iphone: a memoir

some time ago i posted the contents of my trunk with the supposition that it served as a fairly accurate self-portrait. since then, the iphone has come along, and with the hours of travel time yesterday getting to san antonio, i not only finished the lost symbol, but started wondering if my apps would 'define' me. :D

i'll admit that i'm a little obsessed with the iphone. whenever i am talking with someone who has one, i like to look at their apps. it gives you a completely unique perspective on people. so, partly because i believe in sharing (and i know at least one person with a brand new iphone), here's the iphone self-portrait.

the most used apps

calendar, contacts, safari, app store - all stock apple
facebook - where all my mobile pics and updates come from
tweetdeck - okay, so maybe this isn't the 'most used' but i'm trying to self-motivate
fring - multi-platform chat program
skype - i plan on making a lot of cheap international calls in germany ;)
idisk - mobile access to my mobile me account
ipod - stock
camena - play a song in the ipod, open camena and see the lyrics
shazam- hear a song you like on a commercial, in a movie, in a grocery store? shazam will listen and identify
errands - a great to do list
assistant - track various accounts in travel, banking, utilities... i love this app
evernote - a far superior alternative to the apple 'notes' app.
voice memos - stock apple. i've used this mostly to record sections of audio books in my car so i can capture a good quote or passage

photos, travel, and random commons

camera, photos - stock apple
smugshot - easy access to my smugmug account to post or view
color splash - a fun photo tool
flight track - an indispensible app for tracking my flights (i've learned about delays before they are announced at the gate), and getting gate info
itranslate - how do you say 'where is the bathroom?' in german? ;)
metro - metro systems for a wide list of cities
american airlines - this is not an app, but rather a website added to my home screen
tip for my new iphone owner friend - if you want to save a website to your home screen that does not come 'built in' with an icon, simply zoom the site as far as you like to create your own icon. whatever is on the screen when you add the page will become your icon.
upacking list - a recent download that should get a lot of use
currency - how many dollars is a euro worth?
frankfurt - a temporary app that will hopefully guide me to the train station from the airport!
postman - create your own virtual postcards and email them or share them via blog, facebook, etc.
google maps - stock apple, and boy do i love it
twc - also indispensable. it's how i knew it would be raining in san antonio
bofa - gotta know how broke i am at all times :)
calculator - stock apple. oddly i use this all the time!

reading, music, movies/tv, health/fitness

scriptures - a great interface
goodreads mobile - the mobile version of one of my favorite sites
wikipedia - for every search happy brain
bloglines - my chosen feed reader (also a website, not an app)
itunes - stock
pandora - if you don't know pandora, try it, you'll like it
music 2 - as long as i have the desktop program open on my computer, i can access my entire 70gb music library from my 8gb iphone
remote- turns my iphone into a remote for my laptop
now playing - movie listings with auto location search. also includes dvd releases
i.tv - localized tv listings
phone flicks - easy access to my netflix account
you tube - stock apple
24 hour fitness - a website for my local club's class schedule
lose it - weight loss tracker
yoga stretch & relax - portable yoga for all my traveling

food and random

urbanspoon & yelp - indispensable tools for finding restaurants in unfamiliar cities
epicurious - a great recipe library
open table - for getting reservations at those restuarants
npr, discovery channel, e! online, and pop candy - entertaining time wasters
boxed up - keeps track of all my earthly desires (a website, not app)
keeper - password storage
clock - my travel alarm clock
air mouse - turns my iphone into a wireless mouse for my computer
deliveries - package tracking so i know when the new toys are arriving
iball - my own personal magic 8 ball
astrology & iscope - mindless entertainment

random and games

natural cures - a new app i'm still test driving. name speaks for itself
eye-fi - upload photos easily to my smugmug
amazon.com - shopping!
my wireless - easy access to my mobile bill
photo - similar concept as the music app. can access photos remotely
ruler - turns the iphone into a ruler :)
games and games

so there you have it, a visual diagram of tara. as you might have noticed, i tend to like to 'group' my apps when it makes sense, which also says a lot about me. :D

so what about you? have an iphone? what apps can't you live without?