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A steady stream of apps is added each day to the App Store, and loads are free. But which ones are actually worth installing and using? Yes, keeping up with the hip new apps is getting harder every day, but these 10 free apps won’t let you down.
Finally, you can have movies on the go without filling up your phone.
Netflix sure took its sweet time arriving on the iPhone, but now that it’s here, it’s hard to imagine life without it! Watching videos as you take the train to work has never been easier or more futuristic.
One app to sort them all!
App Shopper is an excellent resource for anyone who’s curious about what they should download on their iOS devices. Though reference apps like App Shopper are nothing new, the excellent sorting and filtering options of this particular app make it the premier iOS destination for your app-grabbing binges.
Learning about the planets is fun again.
NASA’S official app is the best way we’ve found to learn about our solar system. From the easy interface to the ubiquity of great information, this is not just another reference app, and kids and adults will get lost exploring its richly presented info and images. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize this belongs on your iPad.
Get your text on or troll the Lady Gaga fan club communities.
TextPlus keeps its app description short and sweet: “#1 free text and free pic messaging app!” Sweeping claim, sure--but for our zero cents, it’s right on the money. TextPlus allows you to send pics and texts, but more importantly, it also lets you hang out in “communities” that add an unexpected but well-polished social element.
iDisk might be a bit like Dropbox, but you can't go wrong with even more storage.
iDisk doesn’t make this list for being a new app (it isn’t), but because it recently implemented an absolutely rocking new feature. It now provides the ability to stream music straight from iDisk, which brings us one step closer to the “iTunes in the cloud” we’ve been dreaming about. As seems to be the case with most Apple software, it’s a cinch to use, and it’s free if you have a MobileMe account.
Cook's Illustrated makes us hungry. Really hungry.
Cook’s Illustrated has proven again and again to be the reliable source for all things food. They’re not swayed by trends or big names, and they consistently churn out quality recipes and cooking advice. The app comes with 50 of what they call their “best recipes,” which means if you’re the cooking type, you’re guaranteed to find at least a few recipes to add to your cookbook.
Learning how to do anything you want to do has never been easier.
Howcast has been on the iPhone forever and a day, but its journey to the iPad is extremely welcome. For the uninitiated, Howcast is an excellent resource for how-to videos ranging from staccato picking to changing your oil. Videos look crystal clear on the iPad, and the extra screen real estate makes those technical how-to videos a little easier to process and enjoy.
Epic Citadel is currently only a beautiful castle for you to explore. We can't wait for the whole game.
If you look at Epic Citadel as a showcase for potential (rather than a game), you’ll be blown away by Epic Games’ newest creation. Smooth controls glide your invisible character through a, well, epic citadel on your iPhone. Exploring the castle is a pleasure on par with the first time you fired up a game console and stared slack-jawed at the graphical glory.
Keep your frogs happy, and they'll breed lots.
Finding, training, and breeding frogs is the name of the game in Nimblebit’s excellent Pocket Frogs. Maintaining a habitat for your frogs might seem like nothing more than new-era Tamagotchis, but the game keeps it fresh with impressive graphics and addictive breeding gameplay.
Apple's Apple Store is a pleasure to navigate, whether on an iOS device or Mac.
The Apple Store app is the perfect replacement for browsing the Apple Store via Safari. If you’re like us, you like to fantasize about your next major Apple purchase, customizing and re-customizing it over and over until you’ve settled on one design. With the Apple Store app, all of that can be done on the go--it even has an option to purchase straight from your phone.
This e-book store (at wowio.com) lines up sponsors to give away certain copyrighted e-books and digital comics. The selection is limited but changes all the time. In a recent visit, we picked up the Neil Young bio Being Young and issue 1 of a new comic called Wanted.
If you like getting your free books the old-fashioned way--borrowed from the library--sign up at wowbrary.com for free weekly email newsletters of your local branch’s newest items, including links to borrow them. Bonus: Many libraries have e-books you can borrow online.
Visit bit.ly/9LIb0k for a page of 11,000-plus free e-books--it served up a whopping 15,883 on our recent visit. You can narrow your choices with multiple keywords, too.
Public-domain book in Google Books (books.google.com) feature a download link in the toolbar that lets you choose ePub or PDF format. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a way to isolate only the public-domain titles.
The granddaddy of public-domain books on the web, Gutenberg.org offers e-books in a spartan but easy-to-use interface.
Next page: Free iOS Apps: The Classics »
dnstevenson
November 16, 2010 at 10:21am
Speaking of free credit reports - we review iPhone apps that help you manage your credit. Check the reviews of both free apps and paid apps at www.creditreportappreviews.com
redfalcon5
November 12, 2010 at 9:06pm
I am currently using 'netTALK'. There are no adds and you don't have to coerce friends to sign up. It works just like a phone. It works off of Wi-Fi with my iPod Touch.
wfurlong
November 10, 2010 at 1:09pm
this has been one of the most informative articles you've ever posted....because i'm super cheap! Thanks!
Rebelord
November 10, 2010 at 10:56am
Now here's an interesting dilemma. uTorrent merged with BitTorrent, and both apps look surprisingly the same for the Mac OS. And since they're merged, what's the difference really between the 2 applications. It would be nice if you did an article comparing the 2 Torrent clients, and seeing what the differences are, if any.
