A list of 100 Essential Apps for iPad/iPhone that will improve your lifestyle! Although I can’t guarantee anything… Not all will work on both iPhone/iPod and iPad and the prices may vary depending on location and iOS.
1. Facebook – Free
Got Facebook? Of course you have! The most popular website for Social Networking has got a free App which is easy to navigate and looks appealing. Now you can be anti-social and social at the same time! What, you don’t have a Facebook? Maybe you should just stick to writing letters.
2. Angry Birds – £0.59/$0.99
Perhaps not the most essential app in this list but let’s face it, until you try the most addictive physics-based bird-flinging game on the App Store, you really aren’t a true apple fanatic.
3. Twitter – Free
The best place to stalk celebrities and erm.. stalk more celebrities? Yeah I hate the thing. But there must be something appealing about it, perhaps to promote your business or find out when your favourite band are touring. So get your free Twitter App now and find out what Justin Beiber had for breakfast. Fascinating, right?!
4. Keynote – £5.99/$9.99
Make a moving presentation, and take it anywhere. A powerful presentation App for use with the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Keynote gives you ways to create interesting slideshows while being able to take them anywhere.
5. GarageBand – £2.99/$5.99
Did your jazz fusion band never really take off? GarageBand lets you mix different instruments together to create your own melodies. Many instruments available including guitars, keyboard, drums and tambourine, while a stylish and user-friendly interface allows anyone to create songs.
6. Hipstamatic – £1.19/$1.99
A fun little camera App that allows you to change the virtual lens, film and flash, giving your photos that awesome vintage/retro look. Essentially it’s just adding cool effects to your snapshots while providing you with an old-school camera interface. Turning hipster has never been so cheap!
7. Mint – Free
A virtual money-manager, Mint tracks your income, spending and investments after you enter your financial data to the password-protected site. It will also alert you should your spending go over a preset budget or if your credit needs attention. One of the best free finance related Apps.
8. Spotify – Free
The music revelation that is Spotify, now available as an App. Spotify allows you to play music streamed from the internet for free, and save them to playlists. Not every band can be found on it but it’s collection is pretty extensive.
9. Skype – Free
Yet another social networking App, Skype stands among the best, offering free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls over 3G and WiFi.
10. ShopSavvy – Free
Using ShopSavvy, you can find the best deals for products on the highstreet while uploading deals you have found yourself for other users to find. Now with improved search and barcode scanning.
11. Kindle – Free
Kindle offers an easy-to-use-interface giving you access to almost a million books in the Kindle Store. The App is free but you must purchase most books.
12. Google Earth – Free
View the entire globe from your iPhone! An interesting App, which uses GPRS to locate your current position and then you’re free to wander anywhere. Hawaii? Fiji? You be the judge.
13. BBC News – Free
Newspapers are old fashioned. Well not really but with this helpful App you can access the world’s news from your pocket.
14. Mixology – Free
Time for a cocktail? Mixology lets you input what alcohols and mixers you have on hand, and then offers up possible libations that can be created from them. Including a glossary, tips and a search function to find local bars. Just don’t end up in AA meetings.
15. World Lens – Free
World Lens is a fantastic Idea. Your point your camera at something written in a foreign language, say Spain for instance, and the App translates it into English or vice versa! Although there are videos proving it works, the App Store has a lot of customers claiming it can be dodgy. Try it for yourself.
16. RedLazer – Free
‘Impossibly accurate barcode scanning.’ RedLazer scans any barcode from any angle fast and accurate, and best of all it’s completely free!
17. Domino’s Pizza – Free
Perhaps it’s easier to ring up? Well who cares, you’ve got an iPhone now and you may as well put it to some use. Plus you can be extra picky about the toppings without sounding like a spoilt fat dude over the phone. Remember, the App may be free, but the pizzas are not.
18. Yelp – Free
Yelp for your iPhone is here to help. Use it to find places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play then read reviews from the community and feel free to add your own.
19. London BusMapper – £1.19
Incredibly handy unless you live outside of London, in which case it’s pretty much uselss. But if you are a habitant of the UK’s capital, download this app and keep every bus route in your pocket.
20. IMDB – Free
Right before I watch a film, I tend to whack it on IMDB first. I’ll find out the rating, user reviews, cast etc. And decide if it’s worth my time. Or right afterwards to give my own two cents about it, I mean was the Justin Beiber movie really that bad? Joking, of course it was.
