You should probably check out my 2014 list of iOS 8 apps.

{Update! New List! New Post! See the new list of iPhone applications I actually still use in this post, from September 2009.]

I've updated the post on "third-party iPhone apps I actually use," which is inexplicably the most popular post on the blog. The much-improved Google mobile app, with voice-activated search, has moved to the top of the list. (To get it, you have to manually force an update at the iTunes store; it wasn't happening automatically.) I download new free and cheap apps often, so if any of the new ones catch on, I will add them there. I have also updated with the new iPhone 2.2 firmware. It includes some needed improvements, including walking directions for Google maps (I don't have a car, and rarely use one, but Google was constantly trying to send me on roundabout routes because of one-way streets in the city), the street view function, better screen navigation if you have multiple pages of apps, and direct podcast downloading. You can also turn off keyboard auto-correction if it annoys you (I'm finally used to it). Supposedly there is improved voice-mail audio quality and fixes to reduce the number of dropped calls; we'll see.

First impressions: The Google maps app is incredibly snappier. I have a first-generation phone, which means no GPS, but the WiFi-cellphone-whatever triangulation seems much improved, though still about a block off when trying to get a fix in our high-rise. The home-button feature that returns you to the first screen of apps is a blessing, since I have six screens of app (down from 8).