Premium iPhone Apps

From: www.pcmag.com

We've shown you a selection of free iPhone apps we've tested out. Now take a peek at some iPhone apps you actually might not mind paying for.

The Apple AppStore is chock-full of free iPhone stuff to download. We've already shown you a few of the coolest free iPhone apps available, but what apps are actually worth paying for? To find out we took five premium iPhone apps for a test drive.

Our favorite of the bunch is Avatron's Air Sharing app. Apple doesn't make it easy to use your iPod to store non-media files, even though the device is perfectly capable of doing so. Air Sharing comes to the rescue with a handy app that turns your iPhone into a networked drive that can wirelessly transfer files to and from your computers, while also letting you view a wide variety of file types on your phone. It works with Mac, Microsoft, and Linux, and it gives you Web access to files on your iPhone This handy app costs $6.99, but if you're the type who needs access to files on the go, it's well worth the cost.

One bewildering omission is the iPhone's lack of cut-and-paste functionality. TextGuru rectifies this oversight by giving you the ability to cut, copy, and paste in documents you create with the program. In addition, it also lets you view PDF and Microsoft Word files. It's a little rough around the edges, but for $4.99 you can cut and paste on your iPhone to your heart's delight.

While SpeakEasy Voice Recorder isn't the only app out there that can turn your iPhone into a voice recorder, its simple interface and its ability to download files to play in iTunes make it stand out among the crowd. Technical limitations, like the inability to record actual phone calls, detract from the otherwise-perfect SpeakEasy, but, for $1.99, you get a simple app that provides a more foolproof way of downloading your recordings to your computer for archiving or transcribing.

OneTap Movies is a prime example of an app that just isn't worth the cost. It helps you locate a nearby flick when you're on the go, but so can other apps that don't charge you $1.99. Our advice: Save your money for the popcorn.

Another example of an overpriced app is BeejiveIM, which sells for a whopping $16. Of all the apps that let you use your favorite instant-messaging applications on your iPhone, Beejive, so far, is the only one that lets you stay connected to multiple IM services on your iPhone when you close the app. Might be worth the price for IM addicts until Apple finally lets third-party apps run IM apps in the background. Otherwise, we've gotta say it seems too expensive.

Read the short descriptions that follow and decide for yourself whether these premium apps are worth your investment. Also, be sure to check out the full range of phone and PDA apps we've reviewed in our product guide. More are on the way! If you've got a favorite iPhone app you'd like us to consider, tell us about it on this article's discussion thread.

Featured in This Roundup:

Air Sharing for iPhoneAir Sharing

Air Sharing turns your iPhone into a networked drive that can wirelessly transfer files to and from your computers, while also letting you view a wide variety of file types on your phone. At $7, it's not cheap as iPhone apps go, but it's well worth the outlay.

BeejiveIM for iPhoneBeejiveIM

For a whopping $16, BeejiveIM gives you the ability to stay connected to multiple instant-messaging services on your iPhone—even when you close the app.

OneTap Movies for iPhoneOneTap Movies

The OneTap Movies iPhone app can help you locate a nearby flick when you're on the go, but so can other apps that don't charge you $2. Save your money for the popcorn instead.

SpeakEasy Voice RecorderSpeakEasy Voice Recorder

SpeakEasy Voice Recorder stands out among the many voice-recording iPhone apps, thanks to its simple interface and ability to download files to play in iTunes. A few technical limitations keep it from being a perfect solution, however. Still, it's only $2.

TextGuru for iPhoneTextGuru

A full-featured text-editing app, the $5 TextGuru finally adds cutting and pasting to the iPhone. Its implementation isn't ideal, however, and the interface could stand a few additions to make this a standout program.