markmcb's Top 5 iPhone App Picks for 2009

I love my iPhone. Probably the greatest feature of the iPhone is the App Store, which allows you to download and install 3rd party applications. Over the past year I’ve grown quite fond of a handful of applications and just thought I’d share. Obviously my picks tie heavily to my preferences, but since you’re reading this on a site called OmniNerd, I figured you might like them too.

Tweetie 2

If you’re not using Twitter, then you’re probably over the age of 30 or not famous. For those that are using it, you know that it can be quite addictive and a little hard to keep track of. Not with Tweetie 2 for iPhone. Multiple accounts, intuitive layouts, and tons of configurable options make it the best Twitter app out there in my opinion.

I started out with Tweetdeck and then tried NatsuLion, but both had key issues that really bothered me and prohibited quick use. Things like not remembering what I did last and not “connecting the dots” as I jumped around through content were big show stoppers. I guess it’s a classic case of you get what you pay for because while those two apps are free, at $2.99 Tweetie blows them away.

Who knows, I may even start tweeting more for OmniNerd (that’s a shameless plug to follow omninerd on twitter).

Available From: atebits

If you can’t judge a book by its cover, then you can’t judge an app by its icon. Lux DLX probably has the ugliest icon in the whole app store. I actually almost didn’t buy it for this reason, but I digress.

This one is simple: do you like the board game Risk? Then get this app. It’s Risk on steroids with lots of maps and pretty good AI. I played this non-stop on a flight from Dallas to SF and it made the 3+ hour flight seem too short. It’s really well done.

Available From: Sillysoft

UniWar

On the computer, real time strategy games are fun. On the iPhone, not so much. When I play games I’m usually in between meetings, walking to my car, etc. I have 5-10 minutes and my finger agility when I’m walking isn’t the greatest. This is why turn based strategy games rule.

UniWar uses a hex board and offers multiple units to each of three races. Each turn you buy units based on your income, move, and fight. It’s great fun. However, the coolest thing about this game is the online play. You can have multiple games going with total strangers. You’re notified when it’s your turn, you make your moves, and then the other player is notified. So once you get to the point where you can consistently beat the AI, try your skills against the thousands of players online.

Available From: JavaGround Inc.

Defender Chronicles: Legend of The Desert King

If you like tower defense games, then you’ve got to check this app out. Unlike most tower defense games, this one has a role playing spin to it. Each level has predetermined areas where you can build certain types of units. Like in most tower defense games you can upgrade or sell them as the level progresses.

The biggest difference between this and other games is the hero. You choose either a general or a sorceress to be your hero. As you win battles, you get skill points that you can use to improve various attributes of your hero. Additionally, at the end of the level, based on how well you did, you get money. This can be traded for weapons, armor, etc., for your hero.

Available From: Chillingo

iStat

I help keep things running from a technical standpoint at OmniNerd. One of my many tasks is to ensure the servers are humming along as they should be. In the past, checking the servers required that I find a computer with ssh installed and connect to the servers remotely, run a few diagnostic commands, and then log out. While not super time consuming, the requirements weren’t always easy to accomadate. For instance, if I was in the car and someone texts me “server seems slow” then there wasn’t much I could do. Not anymore.

With iStat, I’m two taps away from all the most common data I need to check, namely processor load, disk space, and memory. Rather than always feeling the need to find a terminal just to check to see if everything is ok, I can now quickly assess if it’s even worth my time to log in.

The way iStat gets stats is through a lightweight process that runs on your server collecting data (from the /proc filesystem if you’re familiar). As it runs, it keeps the most recent history available so that you can graphically see what’s been going on for the last few minutes.

In addition to checking servers, iStat also gives you all sorts of gory iPhone stats. I don’t find these all that useful, but they are interesting nonetheless.

Available From: Bjango

Going into 2010: Catan

I’ve not yet played Catan yet, but I’ve got it downloaded and it will be my next app to try when I have some dead time. If it’s true to the board game, it should be a lot of fun. We’ll see.

Available From: USM (that’s a German site, here’s the Google translation to English)