These are Seth’s most used apps of 2011. Others have their own most used apps, but these are Seth’s.

Tweetbot

I’ve come to rely on Twitter for far more than the occasional distraction from my day, and Tweetbot has been the only app to deliver all the features I want in a package I like to look at. With support for TweetMarker syncing between clients, it’s become my go-to place for news, conversation, and everything else Twitter has to offer.

• $2.99 – App Store link

Kindle

With a bigger selection than iBooks and a library I can share easily with my wife, the Kindle app is my reader of choice. Kindle delivers apps on almost every other platform you can think of, perfect syncing of reading position, and a simple, clean reading environment of which I never seem to tire.

• Free – App Store link

1Password

Couldn’t run the office without it. I store everything in this app: passwords, software licenses, notes, screenshots of web pages – and so on. Absolutely the most indispensable app on my Mac, and always with me on my iPhone.

• $8.99 – App Store Link

Instacast

The winner in the great podcast client war of ’11. I’ve tried almost everything available, and Instacast, though not perfect, is the best client for my needs, which consist of downloading podcasts quickly and playing them with minimal physical interaction required on my part. The addition of iCloud syncing and the appearance of Instacast HD late in the year definitely helped cement its place on my phone.

• $1.99 – iPhone App Store link
• $4. 99 – iPad App Store link

Pandora

This seemingly ancient app (in App Store years) is still one of my favorites. There are a million different music services on iOS, and there’s something for everyone. But more often than not, all I want to do is hit play and let the app do the work, and Pandora still works better than most other things for me. Again, my wife and I share an account, so we are always discovering new stuff based on what the other person’s given a thumbs-up to, and the removal of the 40-hour free account listening limit is the icing on the cake.

• Free – App Store link

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Phil, Adam, Derek, Jay, and Rene talk Amazon Kindle Fire pros and cons, Porsche’s BlackBerry and phones as fashion, webOS indecisions, and Google Music vs. iTunes Match vs. Amazon Cloud vs. Zune Pass and more! This is Mobile Nations!

Agenda

• Amazon Kindle Fire
• Google Music
• Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry Video Unboxing!
• HP still not sure what to do with webOS, will take three-to-four weeks to decide
• iTunes Match

Hosts

Feedback

Got something to say? Agree or disagree with something we said? Have something you want us to discuss on a future show? Don’t just sit there yelling at the screen, dammit, let us know!

• Email: podcast@mobilenations.com
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Credits

Our music is pROgraM vs. Us3R by by morgantj. Introduction by Joseph Holder.

Thanks to the Mobile Nations network of store for sponsoring this podcast, and to our fantastic live chat members for keeping us honest and making us smart!

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Cartoonatic: Record Amazing Videos with awesome cartoon effects! [Free - iTunes link]

• Pandora: Now works with Model Year 2011 BMW vehicles equipped with the “BMW Apps” option and March 2011 production MINI Connected infotainment systems. [Free - iTunes link]

• Bird Zapper!: It’s a Spring Fling! Those crazy birds are laying special Easter eggs and giving battery gifts for a limited time only! [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Due: Update to 1.5 includes advanced recurrence, the ability to fine-tune your notifications, four new alert sounds, and speed improvements. [$4.99 - iTunes link]

• iSharing Lite: Real-time GPS tracking App. Locating friends with nearby alerts. [Free - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

We’re shifting our focus from iOS 4 compatibility updates to any iPhone or iPad app or game, new or updated, that seems especially awesome.   So if you guys see anything you think deserves some special attention, let us know in the comments and we’ll look at including it in a future roundup!  Continue on to see what we found this time!

Pandora

Pandora recently updated their current app to support hi-res images on the iPhone 4. It also fixes several issues with the last version of Pandora. This will also change control settings for volume control and fix crash issues. Since downloading this update, Pandora’s been a lot more stable for me. How’s it been for you guys?

[iTunes Link]

Box.net

Box.net is a great service for sharing files and viewing them on the go. They offer free accounts as well as paid accounts. There’s a lot of options for file storage and sharing out there, and Box.net is definitely a worthy competitor. This update adds fast app switching as well as some tweaks to the general UI. It also adds speed improvements for viewing files by adding caching. If you have it, grab the update, if you don’t, try it out and let us know what you think!

