Everyday iPhone apps are most popular

Virtually the whole world is now available on a 3-inch screen, and it was all started by a single cell phone – the iPhone – and by a single word – “applications.”

The release of Apple’s iPhone unleashed a barrage of mobile-sized versions of interactive games, Web sites and devices that redefined the cell phone, but some student favorites are some of the most simple.

The Creator

Robert Gadala-Maria, a graduate of the University of Florida, was sick of spending the morning after a night out trying to match new numbers with names. So he figured out a way to solve the reoccurring puzzle with an idea from a game application called iMob Online. The Mafia game sorted new contacts added to the phone by recently added.

“I thought, ‘This is pretty useful. This is all the people that I met last night,’” Gadala-Maria said.

Gadala-Maria ended up using the game just for sorting his newly-added contacts, until an upgrade deleted the feature.

“I had no way of saving my contacts that I recently added,” he said. “So what I ended up doing was writing my own.”

An investment banker in New York City, Gadala-Maria created his own application, Social Stingray, during his free time. He said he has received great feedback since the application was released last November.

“I think it is the most useful app out there, actually, because it helps you remember your contacts both recently added, by area code or by region,” he said. “I’m surprised, personally, that Apple doesn’t have the feature by default on the phone.”

Gadala-Maria was also thinking of adding an upgrade to the 99 cent application that would allow users to add tags such as “friends” or “family” to their contacts.

As for creating more applications, Gadala-Maria said he would have to stick by his philosophy on creating apps.

“I’ll only write a piece of software that I myself would use,” he said.

The Friendly User

Unlike Gadala-Maria, first-year graduate student Eric Andreoli uses his iPhone more for convenience.

“My take on the iPhone has kind of always been, ‘there is nothing an iPhone can do that a Blackberry necessarily can’t do,’” Andreoli said. “In terms of functions, they do a lot of similar things. It’s just how the iPhone does it. It’s easier to use, it’s more intuitive, and it just does things better.”

For Andreoli, the common applications are key. He wakes up to his iPhone’s alarm, checks The Weather Channel application before he gets dressed, checks his e-mail and Facebook in between classes and uses the calculator during class. Oh, and he checks the occasional sports score.

“I use it more for functional things – it makes things easier,” Andreoli said. “I could easily get on my computer and check the weather everyday and get my e-mail there, it’s just easier to do on the iPhone. I don’t know if things would be that drastically different without my iPhone. I’d just probably be a little more inconvenienced.”

The Newbie

As a newbie to the iPhone, Andrew Frandsen is still learning the touch to the iPhone.

“At first it was kind of difficult to get used to, but I like the things I’ve learned and I like what I’ve been able to do,” Frandsen said. “I kind of have an advantage over other people because of the things that I can do on my phone that I wasn’t able to do with my old phone. While in class, if I forget something I look it up on my phone. Just in general, it’s helpful.”

Now halfway through his sophomore year, Frandsen has to keep track of important dates, contacts and interviews. He said he feels his new phone has already helped him with the general organization of his life.

“I really like the productivity apps; I’m able to have my ‘to-dos’ laid out in front of me. Like if I’m with somebody and they ask, ‘Hey, can you do something for me,’ I’m able to write it down in my phone, and whenever I turn on my phone, it’s always there telling me that I need to do this.”

Frandsen’s favorite productivity application is called Day Bank.

“It’s been really helpful for my banking and finance,” he said. “I don’t want to write down in a check book and keep track in an actual ledger, so by having a finance app I’m able to keep track of my bank account and know how much I have at all times.”

As a three-week-old user of Apple’s cell phone, Frandsen only praised his new application-filled mobile. He even encouraged more newbies to join him.

“I understand that it’s kind of expensive, but the benefit definitely exceeds the cost,” Frandsen said. “I feel like just by the time I save doing different things and how organized and well on top of everything I am, I save that money.”