I can’t believe my sister got an iPhone before I did! Way to go, Alison! Read on and I’ll tell you about some of the iPhone 3G’s best apps and accessories.
I could act like this is really making me jealous or mad or something, but I’ve been encouraging people to consider the iPhone since it came out, so I actually view this as a good thing. I think the only thing that’s frustrating is that she didn’t even want one. She was looking into getting a Blackberry and found that it would actually cost less over the duration of her contract if she got an iPhone instead.
As I’ve mentioned here before, I’ve never actually owned any piece of Apple hardware before. (My only Apple purchase was Quicktime Pro for my Dell desktop, which I really like.) My sister has an 80GB iPod classic and now an 8GB iPhone 3G. I have some catching up to do.
Trick Out Your iPhone (or iPod touch)
Because Alison hadn’t considered getting an iPhone until days before she made her purchase she really didn’t know much about it beyond the basics. I, on the other hand, have been considering one for quite a while. (I’m waiting for at least 30GB of storage.) During that time I’ve been collecting links from the all over the web that will help me trick out my iPhone if/when I get one. At my sister’s request I emailed to her a list of my best finds. I’ve decided to share that list here.
Case:
My sister and I agree on this: if you’re going to spend this much money on something so easily dropped you’d better protect it as best you can. The IvySkin Touch-Thru Case completely covers your phone but still allows you to use the touch screen without any difficulty.
iHome:
You know that funny sound you hear when you put a cell phone near a speaker? You hear that sound a lot when your phone and your music player are one in the same. There are a variety of iHome products (and generic me-toos) that are designed to shield against that noise. The iHome iP99BR and the iHome iP47BR are two examples. (If you do buy a dock with speakers, look for one with a “Works With iPhone” sticker. Both of these products have it.)
Apps from the App Store:
Obviously there are a lot more than the ones on this list, but here are a few that I recommend.
- AIM – Meebo and Trillian will also get you connected to AIM
- Air Sharing – Turns your iPhone into a wireless network drive [read about it here]
- Evernote – Robust note-taking software [read about it here]
- Facebook – Current version is pretty good, but version 2.0 (to be released soon, read about it here) looks wicked awesome
- Google Mobile – Should be a no-brainer [read about it here]
- Jott – I am a huge fan and heavy user of this voice-to-text service [read about it here]
- Mocha VNC Lite – Remote control your PC [read about it here]
- Pandora – The killer app for the iPhone [read about it here]
- Remote – Control iTunes on your PC remotely [read about it here]
- Sportacular – Unlike the ESPN app this one is ad-free
- Wikipanion – For those addicted to Wikipedia
- WordPress – For self-hosted WP blogs and wordpress.com blogs [read about it here]
For more great iPhone apps I suggest you read Lifehacker’s Featured iPhone Application series.
Blog Posts:
Some of my favorite blogs talk about the iPhone quite a bit. Here are a few posts you may find interesting.
- Make an iPhone Ringtone with iTunes in Windows
- Create Custom iPhone Ringtones the Free and Apple Way – For Mac users
- Free Replacements for Paid Tools – For “push” email, calendar and contacts without paying for MobileMe
- Turn Your iPhone or Your iPod Touch into a Multi-Room Wireless Music Remote
- How to Transfer iPhone Voice Mail to Your Computer
- 12 iPhone Tricks You Might Not Have Known
- 8 More iPhone Tricks You Might Not Have Known
Add to This List!
Are you an iPhone owner (or, like me, an iPhone enthusist)? Share your thoughts on what apps, products and tricks work for you in the comments.
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