10 Coolest iPhone Apps Ever

Having an iPhone makes you cool. This is an indisputable fact. Just ask anyone who works in media or the Apple store…they won’t be biased whatsoever. What makes you really cool, however, is filling your already cool iPhone full of incredibly cool iPhone apps, creating an uber-cool device that will only rub off its coolness onto you. Your cool rankings will go through the roof and you will become some sort of hybrid between James Dean, Steve McQueen and Elvis. But cooler. Well, before we all start high-fiving and calling each other “Dude!”, let’s check out the 10 coolest iPhone apps ever…if you can be bothered, that is. Dude.

1. Evernote – App updated Jan 12, 2011, Price Free, Developed by Evernote

They say an elephant never forgets; I’m not sure how they know this, whether they know that an elephant has ever remembered or indeed who ‘they’ are, however one thing I do know is that elephants are cool. Just watch the Jungle Book and see who’s really in charge of the march. What’s cooler, is the fact that Evernote allows you to turn your iPhone into a memory bank for your life story, recording and remembering everything that you want to throughout your day. You can use it for voice memos, photos and text, while recording any geo-location information and attaching it to the note, so that you know where you were when you discovered that tasty bottle of wine whose label you snapped. Want to remember the name and artist of a cool song that is playing on your friend’s iPod? Just enter text, take a photo of the screen or speak, (or sing!) into your iPhone to record the title! You can also sync Evernote to your Mac or PC, allowing you to upload and store vital messages, generally organizing your super-cool life. And do you know what’s really cool? It’s free.

2. Talking Carl – App updated 15 December 2010, Price £0.59, Developed by Awyse

Talking Carl. There’s a meeting I would have loved to be a fly-on-the-wall for. “And your business proposal?” “Uh, yeah, we want an image of a plastic toy that only moves around a bit on your iPhone screen, and makes weird noises when you touch him.” “OK…anything else?” “Nope, nothing other than our £100,000 advance please.” “Let me sleep on it.” Whether the app developers got their £100K advance or not, we’ll never know, however it can be safely assumed that they are sitting fairly pretty as Talking Carl has taken a nation of kids and kidults by storm, with its weird, wonderful and quite frankly wacky voice, which he uses to imitate anything that you say to him. You can tickle him to hear his guffaw, poke his eye to hear him scream or pinch him to hear his growl. If you neglect Talking Carl, then he will grumble until you return your undivided attention to him. So, he’s not unlike a normal kid really, although much, much cheaper to look after at only £0.59.

3. Fandango – App updated Jan 07, 2011, Price Free, Developed by Fandango

There is no cooler feeling than being on a night out and approaching a venue, be it a cinema or a theatre, (what, theatre’s retro don’t you know?!), spotting a lengthy queue and strolling straight to the front of it, basking in the glare of jealous glances and envious ‘tut’s as you are allowed straight through the doors without a moment’s hesitation. Well, for the 99.9999% of us who aren’t a rock star, footballer or Katie Price’s latest husband, (with the latter I think I’d rather queue in the rain, to be honest), then there is hope in the form of the Fandango app. This app allows you to browse cinemas and theatres by location or by film or show type, read reviews and watch trailers then select your preferred ticket type and purchase tickets in a flash. iPhone users also have the added benefit of being able to log in using their Facebook account, posting your movie reviews to your wall and sharing your thoughts and opinions about the film with your friends. The ‘Coming Soon’ and ‘Top Box Office’ lists also mean that you will never miss out on the latest cool films.

4. iDrink – App updated Feb 25, 2010, Price $0.99, Developed by Runtime Software GmbH

Anyone who has ever seen Tom Cruise’s fantastic turn in 80’s smash hit movie ‘Cocktail’ will know that if you want to pick up girls, the best way to do it is to shake up a special concoction, throw in a few cheesy lines and they’ll be yours, (no matter how short you are.) Well, the cool world of the cocktail shaker is only a download away, as iDrink provides you with the answer to that eternal question of the party animal: “What should I drink next?” You can search its vast database of spirits, liqueurs and mixers and come up with the recipe for the ideal cocktail to suit your palate, creating a masterpiece of mixology out of the remnants of your booze cabinet. The ‘Randomize’ button is a cool little addition to the app, giving you a random cocktail to have as your next drink. It comes with a default list of ‘The Best of the Best’, however you can change and edit this according to your tried and tested preferences. Just don’t overdo it; there’s nothing less cool than a lecherous drunk, so make sure you know who’s mixing your drinks and steer clear of the infamous ‘Red Eye’!

5. Can I Drive Yet – App updated Dec 10, 2010, Price $0.99, Developed by Everything Code, Inc.

As cool as cocktails are, there is absolutely nothing cool about drink driving. Not only do you risk the safety of passengers, yourself and other road users, you could end up in prison and you know what they do to cool guys like you in there… To avoid this unpleasant scenario, you can simply download this Can I Drive Yet, an app that gives you an estimation as to how long it will take your body to dispel the alcohol that you have imbibed so that you are legally permitted to drive home. Simply put in a few answers to some basic questions, (your gender, weight, etc) then how many drinks you have had and it will display your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), letting you know when you are safe to get behind the wheel. The app can be configured to American or Metric pouring systems, allowing for those overzealous Yankee bartenders. Never has being a designated driver been so cool!

