The Best iPhone Applications Part 3

Attention all movie lovers out there. You have got to pick up Movies from the app store. Here is a description from the publisher:

Movies lets you find show times, buy tickets, watch trailers & get maps to your local theaters…FAST & FREE!

Do you remember the days of movie phone, Ahh I do? Waiting through previews you didn’t care about, it could take about 10 minutes to find your movie and actually match it up with the theater of your choice. With Movies those days are long gone.

You can easily find out what playing this weekend at your local theater. You can view top box office leaders, new movies opening this weekend, and upcoming flicks. You can get ratings of the movies provided by Flixster. I also love that you can view the trailer all from inside this app. Apparently you can order tickets through the app as well, however I was not able to find that feature. Definitely worth getting as it is free.

Pandora is one of the best ways to set up a personalized radio station of the music you like and then stream it to your phone. Brilliant! Here is a description from the publisher:

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.

Already a Pandora user? Even easier. Just log in. Pandora on the iPhone is fully integrated with Pandora on the web. Enjoy all your existing stations – and create new ones right from your iPhone or iPod Touch.

For current Pandora users it is a very simple process of signing in and having access to all of the radio stations you have already set up. If you’re not already a Pandora user then the process is slightly more difficult to get started and involves authorizing your mobile device on Pandora’s web page. But it was not too difficult. I was still able to do the whole thing through my iPhone.

With Pandora you can easily create stations around a particular artist or around a particular song you like. The interface is very simple and easy to use. While you’re listening to a song you can give it thumbs up or thumbs down. This helps customize your radio station to your match your personal preferences. You can also skip songs you don’t like, or bookmark the songs you do like. You can also purchase a song immediately through the iTunes store.

I used it while driving, and if you have 3G the service seems to run great. However, if you find yourself with edge only coverage, the service is spotty. All in all this is a great app, and hopefully with more polish it will be a favorite of many iPhone users. This app is free.

Yelp is a great resource for finding dining and entertainment close to you. Here is a description from the publisher:

Looking for a burrito joint open now? An Irish pub nearby? A Gas station you can drive by before your tank is empty? Yelp for your iPhone is here to help. Use us to search for places to eat, shop, drink, relax, and play then read reviews from an active community of locals in the know.

I have used Yelp many times when out and about and I needed to find out what Mexican food restaurants were around. Yelp makes it very easy to do this. Just search for the type of restaurant you’re looking for and you will be provide with results. You an also switch to a Google maps view directly within the application, to show you exactly where the restaurant is located. Getting turn by turn directions however, is not that easy.

The application also provides reviews from normal people like you and me. I find the reviews to be sparse here in Dallas but as more and more people become familiar with the service the reviews should grow. Each restaurant is rated using a 5 star rating system. Yelp also provides the price, hours and phone number in most cases.

Yelp also provides information about the nearest bars and clubs, coffee & tea joints, banks, gas stations, and drugstores. When you compare the Where and the Yelp applications it a very close call. I would probably give it to Where, but they are both free so download them both and make up your own mind.

Last.fm is very much like Pandora, with a couple more featured thrown in. Here is a description from the publisher:

Listen to more than 5 Million tracks for free with Last.fm on your iPhone. Create personal radio stations based on any artists or genres, and listen to commercial free music for hours. With Last.fm on the iPhone you can check out artist bios and concert information and share your favorite tracks with your friends using the iPhone contact list. The more you listen, the more Last.fm learns what you like and recommends new music based on your taste.

With Last.fm you have basically the same features you have available in Pandora. You can easily create stations around a particular. You can skip, ban, or love a song.  The more you listen the more Last.fm recognizes your music tastes. You can also purchase a song immediately through the iTunes store.

There are several things you can do in Last.fm that you can’t do in Pandora. You can view and artist bios, check out a list of similar artists, start a station by tags, and check out the top listeners of a particular artist. All of these features help you discover new Music. Last.fm is also set up like a social network. You can friend other listeners with similar tastes and compare music compatibility. Last.fm also tracks all of your listening habits and displays information about your actual favorite artist, album, and track based on how many times you listened to it.

For me Last.fm beats Pandora hands down. There are some who would argue that Pandora has a better learning algorithm; however the extra features I get in Last.fm is what makes it a winner in my book. If they ever get a chance to add mobile scrobbling to Last.fm I would be a very happy person. Last.fm is free in the app store.

SportsTap is your one stop shop for all your sporting news. Think Sportscenter for your iPhone. Here is a description from the publisher:

SportsTap is the ultimate sports iPhone portal. Access all the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR, Formula One, IndyCar, AFL, PGA, LPGA, ATP, WTA, MLS, English Premier League and UEFA Leagues scores and stats on the iPhone or iPod touch wherever you are. SportsTap provides detailed box scores with in-depth team and player statistics as well as season statistics and transactions for many leagues

SportsTap is Real-time iPhone updates for any sport. You can select the sport you’re interested in, and watch individual game updates or score updates. This I great if you are somewhere with limited access to a computer or ESPN. I love getting updates about NBA & NFL instantly being able to follow teams that are not generally on my radar. The UI needs to be tweeked, as some of the buttons are very small. The user interface kind of feels like a Windows Mobile app. However it works surprisingly well, despite the look of it. The best part is that it is completely free.

Turn off what you don’t need easily. Toggle your services on or off right from one location. It also gives you a customizable dock at the bottom.