Best Free Apps for iPhone

Lovely bit of free for iPhone and iPod Touch

At this time of year many of us feel as though we’re hemorrhaging money.  As a little tonic, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite free apps for iPhone and iPod Touch.  Everyone loves a little bit of free!

Social Networking

The best social networking sites are free, and so are their apps.

Facebook

This wee application is a joy.  Just like the site itself its completely free and allows you to keep up with your social whirl.  You can view your news feed, update your status, send and approve friend requests and view photos.  It’s beautifully designed and incredibly simple to use.  If you haven’t got it already, download it now!

To find this app search the App Store for “Facebook”.

TweetDeck

It’s a strange fact that many Twitter users choose to use an alternative method of viewing their account, rather than the Twitter site itself.  TweetDeck is one of the easiest to use, and the iPhone App is similarly handy.  You can sync your account with your Facebook one and customise your view to display mentions, direct messages, friendfeed, nearby tweets or search results.  It’s also possible to use more than one account at a time; a handy feature for true Twitter addicts that isn’t even offered by the parent site at the moment.

To find this app search the App Store for “TweetDeck”.

Entertainment

If you’re stuck on the bus, in traffic or just trying to pass the time, these will while the hours away.

BBC iPlayer

The mobile version of the popular catch-up service, the iPlayer web app allows you to stream previously aired radio and television programmes to your phone (only free in the UK though).  The interface will be familiar to anyone who’s used the full iPlayer on line, and gives quick access to content from the last seven days.  You can find the programme you’re after using a quick search then view it instantly.  No fan of the beeb should be without it.

This is a web app, which you’ll need to access through Safari on your iPod Touch or iPhone.  Here’s the link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/iplayer/.

Stanza

This is another must have app that transforms your iPhone or iPod Touch into an ebook reader.  Stanza gives you several options for viewing text, and the experience is so good that I actually prefer this platform to the e-ink displays of the expensive dedicated e-book readers.  Stanza remembers your place in each book, so you don’t need to leaf through every page to find the place that you left off.  I’m not alone in this preference, as a recent survey revealed that e-books have overtaken games in the app store.

As well as allowing you to read text, Stanza gives you direct access to several online archives of freely downloadable titles, most of which are classics that are now out of copyright.  Among the popular authors you’ll find Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen, Dickens, H. G. Wells and Kafka so there’s no excuse for not improving your mind when you’re on the bus.  There’s also a partner download for your computer which is also free and allows you to convert the e-books and text files that you already own.

To find this app search the App Store for “Stanza”.

For the free text conversion software visit http://www.lexcycle.com/download-stanza-windows.

Audiobooks

This App is similar to Stanza, in that it offers access to legal open source content, but this time you can access free audio books from the public domain.  Librivox.org has been busy assembling a library of spoken-word classics, read by helpers from throughout the English-speaking world.  There’s a similar range of authors and represented here, with some of the most popular books available in several versions.

Because the books are read by volunteers, some of them are difficult to listen to.  For example, I’ve had to abandon “The adventures of Sherlock Holmes” because the gentleman reading the text doesn’t seem to understand half of the vocabulary.  Luckily, this is a fairly rare experience because Librivox users rate the submissions, and weaker ones are quickly re-recorded.

The free version of this app lets you stream the audio, but you can choose to upgrade to the paid app (for a very modest 59p) after which you can download and keep as many books as you like.

To find this app search the App Store for “Audiobooks”.

Music

iPhones and iPods were designed with music in mind, so it makes sense to make the most of their capabilities.

Last.fm

If you’d rather listen to music than literature, Last.fm is a must.  Again completely free it allows you to stream music over Wi-Fi or 3G.  Last.fm’s app comes complete with most of the website’s features including album art, artist radio, playlists, biographies, links to MySpace pages, etc.  If you want to buy the track you’re listening to, the app will direct you to the artist’s page on iTunes.

To find this app search the App Store for “Last.fm”.

Shazam

Shazam is an app that holds the key to winning the music round in the pub quiz; if you’re a great big cheat that is.  If your iGadget has a microphone, Shazam will listen to a sample of any music being played and tell you the name of the track and the artist.  All you need to do is tap “Tag Now” when the song is playing and Shazam will “listen” to the track for about ten seconds.

It then searches an online database for a match, and almost invariably comes back with the right answer, complete with artwork.  You can then store the tracks you’ve tagged in a list so that you can go and listen to them for free on Last.fm at a later point, view related videos on YouTube or buy them the next time you’re shopping for music (though of course there’s also the obligatory link to good old iTunes too).

To find this app search for “Shazam”.

GigFinder

Yes, the reason that this one is free is that it’s sponsored by Becks beer, but that doesn’t mean that GigFinder is any less useful.  This app uses your location to search for gigs in your local area over the next few days.  We found an impressive array of acts listed for our location, with even some of the smaller local bands turning up on the radar.

Last.fm has a hand in this app too, and this one also features links to YouTube videos so that you can check out a band’s music before you commit to buying a ticket.

To find this app search for “GigFinder”.

AroundMe

This app is brilliant and we would gladly have paid for it, but like the rest of this list there’s no need to part with any cash to use it.  After determining your current location, AroundMe shows you a list of the nearest banks, taxis, pubs, restaurants, hotels cinemas, hospitals, and anything else that you might need to find in a hurry.  This is fantastic if you’re in a strange city, or just can’t decide what to do next.

To find this app search for “AroundMe”.

Food and Drink

There are some pretty tasty free apps whether you feel like staying in or gadding about in fancy restaurants.

