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If you’re new to the iPhone you will no doubt be getting to know the App Store. This thing is growing larger by the day and it seems that there are more and more different apps being released that more or less do the same sort of thing. To help you figure out which apps are worth trying and which ones to forget about, I’ve made a short list of 31 apps I couldn’t go without.

Around Me
Looking for a coffee place? Petrol Station? Hospital? This is your app. It uses the phone’s GPS to figure out where you are and then shows you what’s near by. It really makes the best of everything the iPhone has to offer

1 Password
1Password is a password manager. It syncs with the desktop version of this application allowing you to carry all your private info around with you in a secure mobile app.

Things
Things is a “To Do” list of sorts. It is also a Mac desktop application. The iPhone app buddies up with this beautifully, giving you pocket access to everything you need to be working on.

Evernote
Evernote is a “notes” program. I’ve played around with Google Notes and a few other options but Evernote seems to be a little better than everything else on offer. Like the last two apps, it also comes with a desktop buddy and between the two of them they store all your code snippets, voice notes and photos in a big cloud somewhere.

Photo Genius
Photo Genius is a better version of the Camera App for iPhone. It has a stability feature, zoom, touch to shoot and a count down thing-a-me if you’re into being in your own photos.

Air Sharing
16GB of disk space dedicated to music! I think not. Air Sharing turns your phone into a little hard drive that you can hook up to over a Wi Fi connection. There are a few apps capable of doing this but Air Sharing seems to have better media support, allowing you to actually play the MP3s, read the PDFs and flip through the Power Point presentations you through on your phone.

Speed Dial (1 – 4)
This is actually 4 apps but they all do the same thing. Each one sits on your home screen and provides speed dial access to your 4 most dialed numbers. Only problem is that it’s a 2 touch process..!

OzWeather
If you’re an Aussie, you’ll know how American weather servers seem to have no idea what’s going on here. OzWeather is a weather application that is fed by the BOM. It even has that cool 4 frame satellite thing!

IceTV
IceTV is a TV Guide for your phone. It’s a subscription service (free…), so you’ll need to create an account but once you’re setup it’s worth it.

Remote
This is an Apple app which works with iTunes and their Airport hardware. Basically, if you have an Airport, it turns your iPhone into a Wi Fi remote for iTunes and plays these tracks through your home sound system. It’s pretty awesome once you have it going!

Don’t have an Airport, check out Simplify Media (listed at the bottom)!

Skype
VOIP/Chat app. No need to explain this one further. If you have a Skype account you’ll no doubt want this app.

Now Playing
Movie listings for your iPhone. Again this uses the GPS to list your closest cinemas and tells you what flicks are playing. It also has poster art and reviews. The only down side to it is that it tries to list new release DVDs but I think this is based on an American database so are often months off of being released in Aus.

Measures
This is just a conversion app but the interface is cool and the diversity of different conversions makes it worth the download

Shazam
I think once upon a time I would have paid money for a tool which could do what this app does. Ever been listening to a song on the radio and wanted to know what it was? Shazam will tell you. It uses the mic on your iPhone to grab a 15 second sample. It then analyzes this and tells you what you’re listen too. It’s pretty amazing.

Urban Spoon
Another app that works great in Australia. This application helps you work out where to have dinner based on cuisine, budget and location.

Mobile Fotos
This app was more useful before the iPhone got MMS but it’s still a handy little tool. Basically it will upload any photo you take on your phone to Flickr. I’ve tried a few of these applications and this one seems to have the best features and interface.

Aussie Rules Live
If you find yourself trying to check the footy score regularly over the weekend then this app is for you. It provides all the AFL goodness you want with live score updates as the matches are in progress.

RK Free
This little app is for anyone who rides a bike, walks or runs. It will tell you how far you’ve gone, your average speed and how long you’ve been going for. Its clean, simple and free, so give it a shot.

iiQuota
This app will help you keep an eye on your phone usage AND your ADSL usage. It was a little fiddly to set up initially but once it’s going it’s very handy.

Tom Tom Australia
A great Sat Nav app for iphone. I think it’s actually got more features than my current Nav Man..!

iStat
Again, this is another Mac only app. It pairs up with a program on your Mac to help you keep an eye on available resources (disk space, RAM, etc).

Fast Finger
I used to have a Palm PDA and one of the best things about it was it’s hand writing recognition. Fast Finger brings this same sort of ease to iPhone. It’s not quite as good as Palm but it’s a decent compromise.

Kinito Pro
If you use SugarCRM then you’ll love this app. It basically sync’s your Sugar database with your iPhone.

FTPOnTheGo
As the name implies, this is an FTP client for the iPhone. It is very handy if you need to make small, on the fly changes to FTP files whist you’re away from the office.

Palettes
This app is a designers best friend. It allows you to create colour pallets for each of your projects. Very handy.

Analytics
I’m not a big believer in Google Analytics because I prefer real time stats. There is however a time and a place for Google Analytics and if you use them then this is app is hard to go past. It is just about as complex and over cooked as Google Analytics too, making them a good pair..!

Coastal Watch
If you use SwellNet then you know this app is for you. Nuff said.

Guitar Toolkit
As the name says, it’s a app which helps you keep your guitar in tune.

FourTracks
Now your guitars in tune, record yourself using this tough little four track recorder.

HoldEm
Texas Holdem by Apple. I like to think that this game has been improving my poker skills…. yet I still seem to lose every time.

Simplify Media
I’ll put it this way, this list was going to be just my top 30… and then I found this! Simplify Media is an iPhone app that pairs up with your Mac or PC and streams the music from iTunes, Win Amp or whatever straight to your phone. It comes with cover art and even lyrics..! You’d want to make sure you’re on a Wi Fi connection before using it but otherwise it’s a great way to access ALL your music from your iPhone whenever you want it.