iPhone 4 truth time: Which apps do you really use?
Getting any new geek toy takes me through the usual unboxing and tinkering routines, particularly if it's the shiny black iPhone 4 (full CNET review) I just got in on preorder that's so coveted that people are willing to sell spots in line for Thursday's retail launch.Plugging the boxier, edgier iPhone 4 into iTunes was my first task. Staring at my roster of apps certainly forced me to consider which ones I use frequently enough to sync to this new, practically pristine device with its mere 18 preinstalled programs--only 14, really, if you don't count the phone, e-mail, Safari, and iPod buttons on the home screen.The nature of my job as a mobile-apps reviewer keeps me in a steady stream of newly downloaded apps to test, but even with the previous iPhone always in tote, there are only a handful of programs I use--really use--enough to warrant moving over from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4.OK, so by "handful" I actually mean that more than two dozen apps are making the jump, including essential social-networking apps for Facebook, Twitter (like TweetDeck), and IM (Palringo and Meebo). There are media apps I'd like to have onhand (Slacker Radio, SoundHound, Photoshop.com, Photogene), and utilities (Documents To Go, ToDo, Wikiamo). Some lifestyle apps also make my personal cut (Movies, Top Shelf Drinks, Epicurious, Yelp, Zagat). The rest I'll live without for now until new iOS 4 features make them must-haves, or the need arises.On one hand it's nice to have iTunes transfer my purchases in a bundle to keep me from having to manually pick through the entire App Store, but syncing isn't a lickety-split process. The wait is especially aggravating if you can't wait to put your shiny, new hardware to the test out in the real world and far, far away from your computer. So a reminder if you've already got an iPhone but are upgrading to the new iPhone 4 in the next couple days: pick the bare essentials judiciously for instant transferring, or move over your apps after you're finished oohing and ahhing for the night. That goes double if you're moving over music as well.If you've got or are getting an iPhone 4, which apps make your list of iTunes transfers?
