Cisco Blog » Blog Archive » Social Media Spotlight: Our Top 21 iPhone Apps (and They’re All Free!)

In honor of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs’ memory, the Cisco Channels team wanted to share our Top 21 iPhone apps. But with more than 500,000 apps available in the iTunes App Store, how does one even begin to narrow the list down to 21?

Well, we decided to focus on free iPhone apps that we use all the time. the perfect pairing – free and useful! and for the new iPhone converts who traded in their old devices for the new iPhone 4S, this list would be a great starting point for building your own library of useful iPhone apps.

So, without further ado, our Top 21 iPhone apps are:

Social

1. Facebook – Stay connected with your friends wherever you are. Upload photos, post your status, and even use the chat feature to talk to your friends live.

2. TweetDeck – like using TweetDeck on your desktop? You’ll love having access to your TweetDeck dashboard on your iPhone to monitor, manage and engage. (English only)

3. LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a great display of the six degrees of separation concept. Tap in to your vast network and stay up-to-date with your groups and professional acquaintances.

4. Instagram – Wondering how your friends take pictures that are always perfectly focused and have amazing lighting? well, they are probably using Instagram. Zoom in, pick a focus point, and apply a filter and you’ll have “like” worthy photos, too!

5. Yelp – before you shell out big bucks to eat a less than stellar meal, look up the restaurant on yelp and get real reviews from real people just like you.

Business

6. Cisco Partners – want the latest Cisco partner news in one place? Download the Cisco Partners app to stay up-to-date with the latest Channels blogs, videos, and news no matter where you are. (Full disclosure: this is the app that the Cisco Channels social media team created.)

7. WebEx – become truly borderless and take your meetings anytime, anywhere with the WebEx app. Attend, schedule, and start meetings all from your iPhone.

Utilities

8. Password Keeper – Have trouble remembering the various passwords you have? Keep all of your passwords for your email, bank, credit cards, and even Facebook accounts secure by locking your data behind Password Keeper’s vault.

9. Convert Units – For you cooks out there, how often have you come across a recipe where the units were in grams but you needed to convert it to ounces? This app helps you quickly convert the units in less time than it takes for you to find the right measuring spoon. (English only)

10. CardMunch – If you’re like me, you have a stack of business cards to scan or manually enter into your phone after every business trip. CardMunch to the rescue! It’s a free app from LinkedIn that lets you snap a pic of a card, then actual humans transcribe the data. (English only)

Productivity

11. dv Prompter – Ever drop your note cards right before a presentation? You won’t lose your cool during your next presentation if you enter your notes into this free teleprompter. You can tap the screen to pause and even change the speed.

Food & Dining

12. Tip Calculator Pro – Let’s see, $61.85, plus a 20% tip, divided by three, wait, what? stop doing long division on the back of your receipt and use Tip Calculator Pro to handle the math. (English only)

13. Urbanspoon – Can’t decide where to eat? Shake your iPhone and the app will randomly pick a restaurant for you to try. You can even lock down the options based on city, cuisine, or price range. (English only)

14. Epicurious – What’s for dinner? well, with the Epicurious app you have over 30,000 delicious options in the palm of your hand to choose from. found a recipe you like? use the app’s built in feature to create a shopping list or email to a friend.

Travel

15. Find My Car! – After a long day of shopping, the last thing you want to do is wander around aimlessly trying to locate your car. After parking, use the find My Car! app to save your location on the map. when you’re ready to find your car, the GPS location services finds your car in real time as you walk. (Free for a limited time only.)

16. TripIt – no more searching through your files for all of your important travel documents at the airport check in counter. Keep track of all your travel details and confirmation numbers using this app. TripIt scans your email inbox for travel plans and automatically enters it into a helpful itinerary. (English only)

Books

17. Kindle – Whether you commute on the train or have a friend who is always late for lunch plans, catch up on reading with the Kindle app. You’ll have access to over 1,000,000 books in the Kindle Store plus over 100 newspapers and magazines.

Lifestyle

18. Zillow Real Estate – Searching for a new home is time consuming! Speed up the process by using Zillow – get estimates on rent, homes for sale, homes for rent, and more as you walk or drive through neighborhoods. (English only.)

Games

19. Angry Birds – no top iPhone apps list would be complete without Angry Birds. There is a reason why this game is so popular and that’s because it’s addictive! Don’t believe me? Try it out for yourself. (English only)

20. Words With Friends – are you addicted to scrabble? then you’ll love playing this game with your friends. Best part is that you don’t have to clean up the tiles after the game. (English only)

21. Poker by Zynga – Can’t make it to Las Vegas? Play Zynga Poker on your iPhone live against more than 6 million daily users!

We haven’t tested this new app yet but after seeing the demo at Apple’s iPhone 4S announcement, it’s definitely worthy of a mention.

The Cards app lets you create and mail custom letterpress cards personalized with your own text and photos — right from your iPhone or iPod touch. Prepaid postage is included in the total cost of $2.99 for cards sent within the U.S. and $4.99 sent anywhere else in the world. when was the last time you bought a custom card at that price?

We hope you found our list of top iPhone apps useful. and whether you’re a new iPhone user or a veteran, I think we can all agree that we lost a true visionary, not only within Silicon Valley, but for anyone who has ever touched an Apple product. Steve – your legacy lives within each swipe, tap, and pinch.

Was your favorite iPhone app listed? If not, share with us in the comments below. We’re always looking for new apps to try out.

Tags: Cisco, iphone, Mobile Apps, partner, social media spotlight