iOS 4.2 for iPhone brings with it a new Voice Memo icon and with it the most drastic redesign of a built-in iOS app icon to date.

Yes, Calculator got a facelift recently, but it retained that pseudo-realistic look and feel Apple used for the other "utility" apps, like Compass and Camera. Voice Memo goes from faux microphone to strictly white icon, similar now to Phone or iPod, but without the diagonal pin stripe. If it was in the dock it might fit, but grouped in the default Utility folder, it kind of sticks out.

Sure, icons are icons and only designer geeks spend time arguing over their relative merits, but just in case you're on of those aforementioned aficionados, I'm curious to know your thoughts.

I asked on Twitter on Friday, now I'm asking here. New Voice Memo icon, pro or con?

Unlike the iPhone 3GS, the iPad doesn't have built-in stocks, weather, voice memo, clock, calculator, or compass apps. It does, however, have the brand new iPad App Store, and yeah... there are apps for all that!

Check out our picks after the break!

Bloomberg for iPad [Free - iTunes link] offers not just stocks but news, company info, price charts, trends, analysis and... you get the idea. It could just be information overload on a 9.7" screen, but that's likely just what you stockies want!

Weather Channel Max [Free - iTunes link] costs nothing (thanks to Toyota) but packs in the weathery-goodness. Full screen, customizable maps, in-motion radar, local, regional, and national video, and more make it not so much of a replacement as a escalation.

Voice memos for iPad [Free - iTunes link] is the "I can't believe it's not butter" of replacement apps. It looks similar to Apple's iPhone Voice Memo app, but it's scaled up to iPad size. Unlimited recording, tagging, pause, levels, timer, and email options make it a great fill in option.

Clock... We haven't found a good replacement for Clock yet. If you know of one that matches the functionality and the grace of the iPhone Clock app, let us know in the comments. And developers -- make a good one, with a great icon. Seriously.

PCalc Lite [Free - iTunes] or PCalc [$9.99 - iTunes link] make the iPhone calculator look anemic by comparison. It includes an optional RPN mode, multiple undo and redo, unit conversions and constants, a couple of themes, and much more in the paid version.

Compass HD + Vector Magnetometer / Gravitometer [Free for now - iTunes link] is an app that, frankly, we may not be smart enough to properly describe. It has absolute mode, north mode, declination mode, and relative modes, and a bunch of different display modes for acceleration visualization. Get it while it's free!

So there you have it, App Store to the rescue! Did we miss any (other than clocks!)? Are there alternatives your like better? Let us know in the comments!

Why are there no Clock, Calculator, Voice Memo, Weather, or Stocks apps on the iPad? Because Steve Jobs didn't think they worked on the larger iPad screen, according to Daring Fireball's John Gruber.

It’s not that Apple couldn’t just create bigger versions of these apps and have them run on the iPad. It wasn’t a technical problem, it was a design problem. There were, internally to Apple (of course), versions of these apps (or at least some of them) with upscaled iPad-sized graphics, but otherwise the same UI and layout as the iPhone versions. Ends up that just blowing up iPhone apps to fill the iPad screen looks and feels weird, even if you use higher-resolution graphics so that nothing looks pixelated. So they were scrapped by you-know-who.

Gruber was responding to theories that these apps would instead be offered as App Store downloads, or could be part of some secret widget dashboard implementation. In other words, that it's a design issue, not a technical issue.

However, new UI that would make the iPad an amazing bedside clock (how's that for a Lock Screen), or show Stocks with a variety of graphs and related news and data, or weather for several days and cities at once, certainly seems possible for Apple's UI wizards. Perhaps they simply lacked time to re-do the apps for the already extended April 3 release date?

Perhaps they’ll appear on the iPad in some re-imagined form this summer with OS 4.0, but when the iPad ships next month, there won’t be versions of these apps. At least that’s the story I’ve heard from a few well-informed little birdies.