6. Shazam – App updated Dec 17, 2010, Price Free, Developed by Shazam Entertainment Limited

We’ve all been there. Rocking out our well-rehearsed Jacko-tribute dance moves on the nightclub’s dance floor, cutting shapes that would make the King of Pop himself turn in his grave, with nubile ladies grinding around you just waiting for you to cast your web of charm over her…but wait! What’s this incredible track that’s playing? You can’t get it out of your head to focus your attention on this hot chick, but there is nothing less cool than going over to the DJ to ask what he’s playing, so what to do? Well, the answer is Shazam! Shazam is an iPhone app that tells you exactly what song is playing from any speakers, simply by pointing your iPhone at the source of the music. You can then go to a site to download it and share it with friends or family. With loads of new additions to the app, such as ttack and album reviews, Shazam Tag Charts and Tweeting, Shazam really is one of the coolest apps out there…now, back to the dance floor and where’s that hot gir…oh, she’s with the DJ. Bastard.

7. Touch Mouse – App updated Jan 12, 2010, Price Free, Developed by Logitech Inc.

Right, this one really is cool, despite its geeky premise. Touch Mouse transforms your iPhone into a wireless trackpad, (or mouse for the cool cats out there), and keyboard that is compatible with your computer. Simply connect your computer to your TV so that your screen is displayed across it then set up Touch Mouse to be configured on either your Mac or your PC and control everything from the comfort of your couch. The text will be shown on your iPhone’s screen as well as your TV so you avoid Repetitive Strain Injury by constantly looking up and down so anything that you type will also be emblazoned across your TV screen! You can write emails, stream videos, browse the internet, play Solitaire, (for all you PC owners!), order pizzas and have them delivered to your front door, (or your neighbours’, so that you don’t have to move, a la that Friends episode); all that you really need to leave the couch for is to go to the toilet! Now, if only there was an app for that…

8. Sheep Launcher – App updated Jul 15, 2010, Price $0.99, Developed by Atomic Bullfrog LLC

Say what you like about animal rights, there is nothing cooler than launching a sheep into outer space. I mean, the first living creature in space was a dog and he has his own statue in Moscow, the ‘Laika’ statue which, somewhat inconsiderately in my opinion, features a dog on top of a model of the rocket that was Laika’s coffin. Anyway, back to sheep launching. Sheep Launcher fulfils every boy’s teenage fantasy, (no, no that one, weirdo), and allows you to launch a bleating sheep, pig or frog into the atmosphere, sending them higher and higher the more you tap your screen. On their voyage you can navigate the stratosphere to collect handy items such as helium tanks, rocket packs and flying saucers; if you manage to grab a few stars on the way, then your score will increase. Players all around the world log onto the Top 50 Players spot to exchange scores, so the next time you send a sheep traversing the skies, think of that top spot and the cool accolades it will bring.

9. Angry Birds – App updated Dec 23, 2010, Price $0.99, Developed by Clickgamer Technologies Ltd

I don’t know what it is about Angry Birds that has got me so addicted, but seriously, it’s like crack to me. I can’t go a day without a fix of catapulting a furious little birdie towards a light-fingered, (or trottered?) pig and aiming to kill. If you don’t know by now, the crux of Angry Birds is very simple. A group of thieving pigs has stolen the birds’ eggs, making them, understandably, pretty pissed off. They want them back, but apparently the only way to do this is to use them selves as kamikaze pilots who smash down the pigs’ defenses and ultimately destroy the pigs. The mercenary birds come in indifferent shapes and sizes, (or breeds), and they all have different talents. Some lay explosive eggs, others can boomerang round a target and the little blue ones, weirdly, can split into three separate smaller birds. Before scientists discover this curious race of super birds and perform tests on them, no doubt trying to turn them into weapons of mass destruction, I urge you to download the app and help them recover their eggs!

10 . Qype – App updated Jan 16, 2011, Price Free, Developed by Qype GmbH

Of all the location-based apps, Qype has to be the coolest. This is an app that allows you to find any kind of place you want anywhere in the world, read reviews of any venue that you might be about to enter, check if your friends liked it or not and bookmark all of your favourite places so that you have your own personalized city guide. This will mean that you will no longer have to pay extortionate prices to smelly tour guides in strange cities, as they take you on a special tour of their brother’s four jewellery shops where you are pushed to by the crappiest necklace you can find just to appease him enough to stop him taking you to his Grandmother’s brothel (look, it was my first time in London, OK?). You can use Qype to ‘Check In’ to places, which will publish your location on social networks such as Facebook so that your buddies will be able to find you. The main benefit of Qype is that you will never again be stuck with a ‘where to go now’ question, seeing as you can have rated and reviewed definitions of any local place in any area. Now that, my friends, is cool.