price (as of 4/30/10): Free
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Now, this is how you turn a web service into an app. Twitter's iPhone app handily bests all other Twitter clients for the iPhone. Not only is it the most reliable, but the interface (pulling the feed down to refresh is brilliant) is breezy. It's simple to search for friends, specific topics or tweets, and categories. You'll love the ability to swipe across tweets in your feed and instantly retweet, reply, favorite, and more. The nav bar on the bottom of the app takes you everywhere you need to be in twitter right away, including tabs for tweets that mention you as well as DMs. Elegant, simple, free – that's what makes an essential app. New for July 7, 2010 update.
Publisher: Andreas Illiger
Price (as of 4/08/11): $0.99
Read our review
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Time will tell if Tiny Wings, the newest App Store phenomenon, can maintain its lofty perch high on the charts. But without a doubt, it deserves whatever success it earns. You're a wingless bird that gets air by diving down slopes. Tap and hold the screen when your bird slips down the hills and then release as it goes up. It sounds so simple, but like some of the best iPhone games – such as Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds – it comes together as a very playable simple pleasure that you can play for three minutes or three hours.
Publisher: fringland
Price (as of 3/15/10): Free
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You wanted a communications device, right? Then you need the Fring social hub on your iPhone or iPod touch. Fring was initially a great place to manage your instant messenger clients on the iPhone, but it has grown so much in the last year. With push notification, you no longer have to be staring at Fring to know when you're being messaged. Fring also supports calling over WiFi, which is a good way to save serious cash if you make calls anywhere near a hotspot, such as your office. Fring now even supports video calls over 3G, making it a FaceTime replacement for when you aren't near a WiFi connection.
Publisher: Amazon
Price (as of 1/5/10): Free
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Everybody thinks Apple is up to something that will absolutely blow Amazon's e-reader, the Kindle, out of the water. Well, after a boffo 2009 holiday, Amazon has an impressive head start. Amazon was very smart to allow iPhone and iPod touch users access to Kindle books via this simple-to-use app. While the iDevice screen is not as easy on the eyes as the actual Kindle hardware's digital ink screen, this app is the best reader out there right now. Buying and transferring Kindle books to the app is a snap and if you decrease your screen brightness, you can get enough battery mileage out of your iDevice to make it through an entire book. Well, maybe not "War and Peace," but definitely "New Moon."
Publisher: Marco Arment
Price (as of 3/15/10): $4.99
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Let's be honest: not every website is perfectly formatted for viewing through Apple's mobile devices. (Especially those that use Flash, but that's another discussion.) Instapaper Pro, though, is an effectively bridge between those gaps. When you install Instapaper, you get a special bookmark to tag web pages with on your computer. When you sync your iPhone, the app converts those tagged pages into mobile-friendly reads that you can look at later at any time – not just when you have a signal. You can also browse through pages and articles suggested by the editor, which isn't a bad way to learn something new when you're just killing time. Instapaper Pro also sends content to your Twitter or Tumblr, so you can easily share the goodies you found. Really, this is the best browser companion for the iPhone and absolutely invaluable for content junkies. New for March 15, 2010 update.
Publisher: Pandora Media
Price (as of 3/15/10): Free
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Pandora is an unparalleled music source. This Internet radio service is one of the world's most popular music destinations for good reason. It is easy to set up your very own personalized stations to listen to the bands and music genres you like, and the smart DJ creates a playlist. I cannot tell you how many forgotten songs and new bands were introduced to me by Pandora. The iPhone app works just as well as the website, easily streaming music through your device (as long as you have a connection) and its integration with iTunes right on your handheld means you can buy new tracks with just a few taps.
Publisher: Area/Code
Price (as of 4/30/10): $4.99
Read our review
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Positioned as a sort of Tetris-meets-Sudoku puzzler, Drop7 is one of those sneak attack puzzlers that seems mildly interesting in level 2 and becomes a borderline obsession by level 10. You drop numbered tokens into a 7x7 grid. When the number on your token equals the number of tokens either in that token's row or column, it vanishes. Combos erupt when disappearing tokens reduce the number of tokens in a row or column to match the numbers on other tokens. Within 60 seconds, you understand everything you need to know about the game. Plus, the game gets tough, but it's not evil. Logic prevails since you're dealing in absolutes.
What are your absolute iPhone essentials? What should be included in the next revision of this list? And what app should be knocked out of the seven? We'll always keep track of which apps were in this list so no great app disappears into the ether. Don't limit your suggestions to games, either. Tell us about a great photo app or comic organization app you found. Maybe it will make the next list.
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