Nov 1, 2010

Top 10 Free iPhone Apps for Nerds

There's lots of apps in the Apple store. Like, lots. 200,000. That's a lot. Here are the ones I think are tops, the top 10 apps for people like me: nerdy, business-minded gamers who drink too much coffee.

ANZ goMoney
If you don't have an ANZ account, this one's less useful, but as a bank app, it's incredible. You sign up once using your bank account details and input a unique PIN for your phone only. Once that's done, you only ever have to type in your unique PIN to gain fast, instant access to your accounts. You can customise the images for each account, using pre-loaded ANZ card designs or your own photo library. Very slick.

iSpy Analytics
Maybe not the best google analytics app, but for free, it's pretty great. A lovely, clean red design and pie charts mean you've got an interface you don't need to strain your eyes for and a fairly broad range of reports for multiple accounts. As an analytics junkie, I'm always quickly checking blog or website stats on the go.

Shazam
A general favourite, this guy listens to a song on the radio or through the speakers of the clothes shop while you wait for your partner to come out of the changing room, and tell you who performs it, what album it's from and what it's called. Simple, yet one of those apps you've unknowingly wanted for years.

Skype
Skype is obvious, but when you combine the iPhone, headphones with built in mic and a video game console, you have free, wireless, cheap connection to chat while gaming, without needing to buy the rather overpriced accessories Xbox and Playstation sell. If your game drops out, your connection to friends doesn't.

Showtimes
This is the most useful, comprehensive movie times app I could find for we poor Australians. There are plenty of movie time apps, but too many cater to only the US or only a small handful of Aussie cinemas, usually limited to main cities or a specific chain. This guy gives you plenty, with links to trailers, times and purchasing outlets.

Gametraders
This app connects you to Gametrader, an Aussie video game store retail chain. You get the skinny on hot deals, but more handily, you also have a virtual video game shelf. Add games you want to your wish-list shelf, then press them to shift them over to the games you own shelf, before finally shifting them once more to the trade in pile. You can also mark which games have been leant out and link them to your contact book. I also use this app to show family what I want for Christmas.

Toilet Map
Run by the federal government, this app is a pretty comprehensive survey of Australian public toilets. I've used other apps for this purpose, but most are very slow and US-centric. Being run by our own government, and designed for people with bowel and bladder health problems, Toilet Map can get you out of tight spots fast. All it needs is the ability to update info on johns.

HoursTracker
Get the lite version and you have a very thorough job tracker. Set up multiple jobs and clock on and off at your leisure, running several jobs at the same time. You can manually input hours and set different hourly rates for each job. The reporting can be broken down into day or job based summaries, and all of it can be exported as excel or PDF.

Domino's
Order your pizza, save your favourite orders and then watch the clock run through the different stages of your order in real time. I loe this because I know when to start salivating and when to get angry that my pizza's taking ages despite the clock saying it was delivered. A bit buggy when the phone locks, but otherwise neat.

Flashlight
Very simple, but when they added the ability to activate the flash on the back of the iPhone 4 and use it as a very powerful LED light, I blew my stack. Otherwise, use a bright white screen to find your keys or look under the hood of your car. I also use this with my iPad to act as a fill light for low budget film shoots.http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/anz-gomoney/id387076038?mt=8

No comments: