I don't do enough IM on the phone to need anything more than the AIM Free edition, so I have no useful opinions there.

MP3 snippets to ringtones? Probably iToner. (I use Garageband, but I haven't done enough of them to make it worth the $15 to save the effort.)

I think if you keep telling it "yes" for a given app that it will stop asking after 2 or 3 times.

Flight Control and Strategery are my two current addictions.

(Reply) (Thread)

Note: I know nothing about what can be done via jailbreaking. Consider all these answers as prefaced by "Without jailbreaking, ..."

> Is the official AOL AIM app the one to use? Isn't there something that integrates SMS and AIM into one app? And that also speaks Jabber? It's weird that Apple's bundled messaging app doesn't do this.

I find the official AIM app unstable and frustrating to use. Unfortunately, 3rd party apps have no way of accessing your SMS messages, so you can't escape Messages. I use IM+, which costs money, and has a slghtly clunky UI, but it's not as awful as the official AIM app, and it does support Jabber.

> Can I make it stop asking me to confirm every time an app wants to know my location, and just always assume "yes"?

No.

> Does the mail reader really have no "mark all read" or "delete all" commands?

Correct.

Edited at 2009-10-21 02:04 am (UTC)

(Reply) (Thread)

IM+, which costs money, and has a slghtly clunky UI, but it's not as awful as the official AIM app, and it does support Jabber.

It also does all other major chat protocols (except IRC*) including Twitter. There is also a free IM+ Lite. Beware of most of the other multi-protocol chat clients (especially the free ones). They all seem to use a proxy instead of talking to the real servers, and I don't hand my passwords over to just anyone.

And I absolutely have to recommend Archon. It's not Tetris, but it is a faithful port of the classic, with shiny new graphics.

* I use Colloquy for that

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

(Reply) (Thread)

TouchCalc is vastly superior to the built-in calculator, though there may be other good calculator apps. TouchTerm is an OK SSH client (though again there may be better ones). The Frotz port is pretty nice and has an integrated browser for downloading games; there's also a Rogue port. Stanza is a good, free, e-book reader, though FileAid lets you transfer files directly from your computer.

(Reply) (Thread) (Expand)

+1 to all of this. iSSH is another ssh client that is worth checking out. Stanza is excellent. PCalc is another good calculator.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

iUse:
urbanspoon
chess with friends
echofon (twitter client)
skype
speed test
bump
TUAW
mover
...and of course my app i mentioned in your previous post:)

(Reply) (Thread)

> Can I make it stop asking me to confirm every time an app wants to know my location, and just always assume "yes"?

No, but it will only ask you twice for each app. After that you will not be asked again.

> Does the mail reader really have no "mark all read" or "delete all" commands?

No, "Edit" mode is the closest there is.

> Is the official AOL AIM app the one to use? Isn't there something that integrates SMS and AIM into one app? And that also speaks Jabber?

No, there isn't an app that will consolidate SMS. The official AIM app is rather crappy. BeejiveIM isn't perfect, but it does AIM and Jabber and actually supports things like, you know, tapping on links in messages, so it's what I use for now.

---

Other apps to look at:
Tweetie 2 instead of Twitterrific (though I know you're not a big twitter person).
TV Forecast (if you watch TV not time-shifted)
Locavore (when are local foods in season?)
iBART/iCaltrain
Starmap (has GPS+Compass support for seeing what's where)
Deliveries (syncs with the Dashboard widget)

Games:
Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor
Edge
Frenzic
Fieldrunners

(Reply) (Thread)

Edge++

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

I'd second Tweetie 2. I want to like Twitteriffic but I always find myself wanting to do something it doesn't do that Tweetie does. Do.

Also, Zen Bound. It's a game. It's sort of like Katamari. Except with creaky ropes. And no scary royalty. And it's not much like Katamari at all really.

And yeah, AIM is a disaster. I wind up just forwarding it through my SMS at the server because I get sick of their stupid app logging out and texting me to tell me to log in and get my IMs. I'd almost miss my sidekick... except Microsoft would've just lost all my data.

(Reply) (Thread)

Seconding Zen Bound as well. It's really addictive.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

* iStockManager - since I have a TD Ameritrade acct
* Sonos - since I have a Sonos
* Last.fm - about 10x better that Pandora
* Simplify Music 2 - access to remote media library
* Handshake - exchange contacts, photos, etc w/nearby iPhones
* Shazam - music recognition, though Midomi seems better
* Midomi - see above
* Yelp - Useful, even if morally questionable
* Kindle - since I have a (etc)
* Scrabble - connects with Facebook games. Terrible addiction.
* TouchTerm SSH
* MochaVNC
* Drinkspiration by Absolut - surprisingly good cocktail resource
* i.TV - TV schedules, controls my TiVo remotely
* Zipcar - since I have a (etc)
* Crayon Physics - addictive game, and they've fixed the bugs
* Enigmo, Trism, Civilization Revolutions - see last item

(Reply) (Thread) (Expand)

What makes Last.fm better than Pandora in your mind? I sure do love my Pandora app, but I'm open to changing my mind.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

> What's the easiest way to convert MP3 snippets to ringtones?

Maybe not the easiest, but using all off the self components, since I gather you're running Snow Leopard:

0) From iTunes "Show in Finder"
1) Open MP3 in Quicktime Player
2) Trim clip to something < ~40 seconds
3) Save As: iPhone
4) Rename m4v to m4r
5) Drag back to iTunes
6) Sync

(Reply) (Thread)

So the iphone doesn't just let you say "use this MP3 as my ringtone", then? Ye gods. 2004 called. They'd like their technology back. Yet another reason why I'll be sticking with Nokia for the foreseeable future.

As for iphone apps, how about Grindr? I have no idea if jwz is the target audience or not :-)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Expand)

+1 to Beejive. It does AIM, Jabber, a ton of other protocols I don't use, and supports IMs by push notification for a configurable time period.

As far as MP3 clips to ringtones, I've had success just converting my clip to AAC (in iTunes, or whatever) and then simply re-naming the file to .m4r and importing that. It gets seen as a ringtone. Only caveat is that it needs to be 30 seconds or less or it won't even open in iTunes.

(Reply) (Thread)

+1 on mp3 to ring conversion method, this is exactly what I was going to post.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

NetNewsWire ("Pro" version is reduced for a limited time)

Skype

Convert (unit and currency conversion, also a calculator, very slick)

Corbeau (ransom note writer – well, my kids like it !)

(Reply) (Thread)

In discussions I've glanced at regarding the "60 days and counting" approval process that Trillian's iPhone App is going through, people have mentioned BeeJive ($10) as a great solution. On the surface it appears to do what you need but I'd be curious if any other readers here have used it.

(Reply) (Thread)

Completely missed 2 previous comments re: BeeJive. Whoops.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Bubbels has strange play dynamics. You probably want Snood (http://bit.ly/snoodiphone) for the "shoot colerful objects at a descending wall of the same" genre, but Bubbels strangeness make me wonder if I'm missing something.

(Reply) (Thread)

It looked like Frozen Bubble to me, for which Google says there is an iPhone port. (Disclaimer: I have no idea if it sucks.)

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

http://thorfinn.dreamwidth.org/46091.html has my iPhone fu list.

Fring is what you want.

Bubbels and Tetris I dunno.

Mp3 snippets to ringtones, there's a googleable procedure. It's fiddly to do manually, but probably some handy applescript could be crafted. There are a variety of small payware apps to do the right thing, but why pay? :-)

If you confirm an app twice for Location Services, the iPhone remembers it and you don't need to confirm again.

And yeah, the Mail app doesn't have that. "Edit" will give you a list where you can move and delete once you tick each thing, but it's annoying... and Mark All Read just doesn't exist at all. Probably the biggest annoyance with the iPhone Mail app, yes. OTOH, if you need a real mail client, you have a real computer.

(Reply) (Thread) (Expand)

The irritation really kicks in when you - for better or for worse - have your work e-mail tied into the phone and you typically get a lot of mail. Of course, the iPhone never claimed to be a Blackberry and to be honest I'm just ecstatic that it ties into Exchange as well as it does.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Can I make it stop asking me to confirm every time an app wants to know my location, and just always assume "yes"?

Thankfully, it counts responses on a per-app basis and stops asking after a couple of times.

In terms of handy apps:
- listwrangler - easy checklists, shopping lists, etc.
- birdfeed - twitter
- shizam - sends FFTs to some database to identify music
- snapture - better than the built-in camera
- the public radio player - npr
- i.tv - tivo remote control ;)
- accufuel - if you've got a car and think tracking your mileage is worthwhile
- flight status - what its name says
- seismometer - just neat, that's all
- call a cab - what its name says
- amazon.com - amazon.com, organized a little better for a phone

(Reply) (Thread)

It's not Tetris per se but Booty Blocks is a good clear-the-falling-blocks game - starts deceptively easy then rapidly gets challenging.

I am liking Tweetie 2 way better than Twitterific.

Seconding the recommendation of Zen Bound.

(Reply) (Thread)

There was a game called "Tris" - a perfect tetris clone - that was in the app store for a limited time and I snagged a copy of it. It might be still available through the Undiscovered Country, but they pulled it out of the app store.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

"Bookworm" is the total bomb.

I like the yelp app, but not because of, you know, "yelp", but because there a cool "monacle" mode if you have a 3Gs that does some nifty "virtual world" overlays through the camera. Check it out; it's free, you can delete it if you hate it.

My Dark Masters have a solid version of Sim City up there. It's slow to load but still a lot of fun to play.

(Skip the Sims 3, though).

Photoshop Mobile is useful, as are several camera apps: QuadCamera, ToyCamera, NightCamera.

I'm a big fan of Rummikub, and there is a version called Romi in the app store.

(Reply) (Thread)

Oh, yeah. The ringtone thing:

In iTunes, take any MP3, and export it to m4a. Find the file in your library, copy it and rename the extension to .m4r. Import that back to iTunes; add it to the ringtone library.

(Reply) (Thread)

People got to the most useful apps, so I'm going to do some games.

Zen Bound: already mentioned up-thread, you shibari wrap wooden blocks. The rope spreads paint over the shape - to win you must cover a significant portion. This sounds boring but it's actually really challenging in a spatial orientation way and I find myself losing hours to it.

Flight Control: it's a game where you have to keep planes from crashing into each other, by guiding them to the right runway with your finger. Lately I also like Lion Pride, which is in the same path trace genre, but in this one you're in charge of lionesses and you have to guide them to prey.

Rolando: action-adventure sidescroller, with funky cartoon graphics. You have to guide the Rolandos, little ball people, around the map by tilting the iPhone around - obviously based off those metal ball mazes.

There are 'lite' versions of all these, so try before you buy.

For art, no one's mentioned Brushes. I'm fucking miserable at it, but there's a flickr stream full of people making amazing art with it.

(Reply) (Thread)

Dictionary (free)
http://dictionary.reference.com/apps/iphone

Tweet deck (free)
http://tweetdeck.com/iphone/
This is good if you repeatedly do a lot of searches.

Comics ($.99) + comics
http://www.comxcomics.com/news/?p=151
Kindle for comics. It does a decent job of displaying comics on a tiny screen. The reader is only a dollar but you have to pay for the comics. There are free ones but you need to pay to finish reading the series. Or use it to preview new stuff and then buy the paper version.

I, Robot (free)
http://www.robotcomics.net/
A comic version of Doctorow's short story. Well worth the money.

Stanza (free)
http://www.lexcycle.com/
I thought reading books on the iphone would be extremely painful but its not so bad. Its actually a nice way to read in bed since you can read with the lights off. Definitely worth the price.

Ramp Champ ($1.99) + extra levels
http://rampchamp.com/
A skee-ball game with gorgeous artwork.

(Reply) (Thread)

(Reply) (Thread)

You can use Garageband to easily convert an MP3 to ringtone since this method allows you to more accurately create loops, etc.

1) Import into a new track
2) Drag the loop in/out markers to form the loop
3) Share -> Send ringtone to iTunes
4) Sync

(Reply) (Thread)

Instapaper is fantastic if you like to read web articles on your phone. Here's a good video demonstration:

http://blog.instapaper.com/post/217259381

(Reply) (Thread)

Here's how I converted MP3 snippets to ringtones under Windows:

1. Run a converter on the .mp3 snippet file to convert it to .m4a format. I used something called the Agree Free Converter to do this.
2. In Explorer, rename the file so it has an .m4r extension. It will prompt "Are you sure you want to do this?" Of course we're sure.
3. You cannot directly drag-and-drop the .m4r files into iTunes, but, if you right-click them in Explorer and select "Play," they will be slotted into iTunes' Ringtones folder and played. From there, they will sync across to the iPhone.

Similar steps should work on the Mac.

(Reply) (Thread)

Apps:

RssRunner for following blogs.
A free "To Do's" app fills in part of the "PDA" functionality that's missing.
AppBox Pro has over a dozen useful things in one app, and it's cheap.
Camera Genius is a better camera app than the Camera app.
Passwords stores all my passwords, encrypted, protected by a master PIN number. Invaluable.
If you like Pandora, they have an app.
TouchTerm acts as a good jackleg SSH client if you need one.
AT&T's own myWireless app helps in managing your account (yeuch, I know).
Bookworm is one of my favorite games, though I've tried Flight Control, Zaptap, and Tap Tap Revenge, too.
Oh, and you absolutely must try out PeeMonkey, at least the free version. It's truly sick and twisted.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Facebook
Rhapsody
Zipcar
geoDefense - Fun, a few minutes to play any level, and I'm still working on a few of the over 30. Because the original took me a while to warm up to, I won't yet pass judgement on "Swarm", the sequel.
LOLCats
Dropbox

(Reply) (Thread) (Expand)

I *love* geoDefense so I bought Swarm instantly on faith, and I like it...but I feel like it's definitely a bit harder to wrap my head around.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)