Speaking of which, any little birdies hear anything about an iPhone 4.0 sneak preview event yet? Or is everyone just focused on getting the iPad out right now?

Source: Daring Fireball

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they're fair game.

So who's on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

Chad's Pick: Notes

Chad's pick of the week has to be the built-in iPhone Notes app. With the iPhone 3.0 software update, the Notes application has become much more useful; spotlight search, in-line delete, landscape and syncing has bumped Evernote for tasks (using the Autofocus system) and is very simple to use. Couple this with the built in ability to email your notes, you have one killer-app! [Built in]

Chris' Pick: Voice Memo

My pick of the week is the Voice Memo app in iPhone 3.0. From the early days of my Palm Zire, I always liked having a voice recording app. I felt it was useful to be able to jot down a quick note or htought, rather than typing it out (and especially if you are driving and can't type!). As soon as I got my iPhone, I purchased a voice memo app, and now Apple has included one. True, it doesn't offer all of the accoutrements that some do (voice to text, wifi synching, etc) but it is a nice feature to include, and I find myself using it on almost a daily basis. Now if only they made it able to record phone calls. [Built in]

James' Pick: Google Sync

In my upcoming job change, I will be losing the free Exchange server I was using to house my contacts and calendar. Enter Google Sync. With free Exchange connection for push calendar and contacts, I am able to safely save my data in the cloud. [Web link]

Justin's Pick: E*TRADE Mobile Pro

I've using this app for little over a month now and love it. I find the user interface design to be very intuitive, especially with all the functionality that is packed into it. Also, a recent update has now added push notifications for stock and account alerts which makes it even more useful. You can do almost everything on that app that you can do from the computer like trade stocks, view streaming real time quotes, transfer money, view market and stock news, and much more! To sum it up, if you have an Etrade account this is a must have app. [Free - iTunes link]

Matt's Pick: VLCRemote

This is a very nifty app for those of you that enjoy watching videos on your PC or Mac. VLCRemote controls VLC player via WiFi (my mac was using a LAN line, but it's on the same network). The app lest you control all the basics, plus view your playlist, utilize different skip speeds, and use an IMDB lookup on selected playlist items. This is a must have app for an VLC user! [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Rene's Pick: Camera Zoom v1.1

Not withstanding the conspiratorial selection of multiple built-in apps above, I'm joining Justin in staying true to the App Store with a freshly updated little photo gem, Camera Zoom. While the iPhone 3GS did wonders with 3 megapixels, auto focus, macro, auto white-balance and overall picture quality, still missing is any form of digital zoom. Enter the simply named app above. Just move the slider to frame the scene as tightly as you'd like, up to 4x magnification, then snap the shot. Results aren't optical quality, of course, but they're surprisingly good. If you use your iPhone as a convenience camera replacement, this is a must-have app for your toolbox. Works fine as the hardware allows on iPhone 3G under 3.0 as well. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Your Pick?

You're part of team TiPb too, so what's your pick? What app was your absolute fav last week? Let us -- and everyone -- know in the comments!

With the joy Steve Jobs typically reserves for introducing new Mac OS X Dashboard Widgets, and a similarly Jobsian "it's gorgeous", iPhone Software Senior Vice-President, Scott Forstall showed off a new App for Mobile OS X at the iPhone 3.0 Preview Event.

The first new, built in App from Apple in a while, and unlike the previous two -- iTunes and App Store -- the first one which isn't just a portal to buying content, Voice Memo does indeed look very, very nice.

Using either the iPhone's built in mic or an external, plug in mic, Voice Memo can record small voice notes, lectures, meetings, interviews, or any similar audio. The included editing tools allow you to trim your recordings, and they can be sent off the device via either email or the new MMS functionality announced at the same event.

While more feature-rich voice recorders will no doubt still be offered in the App Store, it's nice to see Apple upping the base functionality without making us hit the App Store for the free Apple Remote or inexpensive Keynote Remote this time.