Make My Stuff Work: 10 Apps to Install On You New iPhone

It's contract renewal time and you've finally decided to make the leap. You've got your self a shiny new iPhone. One the the best things about the iPhone platform is the thousands of applications you can install on the device. These apps do everything from allow the user to play games to tools that let you see how level your bookshelf is.

Here are my top 10 apps to install on your new iPhone (all links are iTunes links)

10. Facebook - FREE

The Facebook app lets you stay connected with your friends (real and imaginary) on the mega-popular social platform. You can check friend updates, make text and picture updates, post on the walls of others, send messages, chat, and view videos - all within the app.

9. Twitter - FREE

Like the Facebook app, Twitter has a free official app of its own. You can view all the updates of the people you follow and make picture and photo updates to your own account. Search trending topics and and make direct and @ messages.

8. Pandora - FREE

Pandora.com is one of the greatest music tools on the internet. You can create your own custom web-based radio station based on artists and songs that you like. Pandora is based off the Music Genome Project and makes surprisingly good suggestions of new music you will like. The iPhone app allows you to listen to your stations or create a new station. With the iPhone version 4, you can run Pandora in the background while you are doing other things, pause and skip using the iTunes controls.

7. eBuddy - FREE (or $4.99 pro version)

If you need to keep in touch with your buddies, eBuddy is a great App. eBuddy allows you to connect to friends on AIM, MSN / Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo, Facebook Chat, GTalk, MySpace, Hyves and ICQ. The application supports push notifications and leaves you logged in so you won't miss a message.

6. Flixster - FREE

Need to check on a movie showtime? Flixster allows you to find movie showtimes in your area and includes movie trailers, reviews, and online purchasing. You can connect your Netflix account and search for movies to add to your queue. Flixster is a powerful tool and I use it all the time.

5. Yelp - FREE

Yelp is location aware program that helps you find the best businesses, restaurants, and entertainment in the area. You can search for a specific business or look for entire categories (like restaurants) in the area. Read user reviews and see pictures of where you're going. Yelp solves the question "what is there to eat around here?"

4. Google - FREE

The Google app lets you search the popular search engine by speaking (or typing) your queries. There is great location based results as well as integration with other popular Google services. Results can be opened right in the application with no need to launch a web browser separately.

3. The Weather Channel - FREE

The built in weather app is good for a quick glance, but if you need more details, the Weather Channel App is where it's at. You can check all the current conditions, get future forecasts, see any weather alerts, and view local and regional Doppler radar.

2. Dragon Dictation - FREE

Dragon Dictation is a voice recognition program. If you need to voice record a thought and would benefit from the surprisingly good text translation, this app can be a great help. Speak a text message while you're in the car and Dragon Dictation can copy it to a text message or an email. There is also integration with Facebook and Twitter.

1. Dropbox - FREE

Dropbox is a web-based storage service that lets you store up to 2 Gigs of files for free. Once you set up Dropbox on your PC, Mac, or Linux system - Dropbox automatically synchronizes any files you put in your Dropbox folder across all your computers. Through Dropbox, you have access to your most important files anywhere that is connected to the internet (there is a web interface as well). The Dropbox app lets you view all the files in your Dropbox and lets you email links to them to your contacts. You can also view documents, images, and PDF files within the application.