100 Best iPhone 4S Apps

Apps, apps, apps. They're everywhere. Apple’s advertising tagline, "there's an app for that" may have sounded trite when it first aired, but today it's spot on. In most cases, there isn't just one app for that, but lots and lots. And lots. Ranging from apps that try to do everything and barely manage to do anything, to those that focus on one very specific task and do it wonderfully well.
To choose top 100 iphone 4s apps from the hundreds of thousands available is the kind of task only a fool would undertake, so we asked one. These are the best iphone apps if we were asked to load it with 100 examples of the best the App Store has to offer, across a broad range of categories. They are the 100 best iphone 4s apps everyone should have today.

Best iPhone 4s Apps for Music

Capo ($19.99)

Anyone who's ever picked up a musical instrument knows that the real fun is in learning to play the best bits of your favorite songs. Capo will help. It allows you to slowdown any song in your iPod library without changing the pitch. Sections can be looped, and you can mark those parts you want to learn. We like the ability to switch to Capo when listening to music and pick up the track at the point you paused it.

NanoStudio ($14.99)

Garageband for iPad may be getting all the media attention, but NanoStudio will work on the iPhone and iPod Touch as well. Is it as simple as Garageband? Not quite. Does it offer an amazingly professional degree of control for less than a tenner? Yes, it does.

nLog MIDI Synth ($8.99)

A fully-featured emulation of a classic 80s analogue synthesizer, for free. Serious users will be delighted with the recently-enhanced audio export/cut and paste facilities, the rest of us can just have fun making wibbly-wobbly synth noises on the bus.

Bloom ($3.99)

Created by ambient music legend Brian Eno, Bloom is a 'generative music' app that enables you to create your own chill-out masterpieces by simply poking the screen. Great for soothing frayed nerves after a taxing day at the office.

Best iPhone 4S Apps for Office Work

 Thanks to the small size of the iPhone and the lightness of the iPad compared to a laptop, these devices are great forgetting work done anywhere

Pages ($9.99)

Apple's word processor and page layout app works wonderfully well on the iPad and iPhone. Whether you want to write a letter, create a poster, or compile a report, Pages is the app to turn to. There are plenty of top-notch templates from which to choose, and you can add your own, too. There's a glittering array of options for styling text and adding images, including the masking function, which lets you choose which part of an image to display. When you're done, print it using AirPrint, send it over email or export to iTunes.

Numbers ($9.99)

We admit, we thought the idea of a spreadsheet on a phone was bonkers. But it works. We love the form view on the iPhone version, in particular. Rather than have to type a value into a cell on the spreadsheet, you punch it into a much bigger box on the form. Support for charts is excellent, too. Choose from horizontal or vertical bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and scatter graphs in six colour schemes. A seriously useful tool.

Keynote ($9.99)

Keynote's presentation themes are of the highest quality. Images, tables, charts and shapes can all be added to slides at the tap of a couple of buttons. And body text, bullet points and headlines can be formatted by specifying size, weight and typeface. Did we mention the desktop-class animation and transitions? Stunning.

Office2 ($5.99)

Office2 enables you to open and edit Office (DOC, PPT, XLS, TXT) and GoogleDocs files on your iOS device. Its editing and saving functions are a little limited, which is why it's not higher in our table, but it's still a useful tool on the move.

Best iPhone 4s apps for Travel and Navigation

Trip Advisor (free)

Trip Advisor allows you to find cheap flights and read reviews of hotels and restaurants all over the world.

AR: Augmented Car Finder (free)

Park your car and power up the app, then when you want to find the car again, just reopen the app and follow the arrows onscreen. A clever app combining your V iPhone's GPS, gyroscope and camera. Car Finder AR for Android does the same job.

Tomtom UKAnd Ireland ($74.99)

TomTom provides turn-by-turn navigation instructions and detailed journey times for the whole of the UK and Ireland, There are points of interest and the app provides warnings of speed cameras. There's support for multi-stop journeys and you can navigate a geotagged photo.

AA Hotel Guide (Free)

Android users can get the AA's Breakdown and Traffic apps, but only iPhone/iPod/ iPad owners get access to the complete AA Hotel Guide. Search over 2400 hotels across the UK by location, or let GPS do the work to find hotels nearby.

