I created a welcome kit for new iPhone users (a friend asked for app suggestions, and this is what I came up). I’ve just put together the apps I find most useful and fun. I’m sure I missed a few but hopefully it’s helpful for some:
You’ll want some type of flashlight app. I use one called LED that uses my camera flash and is quite useful. I’m pretty sure any of them would work fine though.
Music: Pandora is a must and I’m a fan of having Shazam to identify music. I use GoMusic (was free, not sure if it still is) to access my Google Cloud Music. The standard Music player is decent enough to play and iTunes music you may have put on your phone.
Wikipanion is a good Wikipedia app. It’s faster than using the wiki website but has access to all of the content.
Navigation: I like Waze a lot. It gives you all the turn-by-turn navigation with a little social twist that alerts you to construction, accidents and the popo
Photos: Instagram is my favorite. All those hipster filters and easy sharing make it a must have. I hardly ever use the built in camera anymore because of it. IncrediBooth is a fun photobooth app. DerManDer is an easy to use panoramic camera. ShoeBox is a cool app that makes scanning old photos super easy. Piictu is a fun social network of images. You basically add to streams of various topics, it’s kind of a game and amusing.
Check-ins: foursquare goes without saying but if you want to go beyond that, check out Untappd for beer check-ins and GetGlue for movies, TV and video game checkins. GetGlue will even mail you the stickers you unlock. Oink and Stamped are both beautiful apps that are kind of “i like this” kind of apps. Soundtracking is basically the foursquare of music and Foodspotting is for food.
ESPN ScoreCenter is actually a very handy app. I’m not a huge sports fan but it’s nice to get score and game alerts for the Red Wings.
IMDB, pretty self explanatory.
Flixter for movie times, trailers and watching any Ultra Violet digital movies you may have.
News: I can’t sing the praises of Flipboard enough. It’s pretty, easy and fun. Alternatives are Pulse and Google Currents but neither do quite the job Flipboard does.
QR / Barcode: I have something just called Scan. It does the job, although I rarely use it.
Video: Vimeo, Netflix, Tout and Apple’s Trailers are good apps. Tout is video snippet sharing. The others should be pretty self explanatory. If you have Comcast cable check out XFINITY TV to watch stuff on your phone.
Coupons: It never hurts to save a buck and Groupon, Living Social, Campus Special and Coupon Sherpa can help.
Lots of stores have apps. I like the Best Buy, Target and Amazon ones. Google Shopper can be helpful to compare prices. There is a separate Amazon PriceCheck app that lets you scan barcodes in a store and see the Amazon price to compare. Walgreens is handy if you fill prescriptions or print photos there. You can do both right in the app.
Dropbox is one of my favorite services. I use it across all my computers and my phone to easily keep files in the cloud and accessible from anywhere. Try it: http://db.tt/hZw8JrT
Google Translate is helpful.
Tasks / To Do: Apple’s built in tasks doesn’t do a lot and you might need something more. Try Awesome Note or Wunderlist. Both are pretty slick apps and I believe both are free. Some people like Evernote but I never much did.
Apps: A handy app to find on sale and free apps is called AppShopper. Discover Apps takes a look at your current apps and recommends new ones.
Foodily is a neat recipe sharing/idea app.
RunKeeper is a good running/exercise logging app. Will even chart your activities with GPS. If you get it, be sure to link your account with foursquare on their website so you can earn the badges they have.
Skype: It’s available and works.
Cards: Lots of cool greet card apps. Postagram, Sincerely Ink, Apple’s Cards, Jiffygram, Red Stamp, Postcard just to name a few. Most of them will let you create a card, then they print and mail it for you. Usually for a buck or three.
Square: This little app lets you accept credit cards on your phone. You’ll need the small attachment (free if you request from their site) https://squareup.com/
Games: Fruit Ninja, Tiny Tower, FS5 Hockey (or air hockey, or glow hockey), Contract Killer, Marathon and Marathon II, Sims FreePlay, Flight Control, Angry Birds, Mancala FS5, Smoody, Geared 2, Blupt!, Cave Bowling, Urban Ninja, Words with Friends, Jungle Crash, Line Runner, Running Dino, Doodle Grub, Tiny Cannon, Safari party, Woolcraft, Jetpack Joyride — Just to name a few… keep an eye out with AppShopper for free and discounted games.
Enjoy!
Did I miss something?
