Top 10 iPhone application downloads for 2008
With the total number of iPhone applications available for download reaching over 10,000 in the first year of the App Store, it can be difficult to know which ones are really worthwhile. Now Apple has released the Top 10 applications by download across several categories such as games, entertainment, music and social networking.
Since the App Store’s launch in July, it has already become a favorite mobile platform for developers. While the App Store approval process isn’t fully understood, developers have gladly submitted well over 10,000 applications and written thousands more web interfaces for the popular smartphone platform.
Here are the Top 10 downloads for the iPhone in 2008 by category:
Top Paid Apps (Overall):
- Koi Pond
- Texas Hold’em
- Moto Chaser
- Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 3d
- Super Monkey Ball
- Cro-Mag Rally
- Enigmo
- Pocket Guitar
- Recorder
- iBeer
While it’s not surprising to see games taking up so many of the top spot, Koi Pond surprises me as the overall winner. The application shows a pond with koi swimming around. You can drag your finger across the water to create ripples and send the fish scrambling away.
Top 10 Free Downloads (Overall)
- Pandora Radio
- Tap Tap Revenge
- Shazam
- Labyrinth Lite Edition
- Remote
- Google Earth
- Lightsaber Unleashed
- AIM
- Urbanspoon
Pandora radio’s iPhone application was released into the App Store very early and has remained a favorite. It lets you discover new music based on the name of a band that you enter.
Top Paid Games:
- Texas Hold’em
- Moto Chaser
- Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 3d
- Super Monkey Ball
- Cro-Mag Rally
- Enigmo
- Air Hockey
- Bejeweled 2
- Flick Bowling
- Line Rider iRide
Poker has been one of the largest gaming trends for the past few years and the iPhone has apparently caught the bug as well. Other than that, the rest of these games take advantage of either the iPhone’s accelerometer or touch screen controls.
Top Free Games:
- Tap Tap Revenge
- Labyrinth Lite Edition
- Sol Free Solitaire
- iBowl
- Pac-Man Lite
- Touch Hockey:FS5
- Cannon Challenge
- Audi A4 Driving Challenge
- Sudoku
- reMovem
Tap Tap Revenge is a music game in the tradition of Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution. Music plays and you have to keep up with the notes to get a good score.
Top Paid Entertainment:
- Koi Pond
- iBeer
- iChalky
- Face Melter
- iFish
- TouchScan
- What’s on TV?
- Pocket Piano
- Sketches
- OneTap Movies
Most of these applications seem to be more novel than anything else. I’ll be surprised if any of these make it into the Top 10 overall list in its second year.
Top Free Entertainment:
- Remote
- Lightsaber Unleashed
- i.TV
- BubbleWrap
- Movies
- iDoodle 2 lite
- Showtimes
- Now Playing
- Scribble
- Crazy Pumpkin
These applications seem to be akin to the free flash games that are flourishing across the Web. As long as developers are willing to give them away, there will always be something novel about this kind of simple application, at least, for a time.
Top Paid Utilities:
- Units (crossroad solutions)
- A Level
- Air Mouse
- Fake Calls
- Voice Record
- Clinometer
- Spell Check
- Speed Dial
- FileMagnet
- iNetwork Speed Test
The Units application is simply a tool to convert units of measure on the iPhone. Unless you’re converting measurements constantly, I can’t see why you wouldn’t just use Google’s search method.
Top Free Utilities
- Flashlight
- myLite Flashlight
- Say Who – Dialer
- Units (TheMacBox)
- Compass Free
- Alarm Free
- A Free Level
- Molecules
- Speed Test
- myLighter
It’s amazing how popular the Flashlight applications have become among mobile phone users. They can be handy for finding your keys in the dark and you almost always have your phone handy.
Top Paid Social Networking:
- MobileChat
- BeejiveIM
- Quip
- Rooms – Your Mobile Chat Client
- Twitterrific Premium
- Flutter
- Twittelator Pro
- mBoxMail
- Secrets
- hiCard – Suite
The top two are IM clients and there are a few Twitter clients mixed in as well. I’m not sure how Quip figures in as a Social Networking application as it simply displays a daily quote or quip.
Top Free Social Networking:
- AIM
- Myspace Mobile
- IM+ Lite
- Loopt
- Fring
- Palringo IM
- Earthscape
- Twitterrific
- Avatar
Facebook has created an excellent mobile application that taps into most of the features of the company’s full web interface. Facebook has already released its second iteration which was very well received by users.
Top Paid Music:
- PocketGuitar
- Drum Kit
- Ocarina
- Pianist
- Band
- Tuner Internet Radio
- Beat Maker
- Guitar Toolkit
- Harmonica
- Guitarist
Ocarina was just recently released and has already made its way to the number three spot among paid music applications. The application lets you play a Zelda-style Ocarina instrument by blowing into the microphone and holding on-screen buttons.
Top Free Music:
- Pandora Radio
- Shazam
- AOL Radio
- Midomi
- Mini Piano
- iheart Radio
- MixMeister Scratch
- FlyCast Mobile Radio
- Last.FM
- DigiDrummer Lite
These applications primarily let you listen to free streaming music on your iPhone. While these are great tools, the disadvantage over listening to your own library is that you’ll need an Internet connection and will have to stop the music to check email or send text messages.
Overall, there are a lot of impressive and interesting applications included in these lists. The vast array of applications available in the iPhone’s first year is quite astounding. I’m sure that there are many more that didn’t make the list this year.
What is your favorite iPhone application? Is there one that you think should have made the list?
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December 5th, 2008
Great job Dave! I’m emailing this article to my step-son, the iPhone fanatic!
December 7th, 2008
You need to a bit better research. Quip does not display a daily quote. Quip is an attempt to fill the hole that the iPhone’s missing MMS functionality has created. You can send pictures to other MMS users via a simple URL. IT is a step better then the crummy viewmymessage.com functionality AT&T currently has.