US Road Signs (Free)

Should you find yourself driving in the US of A, this pocket guide to the roadside traffic signage you'll encounter could prove useful. Traffic Signs: USA for Blackberry and Road Signs US for Android provide similar service.

London Tube Deluxe ($0.99)

Plan journeys on the tube, zoom in and out of the iconic map, and get the latest on delays and closures.

UK Train Times ($6.99)

UK Train Times provides data on arrivals, departures, and delays, and will even find your fast train home.

Best Business Apps

Paypal (Free)

With Paypal increasingly used for a lot more than just buying and selling stuff on eBay, mobile access to your account is definitely going to come in handy - though once more, Windows Phone users are left wanting for now.

Scan Biz Cards ($6.99)

The best of many business card readers available. Scan in a card and the details are added to your address book and the card itself stored in a gallery, with options to automatically send them your own card, invite the person to Linkedln and more.

iPocket Tools 9-in-one ($0.99)

A bit of a gimmick really, but it looks good, and with a compass, ruler, plumb line, spirit level, battery level meter, caliper, protractor, compass and torch in one, it's worth a look. A free Lite version with two tools of your choice is also available.

Entertainment Apps 

Tunein Radio (free)

Tired of listening to your music library? Tunein Radio may just be the right app for you to pump up your entertainment quotient on-the-go. With a single app, you have access to over 50000 radio stations around the world right from your mobile device. You can also browse for music from different sources such as Local Radio, Podcasts, Location and Language.

iMovie ($4.99)

Perhaps the most incredible thing about iMovie is that it works at all. The idea of editing video on a phone seems ludicrous, but works brilliantly. You can trim clips, add themes, effects, audio and photos, and edit audio and video with remarkable precision on the iPad. Once you're done, you can share your directorial debut online on YouTube or Facebook.

Filmon Live Tv (free)

We like stuff that's awesome, and FilmOn Live TV is both awesome and free, so we positively love it- Anywhere you've got a Wi-Fi connection, there's a huge range of channels at your fingertips. You don't even need to sign up - just tap a station from the list and you can start enjoying the show straightaway. Unfortunately, the AirPlay functionality is audio only- not videos.

ShowTime

This is one app that movie fanatics will love. It has one of the most straightforward user interfaces we have seen; you can book movie tickets in as little as two taps, or view movie trailers on YouTube with a single tap if you can't decide. The app also provides the addresses of the cinemas if you don't know where they are.

Star Trek Original Series Communicator ($0.99)

Flip the lid by swiping a finger across the screen and play dozens of sound FX and well-known phrases from the best sci-fi series ever. It's brilliant, but you'll get tired of it after... hang on, we'll have to get back to you on that one.

Drawing and Painting Apps

Brushes ($4.99)

Both the iPhone and iPad versions of Brushes are painting apps that include brush presets, layers, a colour picker, and several levels of undo. To make those tricky details easier, you can zoom in close to paint them. Once finished you can watch a replay of your painting taking shape, or download the image to your computer.

Photography Apps

Quadcamera - Multishot ($1.99)

GuadCamera allows you to take four or eight photographs in short bursts and apply effects to them. You can vary the interval between shots, choose from different effects, and lay them out in a grid. The results are remarkably effective. Whether you shoot an image of something that's moving or just a statue, the results can be magical.

Productivity Apps

Things ($9.99)

Things is a task manager You can add tasks, schedule them, and assign them to a project. And tasks can be viewed by preset filters, such as those due today, and those due in the next couple of days.

Projects are displayed as notebooks on-screen, and tapping on one opens it and displays the tasks associated with it and their due dates. Notes can be added to tasks, and notes and date icons are only displayed where you've assigned them to a task, cleverly. You can synchronise either the iPhone or iPad version with the Mac version of Things over Wi-Fi, but there's no cloud syncing yet to keep the iPhone and iPad versions synchronised with each other.

Mindnode ($5.99)

MindNode is incredibly easy to use, thanks to the well-thought out Multi-Touch interface, and you'll be creating mindmaps in minutes. When you're done, you can send them to Dropbox.

LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99)

LogMeln Ignition allows you to control a computer over a network or the internet from your iPhone or iPad. Choose from multiple computers linked to your account and see the screen output on your iOS device. You can change the screen resolution to improve performance, and choose from two different navigation methods. It's a very useful tool for accessing files and desktop software on a remote computer, or for changing settings, and it makes good use of gestures. Handy if you work from home.

Dropbox (Free)

Dropbox is an easy way to transfer images from an iPhone or an iPad to a computer or to add PDFs or text files to an iOS device so you can read them there. You'll need to sign up for an account at dropbox.com, but a free one will give you up to 2GB storage. Log in to your account from the app and you'll be able to see the contents of your folder.

Epic Win ($2.99)

If you're finding it difficult to get jobs finished, try turning your to-do list into a role-playing game in which you gain experience points every time you complete a task, then see that task destroyed in animated form by your onscreen avatar.

DIY Buddy (Free)

A great freebie that lets you take a picture of a DIY project, scribble notes on it {such as dimensions) then take it with you to the DIY store. Or jot down the dimensions of every room/space in your house and never have a 'will it fit?' crisis in IKEA again.

Top iPhone Utilities 

1Password Pro ($7.99)

1Password allows you to store usernames and passwords for secure websites and login quickly from within the app. In addition, you can store secure notes and financial information such as credit card numbers. All data is AES encrypted and the app automatically locks when you close it. Data can be synchronized with the Mac version of 1 Password. 

Touchpad ($4.99)

TouchPad turns your iPhone or iPad into a remote control for your computer. It works with QuickTime Player and Front Row on Macs and Media Center on Windows.

MyCarCheck (free)

Just like the website, MyCarCheck lets you enter any registration number and check the corresponding vehicle details, purchase history and mileage - ensuring you don't end up buying a dodgy motor. It's free, so it'd be silly not to, really.

News Apps

Metro UK (Free)

Avoid disappointment at the station and get this free newspaper straight to your pocket/ handbag every morning. It's currently iOS-only, but Android users needn't despair, as Metro is also available via the UK Newspapers app

Discovery News (Free)

If you want to feel a little more clued up about the state of the world, step right up The Discovery Channel's news service is a great source for science, nature and technology news. And now you can get it direct to your iOS device for free.

Daily Mash ($2.99)

The hilarious Daily Mash is Britain's leading satirical spoof newspaper, and it's now available direct to your iPhone. Be warned - it's not for the easily offended, but fans of Chris Morris {Brass Eye) or Mock The Week will love it.

Healthcare and Fitness Apps

Runkeeper (free)

RunKeeper allows you to track your running activity and save it on the web. It uses the GPS chip in the iPhone to track where you go and how fast you run. At the end, you'll be able to see how long you took, where you ended up, what route you took, what your pace was, and how many calories you burned.

Upload your information to the RunKeeper website and you can track your progress over time and view historical data. Audio feedback during your run will tell you how you're doing, and there's support for split times and interval workouts. Target Pace coaches you through your earphones. You can even choose a playlist from the iPod app to play automatically when you start your run.

NHS Quit Smoking (Free)

Daily motivational messages, facts and tips and, most importantly, a real-time counter so you can watch those smoke-free hours, days and weeks stack up. The NHS app is iOS-only, but similar free apps are available for Android and Windows.

NHS Drinks Tracker (Free)

If you're worried about your booze intake, this free app from the NHS helps you monitor your units accurately, and will generate a drinks diary so you can see how much you've been knocking back. Your liver will thank you for it.

iBartender  ($0.99)

An app full of cocktail recipes that borrows a trick from many cooking apps: tell it what ingredients you've got to hand, and it'll come up with suggestions as to what cocktail you can make with them.

Tapas Recipes ($0.99)

An excellent recipe app which contains several hundred Spanish recipes (not just for tapas dishes), with simple instructions and pictures for every one. A free Lite version is also available, so you can try before you buy.

Weather Pro ($3.99)

Weather Pro on iOS is by far the slickest weather forecast app we've encountered. So much so that it's definitely worth paying the $3.99 asking price, even though there are plenty of cheaper or even free alternatives.

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