16 free iPhone apps you can't live without

Power up your iPhone without spending a thing. Here's our pick of the best free apps on offer

For us, the launch of the iPhone 3G was less about the hardware tweak than it was about the App Store. Finally, Apple had opened up the iPhone platform to allow developers to create proper, native apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, and we couldn't wait to get installing.

The great thing about third-party apps is that you can do more than install them on an iPhone 3G; all first-generation iPhones can install them too, courtesy of the free 2.0 firmware upgrade. Even if you have an iPod touch you can get the 2.0 firmware upgrade, though it'll cost you £5.99. Some apps won't work on the touch, but that's usually only because they mandate a feature – speakers, mic, camera, GPS, say – that the iPod touch lacks.

Buying and installing apps is easy. You can browse or search the store through iTunes 7.7 or later on your Mac or PC, or use the App Store tool that you'll find on your iPhone itself. Apps bought in this latter way are backed up to your Mac at the next sync, and bug fixes and other upgrades are pushed through the iTunes Store ready for almost seamless updating. One weird thing with iPhone apps is that there's rarely a manual included. Some don't need it – they're so simple and intuitive – and some do it much better with pop-ups and other inline tips, but for a few the lack of a help system is annoying.

Read the whole article @ Tech Radar

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