One year ago we ran a contest asking you to tell us your favorite Mobile Web apps. From the resulting comments there were 5 Mobile Web apps that clearly stood out, with multiple mentions: Gmail Java app for mobile phone, Google Maps for Mobile, Opera Mini, Fring, Shozu.
Well, a lot has changed in the Mobile Web application world since then. The Apple App Store launched in July ’08, prompting a wave of new third party iPhone apps. And we’ve seen innovation from Apple’s mobile phone competitors: Google’s Android (which has multiple app stores), Nokia, and Blackberry, and others. So what are your favorite Mobile Web apps and sites circa November 2008? The ReadWriteWeb authors list their faves below, plus we polled our friends in Twitter (subscribe to our Twitter account @rww).
To clarify: in this case we mean either applications that you install on your phone, or browser-based versions that you visit on your phone’s browser. Also, note that we haven’t tried to link to all the apps and sites listed – but that’s what your favorite mobile search engine is for 😉
Mobile Apps & Sites Favored by RWW Authors
Richard MacManus
iPhone apps:
- Last.fm – still my favorite music streaming app, and the iPhone version was upgraded in September
- YouNote – handy note-taking tool, multimedia
- Diamedic – iPhone app for diabetics that records my glucose levels and insulin shots
- Weight Tracker – enables me to keep track of my daily weight
- Groundwork – iPhone version of Basecamp, which works via 37Signals’ API. Note there are another couple of third party Basecamp apps for iPhone: Minivan and Projects from appremix. Also see Jason Fried’s comment here on RWW for suggestions for Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones.
- NYTimes – nice example of a native iPhone app for a media publication, although ironically it always seems to get stuck for me when I click to the Technology section!
- Gmail, via iPhone mail
Browser-based:
- ReadWriteWeb iPhone version (powered by MoFuse)
- Google Reader
- Mobile Twitter
- Mobile FriendFeed
Frederic Lardinois:
- Evernote – great for making a quick note of addresses or restaurant menus by just taking a pic of them
- Pandora – even better now that they added ‘genre’ stations
- Fring – having Skype on the iPhone has saved me a few times
- Google Reader
- FriendFeed mobile
- Google Earth – for the sheer beauty of it
Sarah Perez:
For iPod Touch:
- Twinkle
- Twitterifc
- mobile Facebook
- Byline for RSS (offline).
- mobile Google Reader
- mobile FriendFeed
- mobile Gmail
For Blackberry:
- mobile facebook
- mobile flickr app
- Live search
- twitterberry
Rick Turoczy:
- Shazam – “remains one of my favorites–and most often used. Admittedly, sometimes I simply use it to be mystified by the black magic of how it correctly identifies incredibly eclectic tunes.”
Marshall Kirkpatrick:
- FFtoGo.com
- m.netvibes.com
- slandr.net
- Fring
- http://www.techmeme.com/mini
Nathan DiNiro, RWW Jobwire
- m.shizzow.com
- GMail for BB
- TwitterBerry
- Google Maps for BB
- Google Talk for BB
- Pocket Express for BB – Handmark, I think
Friends of RWW in Twitter
Rudy De Waele: facebook app, google maps, twitterrific, ocarina (all iphone) and QIK (Nokia N95)
Steve O’Hear, editor of last100: BBC iPlayer, Nokia Mail (push), Twitterific
Tom Tague, Calais: Remember the Milk (bbery & iphone), instapaper (let’s me catch up on stuff I should read), twitterific
paulbradshaw: Shozu, JoikuSpot, Google Maps, Qik, ZoneTag
Chris Osborne: my top mob apps (symbian): fring, goog maps, shozu, nokia sports tracker, vodafone sat nav. in ’emerging’ category: flyscreen
dekkerd: qik, brighkite, twinkle, ziibii apps, dropcard, friendfeed, greader. all iphone
Windows Observer: Tiny Twitter Google Maps
mobile jones: QIK, Google Maps, Sprint Backup Service, Mobile Gmail, Flyscreen – 5 is too short a list and these are not in order.
keithbohanna: NetnewsWire, Truphone, GMaps on iPhone, Twitterfon
Ginger Sorvari: Google Maps (#1 by far), WeightWatchers, Twitter, FB, SI.
David Owens: 1) Google Maps 2) Instapaper 3) Byline 4) GoConnect 5) London City #iphone
Pádraic Brady: Tweetie for iPhone is pretty good – splits up dm/replies/friends feeds separately and its performance is pretty good.
Aaron Grabein: Photoshop.com Mobile, http://is.gd/8ZC9, is great for photo uploads (Win Mo) and TwitterBerry, Facebook, Google Maps
Susan Puccinelli: My two faves are Google Maps for Mobile and CalTrain+ (though of course its only relevant to those of us in the Bay Area who use it)
janetleejohnson: Smub – http://smub.it (any smartphone), twitterrific, Google Maps (iPhone)
Matt Wiseley, EditMe: (Android) dgMoney http://is.gd/8ZzD/ BlueBrush http://is.gd/8ZA4/ QuickList http://is.gd/8ZAI
Conor O’Neill: Nokia Maps, Gmail Mobile, Twibble, Qik, eBuddy, Truphone, Shozu
Jajah: @twidroid (Android)/@twitterfon (iPhone), Facebook, @my6sense (iPhone), @strands, @jajah http://iphone.jajah.com
Sherry Main: for iphone: facebook, twitterific, wordpress, scribeshare, google maps
egrommet: still like shozu and sportstracker (nokia)
Duncan Heal: 1st gen iPod Touch 2.2: Twitteriffic, Facebook, Safari, iChalky, AIM
Jorge Escobar: Gmail (IMAP) and Google Maps on Windows Mobile 6
localinsurance: facebook app, blackbird, twitpic
Susan Beebe: 5 Favorite Mobile apps (iPhone): BeejiveIM, Evernote, Shazam, fftogo.com, RTM (remember the milk), YouNote, koi pond, camera bag
Stephane Delbecque: BlogIt for iPhone is very cool. TypePad web app for iPhone is not bad either. 🙂
ChadHusseinCapellman: what about LEAST FAVORITE mobile web apps? I’d be speaking about the mandatory Verizon Wireless start screen instead of my favorites.
Sean Power: i would be considerably less productive without the Google mobile suite (reader, talk and mail)
davefleet: Google Maps; Google Talk; Jott
geoffmcqueen: I like Brightkite, but wish they’d use Gears GeoLoc info in PocketIE. Also, m.Facebook.com, Skype & SPB’s Traffic Monitor app for WM6.
Tell Us Your Faves!
We hope that you spotted a few interesting sounding apps in the above list that you’d like to try out! Please list your favorites in the comments below, as well as your opinions about the state of Mobile Web applications and sites.
Top image credit: MichaelMarlatt