21. Kayak – Free
The popular flight comparison site makes its way onto the App scene, allowing you to compare flight, hotel and car rental deals, track flight details and access airline numbers and airport info right in your pocket.
22. Tumblr – Free
Download the Tumblr App for easy access to your awesome blog, like this one!
23. Virtuoso – Free
The most stylish keyboard App I’ve seen, Virtuoso allows you to play Beethoven’s 5th without breaking a sweat.
24. ColorSplash – £1.59/$1.99
ColorSplash lets you edit photos from your library by altering the saturation of specific areas giving black-and-white photos with a ‘splash’ of colour. See what I did there?
25. Drumkit – Free
A great way to take out all that anger that’s been building up inside you. Or you could create a bitchin’ Boats n’ Hoes cover.
26. Mensa Brain Test – £1.19/$1.99
Mensa Brain Test is like an IQ test for your iPhone. I think it’s unrealistic though because I got an IQ score of 140. I’m obviously much smarter…
27. Instagram – Free
The cheap man’s Hipstamatic! Although not as attractive, this app still provides the same features, turning your bland photos into something real nice!
28. The Video Cookbook – £3.49/$5.99
Some interesting step-by-step recipes complete with difficulty ratings and ingredient lists. I read a review that it was good for students, but to my dismay there were no dishes consisting of mouldy bread, tuna and beer.
29. Sky+ – Free
Hook it up to your sky+ box and record tv shows anywhere in the world from your pocket. Now you won’t miss a single episode of Glee! Although I wouldn’t recommend it.
30. Guitar Tuner – Free
Exactly what it says on the tin. A stylish little App allowing you to tune up your guitar and start expressing some feelings. Banjo player? Get outta here.
31. Groovemaker FREE – Free
Similar to GarageBand, the user can mix together different beats and sounds creating unique grooves.
32. Sketchbook Pro – $4.99
Unleash the artist inside of you! Sketchbook Pro gives you all the drawing tools you need to create a masterpiece. Especially given the larger canvas of the iPad. Or you could just draw a massive wang and hold it above your friends head.
33. Gorillacam – Free
Camera App with a 4x digital zoom, self-timer, rapid fire, 3-shot burst and a grid overlay. Pretty much all you need really.
34. BBC iPlayer – Free
Everything available on the iPlayer from your pocket. I do love a bit of Hustle, don’t you?
35. Zipcar – Free
An original App helping you to find all nearby car rentals, and showing you which cars are actually available to reserve until you get there! You can also lock/unlock your car.
36. Akinator – £1.19/$1.99
This creepy genie will guess anyone (or anything) you’re thinking off. Similar to 20 Questions, just answer what he asks and see how close he comes. He’s guessed all of mine right so far.
37. ITV Player – Free
A free App letting you watch past ITV programmes right from your pocket.
38. RunKeeper Free – Free
Pretty similar to the Nike+ app but it’s completely free. Time your runs, find out your average speed and how many calories you’ve burned.
39. Tiny Tower – Free
A fun little game in which you must build up a tower of shops, apartments, cafes etc. Once you get going, the game gives you a wait time for construction or stocking, or offers you tokens to speed things up for real money. But if you’re that desperate to see your tower strike gold, you can always just alter the time/date on your iPhone settings ;).
40. PayPal – Free
Easy access to your PayPal account.
41. Lose It! – Free
The fun way to lose those calories! Lose It lets you take a log of the food you eat and how many calories they contain, while creating goals to help you cut down on the cake.
42. SpringPad – Free
A simple yet effective App for note taking on the go. You can then organise and categorise them afterwards.
43. SoundHound – Free/$6.99
If you’re out and about and here a song playing but you can’t for the life of you figure out what it is, just hold up SoundHound. This handy App will record the song and search it’s database giving you the name for free. Damn technology, you scary!
44. Bloom – £2.39/$3.99
Developed by Brian Eno, part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom’s innovative controls allow anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen.
45. Photoshop Express – Free
Adobe’s contribution to the App market is Photoshop Exress, a free image editor that allows the user to customize their photos. Includes a simple user interface with good results.
46. AIM – Free
Aol’s Instant Messenger for your iPhone. The only worthwhile thing to come out of AoHell.
47. Fruit Ninja – £0.59/$0.99
I’m sure everyone would give up their day job in order to be a crime fighting ninja and this is the perfect place to start. Not so much crime fighting but slicing fruit for your granddad but don’t worry, everyone must start somewhere.