[iTunes Link]

Cannon Cadets

Cannon Cadets is a new game coming to us by the same people responsible for Little Metal Ball. (If you don’t have Little Metal Ball, check that one out too!) Most of their games are physics based games that require maneuvering and use of the accelerometer. This game combines a story into puzzles and 80 graphically awesome levels. Definitely worth a try. You can also choose an in-app purchase that’ll allow you to unlock all the levels if you want to skip around instead of playing in order. If you pick it up, let us know what you think!

[iTunes Link]

Photoshop Express

Photoshop has long been a favorite of many graphic junkies, and while the iPhone and iPad (yes, I said iPad) versions of Photoshop won’t do you any good for hardcore editing, for on the go picture editing and adding fun little tweaks to your pictures, Photoshop Express is great. This version adds compatibility for iPad too! This version also allows native uploading to Photoshop.com and Facebook. The general UI seems to be revamped a bit as well as some of the workflow spaces.

[iTunes Link]

Dragon Medical

This app is mainly focused on professionals in the medical industry. You can use voice controls in order to look up drug interactions, diagnosis information, and much more. It aggregates from some of the more popular databases on the internet. So if you’re a medical professional or student in the medical field, it may be an app worth a second look.

[iTunes Link]

How does an elementary school teacher use her iPad to get the job done and what iPad apps help get her through her day? TiPb’s iPad at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPad life. Here’s Courtfrogger’s answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending her a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPad Forum and share your story now!

The iPad has added another dimension to my classroom! I teach music, English and theatre at a very small public k-12 school. I use the iPad for lots of different things in the classroom, at meetings and at play rehearsals. For my youngest students, who sometimes just need to dance, I use Pandora. I can just type in “Tito Puente”, for example, and get unlimited Latin jazz that keeps them moving and very happy.

For slightly older kids, who are learning band instruments for the first time, I can use the YouTube app to show them videos of famous musicians playing their instruments. With the cleaner interface, I don’t have to worry about R- rated adds showing up alongside the content I want.

For the spring production of “A Doll’s House,” I loaded the script into iBooks. I found it free through project Gutenberg. I can easily toggle back and forth between that and my notes, keeping track of actors’ lines while taking direction notes. I don’t have to worry about running out of paper, dropping my script, or forgetting a pencil!

For fun, I showed my kindergarten class the Planets app. They’re studying planets right now, and for music class they wrote rhymes about planets that can be sung to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star. Being able to spin beautiful images of the planets was engaging for them and added a tangible element to the class.

So there you have it! My top five apps for the music and theatre classroom are Pandora, YouTube, iBooks, notes and Planets.

Are you an elementary school teacher? If so, what apps do you use to enhance the learning experience in the classroom?

Just get a new iPhone or iPod touch and curious which are the best, most must-have apps and games you need to install first? Want to really show off that Retina Display or take advantage of multitasking? Well read on for TiPb’s top 10 most recommended, most must-have iPhone apps to get your started.

Note: This article has been updated for iPhone 4S — check out the new top 10 apps for iPhone post to see the latest picks!

Just switch to iPhone or Verizon iPhone? Also check out:

• Top 5 iPhone apps for BlackBerry switchers
• Top 5 iPhone apps for Droid/Android switchers

Social apps: Facebook for iPhone

Facebook is one of the most popular sites on the web, so any wonder it’s once of the most popular apps on iPhone? Sometimes we suspect people live almost entirely in the Facebook app — at least until the phone rings! Sure, you can go to Facebook’s mobile site in Safari but the app offers so much more functionality, from picture uploads to easy Facebook Places and Groups access, it’s earned its place on our home screens. [Free - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• LinkedIn for iPhone, for business users. [Free - iTunes link]
• Twitter for iPhone, for frequent tweeters. [Free - iTunes link]

Casual games: Angry Birds

Angry Birds is the undisputed king of casual gaming and an addictive puzzler in the best tradition of the genre. Evil green pigs have stolen your eggs and your birds aim to get them back — with slingshots, explosives, boomerangs, and other manner of weaponized avian fury. Kill all the pigs to clear a level, do it with style and earn the elusive 3-stars. It starts off easy but ramps up quickly as the minutes turn to hours. You’ve been warned! [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• Cut the Rope for some physics puzzle fun. [$0.99 - iTunes link]
• Plants vs. Zombies for relentless action. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Communication/IM apps: Skype for iPhone

Skype for iPhone lets you make Skype-to-Skype calls for free, and if you have Skype credits, Skype-to-phone calls very cheaply. Thanks to the latest version of iOS, it can also run in the background so it can answer Skype calls just like a real phone (though it will decrease battery life). They’re slow to update but they’re the standard for VoIP (voice over iP) and a great way to cut down on phone bills. [Free/credits - iTunes link]

