App-solutely fabulous

Jim Carrollrecently called for people to pick their favourite iPhone apps on his blog, irishtimes.com/ontherecord. Here's a selection

EVERNOTE

Not specifically just an iPhone app but Evernote (free) is great. I usually think of groceries I need to buy, add it to a tasks note on the Mac, and sync it up with iPod Touch before I go to the shops. Just really, really useful for your errands and to-do list – Finito

DROPBOX – BUMP – iPITY

Bump (free) – when two iPhone users have this installed you can literally bump your hands together when you meet and your contact details will instantly be shared with the other person. Amazing.

Dropbox (free) – download the software onto your computer from their website, then use this app on your iPhone to gain access to any file on your computer that you have put into the special Dropbox folder.

iPity (free) – take The A-Team's Mr T with you wherever you go. Essentially pointless, but fun – Conor Furlong

QIK

Qik (free) is really handy if you are out and about and want to video something happening. It broadcasts live to the web, and you can share a link on Twitter to your video as you broadcast – Alexia

SLEEP CYCLE

I got the Sleep Cycle app. You put it beside your pillow at night and it maps your sleep cycle. It also has a 30-minute window around the time you set your alarm, so it wakes you when it feels you are naturally waking. Ever since I got it, I have never fallen back asleep after waking up. No need for a snooze button any more. Only 79c as well – Gouj

POCKET GOD

My son loves playing Pocket God (€0.79) – would strongly recommend it for anyone with kids – Gugai

SHAZAM – GET RUNNING – SKY+

Shazam (free) – works amazingly well for finding songs just by listening to them.

Get Running (€1.59) – good for anyone trying to start exercising more. Gradually builds the user up using the “couch to 5k” formula to get people up to the fitness level to run a 5k within a couple of months.

Sky+ (free) – Brilliant! Only problem is you have to set it to record at least 30 minutes before the start of the show – Paul

EPICURIOUS

Epicurious (free) is a great app for recipes. Most of them are user-submitted so they're updated all the time. Also, BigOven – same and AllRecipes – Paul

THE DART – iMAPMYRUN

The Dart (€1.59) app is excellent. Simple to use, with real-time information. Great for timing that last pint before running to the station. Also, imapmyrun (free) is a decent free app. Basically maps your running/cycling route, giving you times/distance etc – Nerraw

02.ie – MEEBO

02.ie My account app (free): handy for keeping an eye on remaining sms/minutes/data.

Meebo (free): new app from meebo.com, by far the best instant-messaging client I've used on iPhone. Very simple and foolproof. Uses push notifications so you can stay signed in and still receive messages. Even better if you use meebo.com – it'll sync up your iPhone IMs with the web-based app – Seamus

iFOOTY

I would include iFooty (free), which gives you the latest standings from various football leagues, including the English Premier League – Ryan Kane

JOURNOS' JUDGMENTS: IRISH TIMESRECOMMENDATIONS

LAURENCE MACKIN

Dessid (€1.59)

Terrific app that allows you to access many Eircom broadband networks, so you can surf and check your mail when you're out and about. Hot spots are few and far between, so this is just the ticket.

Guitar Toolkit (€7.99)

Yes, it's a bit niche, but it's an incredibly useful bag of tricks with metronome, tuner and full chord charts for guitar, bass, banjo, mandoline and ukulele.

DAVIN O'DWYER

Instapaper (free)

You find a fascinating article online, but it's 3,000 words long, and you just don't have the time – click the Instapaper bookmark on your browser and it automatically drops it into your app for later offline reading. There's a free version, but the pro version has a few extra features that make it worth the €3.99.

Pastebot (€2.39)

This beautiful app is a clipboard manager, which sounds like a marginally useful productivity tool, but pair it with the free Pastebot Sync app on your Mac and you can effortlessly send text and images to and from your iPhone. If only all apps were this well designed.

SHANE HEGARTY

Runkeeper (Free)

Uses GPS to track you when you're running or cycling, then gives you your time, pace, splits and a map of the route you took. It tracks swimming too, although I'm not keen to kill my iPhone in the attempt.

Kindle (Free)

The Kindle app is a miniature replication of its big brother, and while it seems counter-intuitive, it is easier than you would believe to read books on the small iPhone screen.

Doc2 (€2.99)

For writing and editing word documents on your phone, and access your Google Docs.

ROSEMARY MAC CABE

Sonic the Hedgehog (€4.99)

The old Sega Megadrive game (left), complete with pixellated characters, irritatingly repetitive music, and an impossible-to-master Marble Zone (Act 3). Purchase at your peril: it's as addictive as talking about how great your new iPhone is.

Style.com by Condé Nast (free)

It may be a bit of a niche app, but Style.com has all the up-to-date runway shows, listed by designer, season, and updated regularly. So handy for keeping up with all that New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks have to offer.

CONOR GOODMAN

My most-used are all media apps. The New York Times, RTÉ Radio 1 and Sky News (all free) are probably my favourites, and I use Pro RSS for covering several blogs and feeds.

The app I like best is Scrabble (€3.99), which takes my mind off everything and locks me into intense combat with an electronic device, as well as giving stats on previous battles (the machine has won 33 of our 61 games – grrr).

There's also iPhone Secrets (free), which teaches idiots like me how to get more out of my phone.