I've been tracking the iPhone app store pretty closely, as I have been really interested to see what people are developing. The first day it was available (the Thursday before the iPhone 3G was released), there were quite a few interesting apps, but most were trivial proof of concept apps that were released just to show what could be done.
But now, we see more useful apps coming to the Store, and many of them are free (the economics of the iPhone apps are an interesting discussion on their own). While I don't have an iPhone yet (I'm waiting until September when AT&T indicates I can get the subsidized price), I've already started to collect some apps:
eBay Mobile: Yes, I use eBay. I've used eBay ever since I worked there, and I still like to check it out as a way to price objects.
PayPal: I use PayPal rather extensively when billing clients. It's convenient for me, and convenient for them to make the payment through PayPal. I also pay for my items in iTunes and Second Life through PayPal.
eReader: I've always loved eReaders, though I would like to see a free app that will include text files. But, in the mean time, I'll stick with the eBooks that I have gathered over the years.
Evernote: I've never used Evernote, but I do like the idea of having notes to myself available everywhere I am. Perhaps I'll start to remember things.
Last.fm: An internet radio on a mobile platform. Do I really need to explain it? ^_^
Mocha VNC Lite: Not that I would use it on an iPhone on a regular basis, but having a VNC client available should I ever need to use it, that's just good preparation.
Palringo IM: Instant Messenger, much like GAIM and Adium. It covers all the main messenger protocols out there, which makes it really useful.
Remote: Turns your iPhone/iPod Touch into a WiFi Remote for your iTunes and Apple TV. So should you lose your tiny remote...
Twinkle: A twitter app that doesn't have ads.
WordPress: App for blogging from your iPhone. Not sure how it works quite yet, but I'm pretty excited to find out!
WritingPad: A text editor. It would be handy for those quick spells of inspiration that comes at the oddest moments.
So, from my wishlist, only a few things have not been realized...yet.
Presentation Software: I haven't seen any presentation software show up on the iPhone App Store. If I just haven't seen it, please post the app in the comments. I would even be willing to pay for that app.
Bluetooth Keyboard Support: Still no bluetooth tethering available. For this I'm still holding out for the iPod Slate. ^_^
Terminal: A lot of people have said that a terminal would just not be available for the iPhone because it would open up a whole can of worms for Apple. I don't agree, but until the app comes I'm not going to hold my breath. But until then, I think I could get by. ^_^
iCal: As I haven't purchased the iPhone yet, I don't know if iCal on the iPhone is any better. For those of you who do have an iPhone, can you view multiple calendars at once, and add an event to a specific calendar (without it creating a whole new calendar just for that one entry)?
Second Life Client: I know this probably sounds silly, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to access Second Life from any location, particularly if you were teaching/attending a college class in Second Life? Well, for now you can't with the iPhone, but it's coming! Vollee is developing their handset Second Life client for the iPhone, and hope to have it available soon. Needless to say, I hope to see it in the App store before the end of September. ^_^
DOS Emulator: I haven't seen one yet, but it may be possible to port DOSBox over to the iPhone. Perhaps a project to get to know Objective-C...
VoIP: Yes, there is a VoIP app (TruPhone), but it requires using their system with their rates. I would prefer to have a VoIP client that could be configured to use my own system. Of course, it seems to be a Skype competitor, and in that arena they look very promising.
So that's my list, and what the market has done to fulfill it. I'm still waiting for a couple of features, but all in all there are enough apps out there to make getting an iPhone worthwhile.
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