Urban Spoon

This app is much like AroundMe in that it searches out nearby restaurants using your current location.  This one appears much like a slot machine, with three scrolling menus that show firstly the various areas near you, next the type of cuisine and lastly the price range.

You can lock one or all of these options, leave things more open to see a pot luck selection, or browse by popularity, atmosphere, opening times etc.

Tapping on a restaurant gives you location information, typical pricing for a meal as well as reviews, directions, contact details etc.  It’s very handy and quite easy to operate.

At the moment Urban Spoon only covers Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brimingham, Manchester and London in the UK, but we’ve been promised that more cities will be added soon.

To find this app search the App Store for “Urbanspoon”.

BigOven

Dispense with Delia, jettison Jamie and give Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall the heave-ho.  BigOven is a recipe book in your pocket with upwards of 140,000 recipes to choose from.  It is a web app, so you’ll need either Wi-Fi or 3G connection, but you can e-mail the recipes to yourself to read later so it’s not really a problem.

There are several ways to use this app.  Search by specific ingredients, such as prawns for example, to find a range of recipes, or look for specifics like “Thai green curry”.  Most of the recipes appear with an image of the final dish as well as comments by users and star ratings.  People will think that you’re a culinary genius, and you may never feel the need to buy a cook book again.

To find this app search for “BigOven”.

Pocket Cocktails

Just like BigOven, Pocket Cocktails contains the recipes for thousands of alcoholic beverages, some familiar and some outlandish.  There are pretty pictures of each drink along with mixing instructions and lists of ingredients, as well as a search function for specific cocktails.

Just remember not to try too many different ones at once – experience tells me that this is definitely not a good idea.

To find this app search for “Pocket Cocktails – Drinks and Wine” .

Useful/ Reference

Whether you want to learn a new language or look up a word in a dictionary, there’s likely to be an app. that does it for you, but most of the good ones cost money.  There are, however, a few exceptions:

TouchCalc

This one doesn’t need much explanation; suffice to say that it’s a scientific calculator for your iGadget – handy if you need to do a spot of trig. on the go.

To find this app search the App Store for “TouchCalc”.

Stars

This is not the most beautiful of apps, but we still like it because it’s simple.  Stars is a map of the heavens that names all of the constellations and the stars they’re composed of.  It can be difficult to align the map with your view, but it’s easier to carry this in your pocket than it is to heave around a book on astronomy

To find this app search for “Stars” in the Education category of the App store.

PS Mobile

This is a handy app that allows you to edit photos directly from your iPhone or iPod touch, then upload to a free Photoshop.com account.  Because the Touch doesn’t have a camera you can’t use the entire range of functions, but iPhone owners will be able to take a snap and work on it straight away.

The Photoshop app lets you crop, rotate or flip your images, or add a range of effects.  It’s not the most co

mprehensive photo editor for the iPhone (BestCamera is very good) but it’s free, and adds useful functionality to the Touch in particular.

To find this app search for “Photo shop”.

World Wiki

This is another information app that contains a list of the countries of the world.  There’s a wealth of information about each one including native language, population, flags, dialing codes, time zones, GDP and virtually anything else you might care to mention.  Good for those “Bridget Jones” moments when you can’t quite remember where Germany is.

To find this app search for “World Wiki”.

Backgrounds

This one is chock full of downloadable images that you can use in place of your lock screen or use as the image for a contact if you don’t have their photo to hand.  Searchable by theme, popularity or keyword, the pictures are free to download and use instantly.  You’re guaranteed to find something to suit your tastes; the range is massive.

To find this app search the App Store for “Backgrounds”.

Games

There are many free games for the iPod Touch and the iPhone, but there’s also a good deal of dross to sift through, so here’s a list of some of our favourites (but only the free ones).

Lux Touch

This is essentially Risk for the iPod/iPhone.  Your mission is to conquer the world using a mix of strategy and luck to beat the AI players into submission and occupy as many countries as possible.  The game works well, and is just as frustrating as Risk itself, though there’s only a single player option so it’s difficult to have an argument with the opposition.

If I was all powerful, I would make one small change; there’s no way to save the game you’re playing so you have to start from scratch every time you open the application.  It’s particularly annoying if you’ve been building up your armies ready to make a sweeping attack across the board, but I suppose you can’t complain – it is free after all.

To find this app search for “Lux Touch”

Sudoku (Free)

This one is predictable, but Sudoku became a raging success for a reason; it’s massively addictive and makes you feel all clever and superior.  This one is the best free version.  It doesn’t bombard you with adverts and the layout is logical.  There are also several colour schemes to choose from and lots of options that allow you to ramp up the difficulty.

To find this app search for

EWJ Free

Woo hoo! Free Earth Worm Jim!  I have my doubts about the virtual d-pad that requires you to obscure part of the screen to play games, but for good old Jim I’m prepared to lay my hesitations to one side.   Granted, this is not the full version of the game, but if you’ve never played as the whippy-headed space worm before then give it a go, and see how we big kids used to spend our time, back when Sega still made consoles.

If you already know and love the character then it’s a no-brainer.  Play a few levels and feel the nostalgia start to prick the corners of your eyes.

To find this app search for “Earthworm Jim Free”

Finger Physics

Admittedly, this game is not as beautiful as Crayon Physics Deluxe, but it comes pretty close with some nice graphics and realistic mechanics.  You are given a variety of blocks with different properties and asked to build a stable structure or move an object across the screen.

This might sound simple, but as you advance through the levels you encounter exploding, magnetic and floating blocks, so Finger Physics quickly becomes challenging.

Now I’m going to lie down in a dark room because there are millions of small icons with rounded-off corners dancing in front of my eyes.  Any intrepid App Store adventurers should please feel free to add to the list.