48. Amazon – Free
Buy and Sell products on your iPhone with Amazons free app.
49. Doodle Jump – £0.59/$0.99
Guide the doodle up a series of platforms while avoiding monsters and holes in the paper. You can also change the theme to Halloween, Christmas, underwater and others. A fun way to pass the time.
50. Netflix – Free
The App is free but I believe you have to be a Netflix member to enjoy TV shows and movies. You can start a free trial to access the content.
51. Flight Control – £0.59/$0.99
Incredibly Addictive. Guide your teeny tiny planes to their individual runways and try to avoid crashing them into each other.
52. CraigsListPro – £0.59/$0.99
A handy App for instant access to the local classifieds website, Craigs List.
53. Google Voice – Free
Access your Google Voice account right from your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Send free text messages to US phones and make international calls at very low rates.
54. Pandora – Free
Pandora Radio is your own FREE personalized radio now available to stream music on your iPhone. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists, songs or classical composers and Pandora will create a “station” that plays their music and more music like it.
55. The Sims 3 – £2.99/$6.99
Who doesn’t love the Sims?! Removing ladders from pools, building windowless prisons, befriending the grim reaper, this game has it all! You can’t actually do any of these things on the App version though, but it’s still worth a play.
56. Shazam – Free
Similar to SoundHound but completely free! Hold it up to a song to find out the name of it.
57. Wi-Fi Finder – Free
A handy App that locates all nearby Wi-Fi hotspots so you can browse the internet for free and anonymously…
58. Flikr – Free
Share your photos. Watch the world. Flickr for the iPhone enables photo-sharing on the go – from your phone, to the world. Just be careful not to share anything embarrasing.
59. Logitech Touch Mouse – Free
This useful App turns your iPhone into a wireless touch pad for use with a computer or laptop!
60. Tubemap – Free
Tap stations on the map to tag, and you can quickly plan journeys between home, work and social engagements. Tags also appear as icons on the map so you can customize the map to your own preferences. Pitty I don’t live in London.
61. Last.FM – Free
Access Last.fm charts, recommendations, events and radio on the go.
62. Ebay – Free
Bid Bid Bid. Sell Sell Sell. Everyone’s favourite auction site in your pocket.
63. White Noise – £1.19
If you’re having trouble sleeping try White Noise. It plays soothing sounds to help you reach the infamous land of nod.
64. Time Magazine – Free
The Time Magazine App gives you the opportunity to purchase digital copies of the magazine so you can keep up to date with the latest news and content.
65. Tip Calculator – Free
Allows you to split the cost of a bill at the end of a meal. Really helpful unless you eat all of your meals alone.
66. UK Postage Calculator – £1.19
Avoid boring queues in the post office and use this calculator to find out just how much it will cost you to send me a beer. Just kidding, although I do like beer.
67. Ultimate Guitar Tabs – £1.79/$2.99
For the musician in you! An easy way to browse all the website’s guitar tabular without having to go through the website first.
68. FatBooth – £0.59/$0.99
I’m quite curious as to whether this App does anything to someone with an already fat face? And also, does it work on your pet? Let me know!
69. WordPress – Free
With the WordPress App you can moderate comments and edit posts and images from your iPhone. Easy to use but you must have a WordPress based website to use.
70. Labyrinth 2 – £2.99/$4.99
Labyrinth 2 has you tilting your device to roll a ball into a hole. Sounds easy enough but the later levels will have you yelling in frustration.
71. The Times – Free
The Times offers you a digital subscription to the News Paper, with a 30 day trial to try first.
72. Nike+ GPS – £1.19/$1.99
Map your runs, track your progress and get the motivation you need to go even further. Hear mid-run cheers every time your friends like or comment on your run status, or outrun them in a game of Nike+ Tag. This helpful App has a great looking user interface and all the functions of a fitness app you need.
73. Groupon – Free
Groupon offers you great deals on virtually anything which can be purchased directly from your iPhone. Includes a map with all your local offers nearby.
74. Nigella Quick Collection – £2.39/$3.99
Nigella Lawson shares a collection of recipes in the form of an Apple App. Attractive, smart and funny. The interface is quite nice too.
75. iKamasutra XL – £1.79/$2.99
In case you’re having some trouble in the bedroom or just perhaps wanting to spice up your love life iKamasutra can help, with information on different positions and the ability to track your progress. There is also a free Lite version available.
76. Sleep – $0.99
Sleep is a customizable soundboard with 100 relaxing sounds of nature and ambient music. The app has ability to combine different sounds (including your own), specify different volume levels and save your combination.
