Mobile software Monday: My top 10 iPhone applications

I have now been trying out 3rd party applications on my upgraded original iPhone for just over 3 days and even though there are something over 550 applications in the iPhone App Store, there are a few select applications that stand out above the rest and I have several that now occupy a place on my main display. In today's Mobile software Monday, I am presenting thoughts on my top 10 and a few others that are close to cracking my top 10 with a bit more refinement.

#1: eReader FREE - I am an ebook fan and have a Sony Reader that I think now may see a bit less usage with actual support for offline reading on the iPhone. I have been a Mobipocket user for years due to its ability to work across all mobile platforms, but eReader also has this support and it looks like I am now making the transition. This was made possible mostly by the fact that Fictionwise purchased eReader and now I can access all the books I have purchased over the years in eReader format at Fictionwise and any books I have purchased through eReader. You simply login on your iPhone with your username and password from either website to view your bookshelf and download the titles you want on your iPhone. Unfortunately, you can only download one title at a time so if you have a large library this may take a while.

To read a book you simply tap on the title in your Bookshelf and then flick across the page from right to left to turn the page or the other way to turn it back. You can also tap on the display to bring up four bottom icons for the Table of Contents, search function (two icons for this?), and font settings (3 fonts and 4 sizes). I hope to see more functionality brought to the iPhone such as bookmarks and auto scrolling. If you have a dictionary loaded you can also tap and hold on a word to look it up. Landscape mode is also supported by simply rotating your iPhone.

Unfortunately, you cannot yet access the eReader or Fictionwise store with the application, but you should be able to purchase books using Safari and then sign in on eReader to download the books. I would also like to figure out how to get free books I downloaded in eReader format elsewhere onto my iPhone and I can't wait to see how this application evolves as more people start using it.

#2: Super Monkey Ball US$9.95 - Gaming is not a huge part of what I do on my mobile devices, but then again I enjoy a good game as much as the next person. Super Monkey Ball is probably one of the most talked about games for the iPhone and it is simply stunning. The graphics, accelerometer-controlled gameplay, and number of levels available is incredible and I think the $10 price tag is definitely worth it. If you buy a game for your DS or PSP you will usually pay US$30 or more. The ability to have a game like this always available on my phone can be very convenient when you or your kids need to pass the time waiting somewhere.

#3: Evernote FREE and subscription available - Evernote is an incredible application that I have written about a few times. It lets you capture text, photo, and audio notes on the iPhone that are synced to the server. The real power is in the recognition engine they use that can even find text in photos you capture so you will never forget anything again (thus the elephant icon). A free account will let you upload 40MB of data a month while a premium account (US$45/year or US$5/month) will let you upload 500MB/month, get stronger security via SSL and also get priority image recognition. You see after you upload a note their servers have to work to enable the search recognition functionality and premium subscribers get priority. I bought a premium subscription since I find it to be an invaluable application that is available on Windows Mobile, Windows, Mac and any device or computer with an internet connection.

#4: SplashMoney US$9.99 - SplashMoney was the second commercial application I purchased and I find it to be essential to managing my finances and plan to use it to help me manage my budget as well. I reviewed SplashMoney for Windows Mobile and this new iPhone application has all of that same functionality with an even easier interface. I use it to monitor my checking and credit card account and also enter transactions on the go.

#5: Pandora FREE - I tried Pandora in the past, but since I am on my mobile devices so much I never found it to be that compelling. After seeing it on the App Store I loaded it up and have been listening to music off and on all weekend. I find it works pretty well even via an EDGE connection, but an application like this may push me to pick up an iPhone 3G soon. I am really bad at remembering an artist, but Pandora helps by giving me the option to bookmark the song or artist or even buy the song from iTunes with a tap of the up arrow icon. You can also give a thumbs up or down to the playing song so Pandora learns your listening preferences. You can also skip through 6 songs in a "station".

The major disappointment with this application is that you cannot listen to music in the background and do something else with your iPhone, but I think this is a limit set by Apple and not the developer. I am actually now thinking of using my iPhone in a docking station with Pandora to run the music we listen to on our patio in our yard.

#6: Facebook FREE - After using Facebook on a BlackBerry Pearl for a month or so I was hooked on Facebook. However, after I got rid of the BlackBerry I haven't found a good mobile application for Windows Mobile or S60 that compelled me to use Facebook much. However, this new iPhone application is quite functional and should have me connecting again with my friends through Facebook. This will be interesting since many people at my church are on Facebook and now we will have another way to stay in touch.

#7: Google Mobile App FREE - I loaded this application right away and didn't give the main application much of a try as I quickly tapped the Explore more Google products button and missed the intent of the application. After reading other people's thoughts I went back to it and slapped myself upside the head. The Google Mobile App gives you something like Silverlight on the iPhone with the ability to quickly find web pages, business listings, phone contacts, and more with a smart filter methodology that lists relevant search results as you enter text.

#8: Express FREE - I have been using Handmark Express for years on different mobile devices as a way to quickly check my local sports team scores, find movies, and more. Handmark has now brought Express to the iPhone, but it is still missing a couple of key channels that I need (Movies and Travel) to make it a top 5 pick. It does have a better weather application, in my opinion, than some of the dedicated weather apps so I use it and limit the number of apps on my iPhone. As soon as they add Movies and Travel, it will be one of my main Go To applications.

#9: Twitterific FREE and commercial version- Of course I need to have a Twitter application in my top 10 since I enjoy staying in touch with friends via Twitter and don't want to burn through my limited text messages on my iPhone. Twitterific has a nice interface and seems to work well on the iPhone. This is one of the few applications that appears to have a "trial" version where you have the option to pay US$9.99 for the premium version that gives you an extra theme and eliminates advertisements.

#10: PhoneSaber FREE - I am commonly found online with my palmsolo user ID that comes from my days as a Palm OS user and a Han Solo Star Wars fan so I just couldn't pass up including the free light saber application for the iPhone in my top 10. You can select from six colors of light saber and tapping on the saber brings it up online and then moving your iPhone around causes sound effects to emit from your speakers. Be careful not to drop your iPhone when using this application. I can now have a light saber battle between mobile operating systems with this application on my iPhone and the LightSabre application on my Nokia N95.

There are many other good applications and I have several more on my device. Others include eBay, Truphone (I need to deactivate my account setup on my S60 phone first), ShoZu, MySpace, Loopt, AOL Radio, Remote, Jott, and PayPal.

I expect many more applications to be added as the App Store matures, including Slingplayer Mobile, Qik, Flixwagon, and Documents to Go or some other Office suite. I  also wonder if there will be utilities to add things like cut, copy, and paste. If a podcatching application can allow me to download podcasts without a PC then the iPhone will move ever closer to knocking other devices, like the E71, out of my hand.

It isn't that easy wading through all of the applications in the App Store so I would like to know what are your favorite applications and do you have others not on my list that you think I should try out?