• BeeJiveIM, if you just want chat, supports AIM/MobileMe, MSN/Windows Live, Yahoo!, GoogleTalk, Facebook, MySpace and Jabber [$9.99 - iTunes link]
• Google Voice for iPhone lets you access your calls, texts, and voice mail. [Free - iTunes link]

Time management games: Smurf’s Village

Sure, the ultimate goal of building the best village is just the same as other games, but Smurfs’ Village also has a story line. After each level increase, there’s dialogue and a quest, and also mini games you can play to earn more experience. The graphics are great and the gameplay is smooth. Smurfs’ Village is free but some items require smurfberries which are available as an in-app purchase. Smurfberries can also be used to speed up the growth of plants and construction of buildings. Universal app – download once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Free - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• Farmville to bring your Facebook farm to iPhone. [Free - iTunes link]
• We Rule to build the perfect palace. [Free - iTunes link]

Productivity apps: Documents to Go Premium

While the iPhone’s screen is a bit small to handle all your business or school work, the ability to edit Office files on the go can be a lifesaver. Documents to Go Premium lets you create, read, and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files well enough to get the job done and will even open Mail attachments and sync files via iTunes or with Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, iDisk & SugarSync for the ultimate in mobile accomplishment. Universal app – buy once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [$16.99 - iTunes link]

• Good Reader is a powerhouse for PDF annotating and file management. [$2.99 - iTunes link]
• Evernote stores text, images, and audio for easy reference later. [Free - iTunes link]

Hardcore games: Infinity Blade

Epic’s Unreal 3 engine explodes onto iPhone with Infinity Blade, an on-rails sword fighting extravaganza with some of the best visuals we’ve ever seen. The story and gameplay are simple if not simplistic, you battle a series of monsters and their God-King over generations, growing your power, magic, and skill until you’re strong enough to win. It might sound repetitive but it quickly becomes as addictive as it is gorgeous. Universal app – buy once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [$5.99 - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus for some CoD-style fun. [$6.99 - iTunes link]
• Real Racing 2 for amazing cars and online play. [$9.99 - iTunes link]

Music apps: Slacker Personal Radio

Thanks to the latest version of iOS, Slacker (and Pandora) can now run in the background which means you can stream all the music you like while surfing the web, using turn-by-turn navigation, answering email, or pretty much anything you want. Slacker requires a subscription and is currently only available in the US and Canada. [Free - iTunes link]

• Spotify for streaming music in Europe. [Free - iTunes link]
• Shazam to figure out what you’re listening to. [Free - iTunes link]

Photography apps: Photo FX

The iPhone is the best camera because it’s the one you most often have with you, but sometimes the photos you take with it will be rushed, a little dark, a little light, or otherwise a step or two away from perfect. Photo FX and their hundreds of filters and special effects can help fix that. It can’t work miracles but it can make the difference between a shot you save and one you throw away. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• Hipstamatic brings old-school feel to new world pictures. [$0.99 - iTunes link]
• Flickr for iPhone lets you store and share all the shots you take. [Free - iTunes link]

Utility apps: Find my iPhone

Previously you had to pay for MobileMe to get Find my iPhone but now it’s free to everyone. Just download the app, set it up with your iTunes ID, and if you lose your iPhone (or it gets stolen) you can GPS locate it, make it beep or display a text message, remote lock it, and even remote wipe it so no one can get access to your personal data. Whether it’s under some papers on your desk, back at the restaurant you just left, or in some bad guy’s hands, Find my iPhone does just what the name says. Universal app – download once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Free - iTunes link]

• Skyfire is a web browser that lets you watch some Flash videos on your iPhone. [$2.99 - iTunes link]
• RedLaser scans barcodes and finds you the best price online. [Free - iTunes link]

Location/GPS apps: NAVIGON MobileNavigator

Get full fledged turn-by-turn driving directions on your iPhone so you can keep your eyes where they belong — on the road. NAVIGON provides on-board maps which means it’s a huge download but it keeps working in areas where there’s no data coverage. You can buy regional, country, or continents at a time, and there are also options for live traffic updates, parking directions, and enhanced panoramic views of the surroundings. [Various - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• Gowalla lets you “check in” to locations, keep track of your and your friends’ locations, and earn badges for being there. [Free - iTunes link]
• Yelp provides restaurant, gas station, bar, and pretty much any type of business location and recommendations. [Free - iTunes link]
  

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 10 best iPhone 4 apps to get you started. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

We let you know a couple days ago there were a few apps that had already been updated via the App Store to support iOS4. Since then we’ve seen a few more roll out.  Some developers have really taken advantage of the new APIs in iOS4.  Others seem to just be adding compatibility at this point.  Let’s hope a lot of them are working on substantial updates.  Hit the jump for some more iOS4 compatible apps!

