As one of ReadWriteWeb’s iPhone users, I’m always looking for new applications to try out. Some get downloaded for a day and then deleted right away, others slowly inch their way closer to my homescreen. Even rarer are the ones that become actively used on a regular basis. Occasionally, we like to share our findings regarding our favorite new apps. (See, for example, last month’s list here). Although I can’t guarantee that all of the ones on the list below will become favorites forever, they piqued my interest enough to get a coveted spot on my iPhone this month. Let us know what you think about their potential for long-lasting success.
1. Miso
I’ve been playing with Miso off and on for a week or so. Dubbed a “Foursquare-Like App for Homebodies” by yours truly, this app lets you “check-in” to the TV shows and movies you’re watching and earn badges. While I like the idea, I’ve found that the app suffers from the lack of an easy way to find and follow other users. That leaves us TV-watching “stay-at-home” folks feeling a little too isolated when already taking part in a rather non-social, non-interactive activity. However, if the app can improve the ability to find and follow other like-minded entertainment consumers, there’s potential for a fun “niche use” type of app here. (Review: Miso: A Foursquare-Like App for Homebodies)
2. MediaServer
MediaServer seems so promising, but I’ve had trouble getting all aspects of it to work properly. The app is designed to be an easy way to view your iPhone media on your TV set by way of a Media Center-type hardware device (XMBC, Boxee, etc.) or game console (PS3, XBox 360). And it is easy to use. You install the app, launch it, and boom!, your media console sees your iPhone – no configuration required. As far as viewing user-created videos or photos, the app excels. But streaming music or video? Not so much. Due to varying degrees of DRM applied to the files themselves and codec support on the hardware device, playing media on your TV is harder than it should be. (I tried with the Xbox in my tests.) Whether it’s the app that’s to blame or the hardware, I can’t tell. However, MediaServer did become a great way to do iPhone photo slideshows on the TV and that alone is keeping it on my phone for now. Hopefully the rest will be improved in time.
3. Sticky Bits
The RWW bloggers who attended the recent SXSW festival have come back raving about the barcode-scanning Stickybits app (iTunes link). The app, which debuted at the conference, goes hand-in-hand with the online service that lets you either print your own barcodes or buy pre-made stickers which you can then associate with real-world objects. Using the Stickybits iPhone application, anyone encountering these stickers in the wild can scan them to discover whatever data theyv’e been associated with. Will Stickybits actually stick around though? It’s too soon to tell, but it sure is fun to play with in the meantime. (Review: Stickbits: Portal to Another Dimension or Graffiti for Nerds?)
4. Siri
Although not brand-new, the Siri app which debuted in February on the iPhone is rapidly becoming one of our all-time favorites and therefore has to make this list again. If you have not installed Siri yet, do so now! Built with artificial intelligence technology, Siri functions as a personal assistant which can provide information on a variety of topics from weather to movie listings to restaurants, events and more. You can either type into the app’s search box or speak your query to get started. And the more you use it, the smarter it gets. The voice recognition works well, too, although it never understood “Alice in Wonderland movie” no matter how many times I said it. (Maybe it already knew I wouldn’t like that movie?) We’ll give it a pass there, though – voice recognition is a tough nut to crack. Still, the intelligence of this app will soon have you relocating the apps it replaces (movie listing apps, restaurant finders, etc.) to back screens of the iPhone. (Review: Siri: Your Personal Assistant for the Mobile Web)
5. Tweeb
Obsessed with ego-tracking your Twitter stats or tasked with managing a corporate account of some kind? Then Tweeb’s new Twitter analytics tracker (iTunes link) is a handy app to have. For $1.99, you get access to real-time, on-demand statistics including tweet counts, follower counts, retweets, mentions and clickthroughs on your tweeted links. You can also use the app to tweet, manage your friends, block or unblock users, view Twitter profiles, view your following lists and manage multiple Twitter accounts. The data is presented in clean, easy-to-read layouts and there is even a history section so you can measure your growing influence over time. Well worth a couple of bucks if you access this data on a regular basis!
6. Buzzie
The first app to access Google Buzz natively is pretty great, but I’ll admit that I’m more likely to switch over to Buzz from Google Reader’s mobile website than launch a standalone app. If the iPhone had app multitasking though, that would be a different story. Still, Buzzie has a few standout features – photo-sharing and photo browsing, most notably. It also feels “a lot snappier” than Google Buzz’s web app, noted Frederic earlier this month during his demo. (Review: Buzzie: The First Native Mobile App for Google Buzz)
7. SpringPad
Part of Springpad’s service, this Evernote competitor functions as a mobile note-taking and reminder app. Similar to Evernote’s offering, you can write a note or snap a photo to remember something (which is then added to your online account), but it also introduces barcode-scanning as another way to “remember” an item. You can use the app to access all your saved data, too – handy for accessing shopping lists, recipes and restaurants you want to try while you’re out and about. (Review: Springpad Takes on Evernote with Semantic Technology, Barcode Scanner)
Honorable Mentions
Other apps getting demoed on our iPhones include the following:
- Brizzly for Twitter: Will we leave Tweetie 2 for this new Twitter iPhone app? It could happen!
- Feathers: Want to have a little fun with your tweets? Feathers lets you decorate them with symbols, icons or even post them upside-down.
- Notifio: Just launched, this app tries to bring Android-style notifications to one central place on the iPhone, but it’s dependent on others to use its API to do so. If successful, it could be amazing…but that remains to be seen.
You can see all the apps on my iPhone courtesy of AppsFire here.
