Viber: Call and text for free

1This might be a new one for some of you. Viber is a terrific app — both for iPhone and Android — that lets you call other Viber users free. It’s really easy to set up, and once it syncs with your Contacts, it creates a separate list of people who have Viber installed as well. So when you want to contact them, you can IM them, just as you would ordinarily, or call them. Viber uses your data plan, so if you don’t have unlimited texts that come with your plan, it’s a terrific option. It uses wi-fi or a 3G network to connect — there may be charges if you use the latter — and the sound quality is incredible.

Path: Share life with your loved ones

2I joined Path quite recently, and have been enjoying it. It bills itself as “the smart journal that helps you share life with the ones you love.” I don’t post very frequently, probably once or twice every few days, but since I’m keeping my network over there relatively small, I find it provides a more intimate feeling than blogging out to the whole world. And I still get a kick out of Path’s visualization if you tell it you’re going to sleep, or have woken up. It’s also cool that you can post to Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr, or any combination of them, if you want to.

Beejive for GoogleTalk: Gtalk on the go

3I learned of this app from Ray Richman, and I love it. It’s free. Beejive for GoogleTalk basically lets you G-chat — as you would from your Gmail interface — on your phone. Beejive has a bunch of other apps as well that I haven’t tested, but I do like this one a lot.

HootSuite: Cross-post to your networks

4HootSuite has great apps for both the iPhone and iPad, so I have it set up on both. I like that I can use my multiple profiles even when I’m not at my computer, and most of its “regular” functionality is contained in its apps, such as scheduling tweets, posts and so on. Hot tip: In HootSuite’s desktop version, specifically with Facebook, in addition to setting up profiles for your personal and business page (or pages you manage), you can also set up profiles for specific Facebook groups you participate in regularly. I saw this a few weeks ago and it is a boon! However, you can’t do this from the apps. I don’t think that’s such a big deal, and you’ve probably already seen that if you reset some profiles in your “main” HootSuite account, the apps won’t automatically sync them, you’ll have to do so manually.

Tungle: Easy scheduling from the road

5I’ve long been a fan of Tungle, and it finally introduced an app for the iPhone last year. It’s as easy to use Tungle’s iPhone app as it is to use the desktop version, and that’s not something you can say about all apps.

Skype: The ultimate communication tool

6Skype has become the de facto way I communicate with my family and quite a few of my friends, and I suspect you do as well. It’s also how I’ve done interviews. The call quality is great most of the time, and you can’t beat the price of free.

Tumblr: Post photos to a blog

7I set this up recently after embarking on Project 366. I did so because the photos I take are almost always from my iPhone, so I wanted to see if I could post directly to Tumblr from my phone. And, of course, you already know you can. When I was reading the app reviews, I saw a number of complaints, but so far at least, it’s been pretty easy to post to Tumblr from my iPhone, and that includes the caption, tags, short URL, etc.

Facebook: Carry your friends in your pocket

8It wasn’t that long ago that Facebook introduced its own app, and it works pretty well as you post comments, post status updates or photos, like brands and all the rest. Crashes at times, but what app doesn’t? If you have the new Timeline, you’ll notice that it appears on your mobile device as well, which is pretty nifty.

Camera+: Edit and share your photos

9I learned about this from my trainer, Grant Hill. It is absolutely terrific! There’s a free version, but I bought the 99 cent Camera+ app, and it works beautifully. There are a ton of editing options, and you can also share your photos to social networks or via email directly from Camera+ if you want. I highly recommend it.

PhotoSync: Sync photos instead of emailing them

10The $1.99 PhotoSync app is just brilliant. Once you buy it, install it on your iPhone and computer (and I have it on my iPad as well, and no, I didn’t have to pay again). What this does is let you wirelessly transfer photos, which is great – no more cables or emailing photos! You’ll need to make sure the app is open on each device you’re syncing from and to, and you have to enable location services, though I haven’t found that to be a problem. It works quickly, and I haven’t had a single issue. In addition to photos, it transfers videos well, too. And, you can send photos to Flickr, Facebook and a bunch of other sites if you want to.

Flickr: Create photo albums from your phone

11It’s pretty easy to post your photos to Flickr using the Flickr app, though I find the tagging, etc., a bit laborious from the iPhone. Still, it does give you a way to create a Flickr album on the go, say, if you’re at a conference. And what photo sharing network is better than Flickr?

iMovie: Quick and easy video editing

12One of my goals this year is to do more video — using my iPhone. I’m getting more and more comfortable with iMovie, and purchased the $4.99 iMovie app not long ago. I shot this short video of my dog Lola meeting Snoopy over the holidays. Since it was already on my phone, I did some quick editing via iMovie, transferred it to my computer via PhotoSync, and voila. It’s pretty decent for quick editing, but it doesn’t have the full functionality of the regular iMovie software program. Still, for on-the-go stuff, it works.

The Weather Channel: Bring an umbrella?

13I know the iPhone comes with a weather app, but I like the one from the Weather Channel better. And yes, it’s free.

Weather Doodle: Making weather fun

14This is just lovely. It’s a really cute 99-cent app that turns your weather forecast into a cute, animated doodle. Even on a rainy day, I’m pretty sure Weather Doodle will make you smile. And hat tip to@sbc111, who pointed me to it.

Emojee Free!: Emoticons for every occasion

15If you like playing with different emoticons, this one’s for you. It’s free, and it gives you an astounding collection of emoticons, from a wide range of categories, that you can add to email, text messages and so on. However, be aware that only other iPhone or iPad users will be able to see them. Still worth a look, I think, and once you’ve downloaded Emojee Free! it will walk you through how to set it up.