Best Apps for Your Apple iPhone 4s

As I've written before, I'm admittedly an 'Apple Fanboy'. That label is due in large part with my love of my iPhone. It's the greatest phone I've ever owned (my previous smartphones include the gigantic Palm Treo and the borderline useless Blackberry Curve).

Besides the design and speed of the iPhone, one of the greatest features it offers is the all-important apps you can add. Before I bought an iPhone I thought apps were over-rated, of course this is because of Blackberry's 'App World' that very rarely worked and offered lackluster supply of apps. This all changed when I got on the iPhone bandwagon.

Over the past few months I've tinkered with several apps, settling on a few that I find to be awesome. This article is intended to share my beloved apps with all in hopes of them benefited you as well as they have me.

I use this app probably 20-30 times while I'm at work. There's nothing better than Facebook stalking your 'friends' while fighting boredom at the workplace. Facebook keeps updating the user interface of this app, sometimes leading to frustration, but overall the apps decent.

PRICE: FREE

I've jumped on the bandwagon and starting going digital with my book purchases. While I prefer reading books on the actual Amazon Kindle, this app is still useful. It generally comes in handy at waiting rooms or other incidents where boredom is rampant, you don't have your Kindle, and you've done all the Facebook stalking you can stand for a while.

Reading on the iPhone is not the most pleasant experience, but it's doable. I've found that reading books on the iPhone while wearing sunglasses tends to reduce eye strain and prevents headaches, for the most part. At least it does for me, you could be totally different.

PRICE: FREE

The iOS 5.0 added a free Reminders app to your iPhone arsenal. It features a simple checklist option for you, but let me emphasize 'simple'. If it wasn't for Reminders being integrated into Apple's iCloud system, I'd never use it. What I would use instead is Seize the Day.

Seize the Day is a well-designed To-Do list. It features the ability to schedule to-do tasks. At the home screen you will be presented with 'Today', 'Upcoming', and 'At Some Point...'. This app better organizes your task list. I personally love the ability to schedule those routine tasks that so often go overlooked such as changing filters (HVAC, water filters, etc.), flip the mattress, rotate tires, put out trash, and replace windshield wipers. This app can really help you organize your daily grind.

PRICE: Free with ads, $3.99 without ads

I discovered this gem of an app by accident. Originally I was just looking for a simple app that would track my weight over a period of time (I'm a nerd for statistics). That search led me to this wonderful app.

With My Fitness Pal, you are able to keep a diary of what you eat by either performing an in-app search for the food or scanning the UPC. It contains a huge database of food and their nutritional facts. You can also keep up with the amount of exercise you've done and how much water you've consumed. You will set up your daily caloric goal upon download and the app will subtract your calories as you enter your intake.

I had no intentions of using these features of the app, but out of curiosity gave it a try. I'm glad I did. I discovered that what I ate on an average work day was packed with calories, even though I had been assuming I was eating fairly healthy. With the help of this app, I managed to lose 20 pounds rather easily by just making some painless changes in my daily diet.

As a fairly active guy, I never really kept up with calories, fat grams, etc. But this app has opened my eyes to just how easy it is to overindulge without even trying. If you're considering losing weight in the near future, give this app a shot.

PRICE: FREE

I never really enjoyed playing Angry Birds and I beat Cut the Rope rather quickly. I gave up playing games on the iPhone for a short while before my wife discovered Nuts!

The game is simple. You control a squirrel as he tries to make his way to the top of a tree (a never ending tree) while steering him clear of branches. Along the way you collect coins that go towards the purchase of upgrades such as extra lives, run faster, more coins, etc. The game is rather addicting once you get the hang of it. There's 17 possible achievements in this game, with 2-3 of them requiring quite a bit of playing time to accomplish.

PRICE: FREE