101 Most Essential iPhone Apps of 2008
Posted 12/09/2008 at 11:56am
| by Mac|Life Staff

24. 1Password
This free app can save your online passwords and log you in to websites with one click. It uses tough encryption to protect your data, and can even sync with 1Password for Mac (sold separately).

23. Real Soccer 2009
Real Soccer 2009 is a surprising kick on the iPhone. Similar to soccer titles for other videogame systems, you control the action from a sideline, 3D perspective; the camera even cuts to different angles for goal highlights.

22. OmniFocus for iPhone
Computers have never been a threat to the popularity of the pad-and-pencil method of organizing your life. When a thought strikes, immediate access is more important than computing power. But the $19.99 OmniFocus for iPhone gives both.

21. Simplify Media
If you have more gigs of music than will fit on your device, you can stream music from your home computer (over Wi-Fi, 3G, or EDGE) with the $4 Simplify Media app and an account. You can even listen to the streams of up to 30 of your friends!

20. Tap Tap Revenge
Tapulous's infectious free rhythm game has you tapping along to downloadable dance tracks. Two players can even go head-to-head on one iPhone.

19. Ocarina
The first "real" iPhone instrument. Blow into the mic at the bottom of the iPhone and boom, you're the next great musical sensation.

18. Joost
TV on the iPhone! Well, sort of. Joost's free app streams television content over Wi-Fi to your iPhone or iPod touch. Smooth, stable video in the palm of your hand.

17. Twinkle
With a starry background, the ability to post images, and the chance to interact with Twinkle users in a set radius, Twinkle is the ultimate Twitter client for the iPhone.

16. Google Mobile
The Google you can talk to! Hold your iPhone to your ear and say what you want: a local business, the name of the 34th president, even someone in your contacts.

15. Facebook
With a design that is sometimes easier to navigate than the actual website, the Facebook app has one drawback: no support for events. Still, we can't get enough of this app and its ability to appease our Facebook addiction.

14. iDrum for iPhone
iZotope knows how to bring new people into the drum-machine world: pretty, flashing colors! Yet this beat creator is not just another time-wasting trifle; it's a powerful tool for new and experienced users alike.

13. Bloom
Brian Eno is a musician and producer who has been associated with ambient music for so long that he practically devised that genre. He has created music ranging from the beautifully melancholic album Music For Airports to the Windows 95 Startup Sound. Now he's invading your iPhone.

12. Line Rider iRide
Recipe for the most improbable game ever: Draw a sledding hill with ramps, jumps, drops, and so on, then sit back and watch your rider careen down and around. That’s Line Rider in a nutshell.

11. ICanHasCheezburger
It comes with LOLcats, FailBlog, GraphJam and Engrish Funny. Do you need to know more?

10. FourTrack
Sonoma Wire Works will sell some Four Track downloads just based on its alluring design, but this beauty's got brains. This four-track audio recorder's smart layout utilizes every square centimeter of screen space without resorting to controls that are too small to operate.