Evernote

Evernote (version 3.3.5) is one of the first I’ve seen to implement quite a few 4.0 APIs.  Not only does it come complete with fast app switching integration, but your notes will also be able to sync in the background.  This will be extremely useful for users who like to upload pictures.  I’m always doing this when I’m comparing prices.  I’ll take pictures of SKUs from different stores and tag them accordingly which allows me to flip through later and compare which ones are cheaper and which ones have rebates attached, etc.  Much easier than writing a note with all that information.  The down side to that has always been pictures take a bit to sync with the Evernote servers at times and keeping the app open the entire time was somewhat of a pain. Thanks Evernote! (Read more about Evernote and iOS4 here.) [iTunes link]

LinkedIn

For now, it looks like LinkedIn has added support for fast app switching, but I don’t see much more than that at this point.  I’d love to see the LinkedIn app get a lot more intuitive than it is.  Hopefully they’ll be adding more support in future updates.  If you caught anything I didn’t on this one, let us know in the comments! [iTunes link]

Windows Messenger

Not only is this one new to the App Store, it came out of the gate with iOS4 integration built-in.  It also supports alerts for Hotmail as well, so you’ll get notifications in-app when you receive new e-mails via your Hotmail account.  And again, if you see anything worth noting, let us know! [iTunes link]

Pandora

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one. This update just hit the app store a few short hours ago. Pandora background streaming was demonstrated at WWDC 2010 and lots of users were excited to be able to allow Pandora to finally run in the background. This feature has been available for other mobile platforms for quite a while. [iTunes link]

Loopt

Loopt is another company that’s taken advantage of additional APIs available behind iOS4. Fast app switching, PNS alerts, and grid based navigation are a few of the features the new version of Loopt offers. [iTunes link]

WordPress

One of the most popular blogging engines on the planet comes out on release iOS release day claiming Retina Display support? Even if they’re just scaling text and UI elements, good on them. [iTunes link]

Know of any other iOS 4 compatible, feature-empowered apps that we may have missed? Drop them in comments and we’ll include them in the next round up.

If you are a Pandora user and are currently running iOS 4 on your iPhone or iPod touch then head into the App Store to update the app to version 3.1 which contains the new multitasking feature. Today, at some point, Apple will be releasing iOS 4 to the masses so it is no surprise we will start to see many applications in the App Store updated to be compatible with iOS 4.

So waste no time and take advantage of the latest version of Pandora!

[Thanks to all of you who sent this in!]

A lot of folks (yours-truly included) have been loving Pandora lately because they’ve been using the excellent native iPhone app (Read a Lightning Review of Pandora). With any luck, these folks could be mobilized to help Pandora out — they’re facing crippling and unfair royalty fees from SoundExchange. It’s an issue that we reported on a bit last year over at our sister site, WMExperts. The gist is this: the RIAA and SoundExchange are looking to enforce new royalty rates for Internet Radio that are so high that it’s fair to say they’re meant not to pay artists, but to destroy a medium. This article on Pandora’s plight over at the Washington Post [via] is a pretty good summary of the state of the Internet Radio fight, and here’s a pretty good summary of the article:

“We’re approaching a pull-the-plug kind of decision,” said Tim Westergren, who founded Pandora. “This is like a last stand for webcasting.” [...] Westergren, seemingly wearied by the constant haggling over the issue, signaled that Pandora’s investors may also be impatient for an end. “We’re funded by venture capital,” he said. “They’re not going to chase a company whose business model has been broken. So if it doesn’t feel like its headed towards a solution, we’re done.”

Our take: the actions taken last year by SaveNetRadio.org and the huge masses they were able to mobilize managed to shine enough light on this issue to delay what looked like the impending death of Internet Radio. Now we’re back for Internet Radio 2: The Revenge, and since Pandora’s now on our iPhones, this time, it’s personal.

Or better: We might be approaching Pandora’s Last Stand, but let’s make sure they don’t stand alone.