There are plenty of jaw-droppingly cool iPhone apps, and we’ve assembled a few of them here on JAiB today. These aren’t necessarily the apps you’ll use every day, and they might not even be your favourites, but each of these apps is almost certain to elicit a “whaaaaat, did you just do that on your iPhone?!” from anyone you show them to.
Google Maps, Street view ($200 – well, I’m just referencing the price of your iPhone)
Let’s start the list off nice and easy. This is something amazing that the iPhone can do by default, and I’ve used it a few times to remember the name of a restaurant I ate at, when all I knew was which street I was on. Street view on the Google Maps app is almost unreal in how easy it makes “walking” down a street from the comfort of your couch a reality.
Bump (FREE)
This app is one of the earlier examples of a great idea that took advantage of the iPhone’s hardware, while simultaneously overcoming one of the shortcomings of the platform. Bump lets you exchange contacts by loading the app up on both phones and then simply bumping your hands to initiate the exchange (and it works over any data/wifi connection). It definitely beats sending an e-mail or digging through menus for a “send contact -> Bluetooth” option.
Convertbot ($1.99)
High tech sounds? Check. Fancy, flashy, but usable interface? Check. Convertbot very, very sexy stuff. It doesn’t just convert one unit to another, but given the right circumstances and a quick sly grin, you can likely convert other Smartphone users to the i-side. It would take somebody who is really set in their ways to resist all the clicking and sliding sounds of Convertbot and not want something similar for themselves.
Really Sexy iPhone Games:
COD Zombies, geoDefense, and NOVA were names that came up in the email I sent off to the team asking for “Wow factor” apps. However, the thing about the iPhone is that it has an overwhelming number of incredible games. The breadth of iPhone games with gorgeous visuals is a meaty enough topic to deserve its own post, but to put it simply: showing off a few of your iPhone games to your “other smartphone using” friends is an almost sure-fire way to make sure you don’t get it back for a while.
Yelp – Augmented Reality (FREE)
The Yelp app is free, and it helps you find all sorts of useful places (gas stations, restaurants, etc.). However, the cool factor really kicks into gear when you turn on the augmented reality “monocle” mode. The app then uses GPS and the on-device compass to calculate where you are, and taps into a live feed from your camera to overlay all of the relevant information on your screen. I’ve almost never needed to use this feature, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t ridiculously cool.
SoundHound ($6.99) or Shazam Encore ($4.99)
Both of these apps help you find out what song is playing over the radio, or over the speakers at the club/bar you’re in. As long as you can get a decent sound into the iPhone’s microphone, chances are you’ll have the name of a song (or a list of songs) in just a few seconds.
ReelDirector ($7.99)
I haven’t tried this one out myself yet, but it’s incredible that we have an app like this at all. ReelDirector lets you re-edit your camera roll videos on your 3GS, and you can even add your own voice dubs or background music tracks (wi-fi sync needed first). We’ve been able to do things like this on laptops and computers for ages now – but now you can put together a little video while on the subway ride home.
Voice Band ($2.99)
This app came out earlier this January, and while you might look a little silly recording every part of a song, you’ll wipe that smug look off of everyone’s faces when you play back a track you recorded using only your voice. Unlike other iPhone music apps (like the amazing Ocarina), voice band lets you simulate different instruments using just your voice. That’s right, folks, in the 21st century you don’t even need fingers to simulate an instrument. You can then layer all of the different tracks as you see fit and form your very own one-iPhone single. Did I mention the app is only $3?
Brushes, Layers (each $4.99)
This one runs in the same vein as ReelDirector, I think. It’s an activity that you’re used to doing on a different device – and usually an activity that you need a stylus for. However, apps like Brushes and Layers are so well designed that you really can use the iPhone as a platform for something more than stick figure doodles.
Dragon Dictation (FREE)
This one’s a bit tricky because other smart and dumbphones have had voice control and dictation for a while now. The Nexus one even has a leg up in a sense, since it can do speech-to-text for any dialogue box (whereas you have to copy and paste into another app on the iPhone). However, the magic of it all is that this one app works across iPhones and iPod Touches, and suddenly adds the ability
Those are all of the wow factor apps we had time for in this list – have you thought of any candidates we’ve missed?
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TAGS: iphone apps, list