77. NHS Direct – Free
If you’re feeling slightly under the weather, the NHS’s medical app allows you to submit your symptoms and get a diagnosis. Obviously this doesn’t substitute going to a real doctor but it’s a smart App.
78. TuneIn Radio Pro – £0.59/$0.99
Listen to and record over 50,000 radio stations including thousands of AM/FM local stations on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with TuneIn Radio!
79. Windows Live Hotmail – Free
Access to your hotmail/live account on your phone with all the same functions from a browser available.
80. Dropbox – Free
Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your iPhone and iPad and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.
81. Unblock Me – £0.59/$0.99
A brain-challenging puzzle game where you must rearrange blocks onscreen to let one out. With over 500 levels, this is a fun way to pass a bit of free time! There is also a free Lite version available.
82. Wikipedia – Free
You could just use the browser on your iPhone but hey, Wikipedia deserves an App too.
83. ESPN ScoreCenter – Free
ESPN ScoreCenter brings you scores, news, and standings from hundreds of sports leagues around the world.
84. The Trainline – Free
thetrainline.com is the UK’s leading independent train ticket retailer. You can buy tickets for any train and find the cheapest offer.
85. Weather+ – £0.59/$0.99
Is the weather App supplied on your iPhone just not doing it for you? This attractive weather app tells you all you need to know and more. Just look how pretty it is!
86. AgingBooth – £0.59/$0.99
Women dread the thought of looking old and wrinkly so give your girlfriend a shock by using this App to turn her face into a dried prune. Ingenious, you get all the laughs while she sobs into a pillow for the next few hours.
87. Spending Log – £0.59/$0.99
Spending Log lets you keep track of any purchases you make ie. buying me a beer? It lets you keep track of your where your money is being spent while being able to analyse your income and expenditure on multiple accounts and more.
88. Google Goggles – Free
Google Goggles allows you to search the web using a photo you’ve taken with your iPhone camera. Pretty nifty, huh?
89. Real Tools – £1.19/$1.99
Carrying a tool box to work is a thing of the past! Real Tools gives you 18 helpful tools to accomplish tasks on the job, including a ruler, spirit level, thermometer and a fully working electric drill. I lied about the last one.
90. Carbon Tracker – Free
Apparently it’s time we reduced our carbon footprint? Well if you’re determined to cut back on your carbon emissions, Carbon Tracker is a good start. Chart your annual footprint and monitor progress against monthly goals.
91. Instapaper – £2.99/$4.99
Save web pages for later offline reading, optimized for readability on your iPhone or iPod touch’s screen.
92. Call of Duty: Zombies – £2.99/$4.99
Let’s face it, zombies can be a real pain when you’re trying to get to work or attempting to root through the bargain bin in the supermarket. But here to help is CoD: Zombies, which will give you all the practice you need to fight off the undead in real life. Now you can leave your house every morning without worring about someone biting your neck.
93. Find My iPhone – Free
A handy GPRS tool where you can register your iPhone so if you lose it you can sign in on another iOS and locate it!
94. Evernote – Free
Evernote for iPhone lets you create notes, snap photos, and record voice memos that you can then access any time from your iPhone or computer.
95. iMovie – £2.99/$4.99
Create and Edit Movies on your iPhone. You can add sound effects, music and pictures from your library or record audio straight from your iPhone.
96. Infinity Blade £3.49/$5.99
One of the best looking games I’ve played on the iPhone. An engaging storyline and interesting gameplay contribute to one of the best games ever released on the App Store.
97. The Daily – Free
The Daily is the world’s first daily news, entertainment and sports publication created and designed from scratch for iPad
98. Bizzy – Free
Share mini-reviews of where you went and how it was, using the Bizzy Check Out three smiley scale and include optional tips. Post your Check Outs on Twitter or Facebook to share your ratings with the waiting world.
99. GroupMe – Free
An up-and-coming free group messaging with anyone you know. Works on any phone. Features include: Group messaging with contacts you can invite from your social networks, the ability to add your location and conference calling.
100. Nyan Cat! – FREE!
Possibly the best and cutest thing ever created? It doesn’t matter if you didn’t download the first 100 Apps, this is the only one you’ll ever need. Sure, it won’t let you post statuses, browse maps, fling birds, read books or find cheap flights but you can watch Nyan Cat fly across your screen while you cry over your loveless marriage, perfect!