Freeloader Friday Download of the Week

iPhone Apps the Apple Way

We love Apple, or we wouldn't be reading (or writing) this. But, its true, Apple's actions in the last few weeks have caused us all to wonder if "too good to be true" is about to turn into "too good to last".

Some of it is the pressure of being a public company in agreement with a nasty telecom partner needing to appease the shareholders. But why kill third party apps? Why hobble the iPod Touch?

I think what we've all failed to grasp is the new paradigm. We live in a Web 2.0 world and the browser is the killer app, or even the new OS. Binaries are so yesterday, and I think once you have a look below at the power of iPhone web apps you might end up agreeing with me.

iPhone App Alternatives

Google Calendar for iPhone

Can't edit or add appointments on your iPod Touch? Google Calendar has a fresh new iPhone interface and allows browsing, adding and editing of entries.

Of course you can subscribe to your Google Cal's in iCal as well.

Zoho Office for iPhone

It's almost as good as it sounds. View documents, spreadsheets and more from your iPhone.

Right now, you can only edit text documents, but Zoho is working on that. If Zoho isn't your style, users have reported that Google Docs works on iPhone, kinda.

Browse files and control applications on your Mac with Telekinesis

Control iTunes, check out your iSight and trigger scripts on your Mac from your iPhone. If you want to access your Mac from beyond your network, you may need to do some foolin around with your network setup.

Chat with Meebo

Meebo is a multi-protocol browser-based chat solution. And it works on iPhone.

With an optimized interface, you can chat away with contacts on several chat networks.

iGmail

Missing Mail on the Touch? This Open Source project can help. While you can access Gmail directly, this application provides you with an iPhone-tastic interface.

Ideally you'll install this on your own server, though you can use the project's demo server too.

Tadalist for iPhone

No todo list? You can access web-based task managers like Remember the Milk but if you want to enjoy an optimized interface, check out Tadalist.

Note:The screenshots here were created using an excellent Open Source tool called iPhoney from our friends at Market Circle. Its a great way to test iPhone web applications on your Mac.

By virtue of its grown-up browser, the iPhone (though closed) represents one of the most flexible platforms for running Web 2.0 apps. Am I drinking the Kool Aid? Maybe, but it tastes pretty good.

Brian

  


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