Applications that Really Make the iPhone an Ultramobile Computing Platform

Aug 16, 2009 at 3:12 PM
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It seems that the iPhone and iPod Touch's strongest innovation isn't in the far better design/user interface than previous pocket computers. Instead, it appears to be developing an easy, accessible, distribution channel (in the App Store), instruction (in the videos that teach you how to develop for the platform), and even the libraries, which make it far easier to create highly-functional applications. As developers create more applications, the temptation to "jailbreak" the phone has to be rapidly decreasing for techies and non-techies alike.

This will mention an application regularly that make the iPhone or iPod Touch a particularly useful tool. Here are the first two:

MobileAirMouse - makes your iPhone into a gyroscopic air mouse (great for presentations) or a multitouch trackpad, both with a keyboard and a number of "function" buttons, like play/pause. Uses a server on your Mac or Win PC. Some people use this to add a pinch/zoom trackpad to their machine. $2.99 for the Pro version.

InstaPaper - lets you save articles from your computer's browser to be automatically cached on your iPhone, simply by clicking a Javascript bookmark. Amazing for travelers who want to have something to read on the plane. Free.