Considering the abundance of, and intense focus on, third-party iPhone applications, it’s easy to lose sight of the programs that actually ship with the device (and how fantastic they are). 

Two of particular value to me over the last few days have been:

the iTunes store application

and the iPhone mapping feature.

An update for AOL Radio to version 1.1 brings optimization so that users can access all radio stations over Edge.

I’m still a Pandora fan but it is nice to see that iPhone users who didn’t upgrade and/or who live in areas that have yet to see 3G speeds aren’t forgotten!

I’m looking for some suggestions from one of our loyal readers (who is also happens to be a former Treo user).

Here’s the situation . . .

My wife used the Treo for many years and loved it. Not a big fan of adding additional programs to her handheld, she used the applications that came on the device.  An incredibly organized individual, she used both her Palm device and the desktop program to house tremendous amounts of information (everything from directions to reminders and account information).  I often teased her that her lists had lists. 

As if my on-going frusteration over "the app that didn’t work" hasn’t tested my patience enough, I wasn’t able to get email for a few hours today.

I contacted MobileMe support and… well I just posted my tale of woe over on Gear Diary.

You can read it here.

I’ve got a question for Apple… actually a few of them but all fall under the category of-

"What is Apple’s responsibility to customers who make purchases through the App Store?"

The answer we seem to be getting is- None.

I so prefer using a Mac that, for the first time in years, I’m using pen and paper instead of a tablet pc to take notes. The problem is, I moved to the tablet pc originally so that I could take notes and then have access to them electronically no matter where I was. (I’m not the most organized person and it prevented me from madly searching for lost notes when I needed them.) 

As I’ve mentioned previously, my solution these days is to take my notes once a meeting is over and immediately create a "Snapshot Note" of it in Evernote. That way I always know where my notes are.

Better yet,

I’ve alluded to this elsewhere but am now seeing enough examples that it deserves its own post.

With more than 1000 apps available you will be well served if, before hitting the "Buy" button for a paid app you slow down, count to ten and do a bit of research.

Why? Because there might be a free, or at least cheaper, alternative than the app you are about to buy.

The number of iPhone converts in my world are mounting.

After years as a devoted Treo-user my wife finally made the jump into iPhone-ville yesterday. Then I came into the office today only to discover that my colleague, also a Treo-user, now has a shiny new iPhone as well.

Two users closer to iPhone world-dominance!

My wife isn’t a fan of the virtual keyboard and my colleague noted that she is finding it somewhat of a challenge to "hit the space where the key is supposed to be just right".

Having come from years using a physical QWERTY keyboard on my smartphones I had a bit of trouble making the jump to the iPhone at first, too. Now, though, I type incredibly fast on it.

How did I get there? "Clicks", "Practice" and a little something I call "Stop Thinking So Much".

Two new apps appeared on the App Store tonight. If Found and Lost Phone. Both take your personal information and turn it into wallpaper for your iPhone. Not as nice as the photo of my dog Maisy or the stock "stones" my wife is using on hers, but personal, none the less.

One is free and the other is $1.99.

I took a quick look and wasn’t intrigued. "So what if I can put my personal info on my iPhone…" I thought, "how is that going to help me get my iPhone back if I lose it?"

In both cases… "Thanks But No Thanks". Seems I missed the point.

In the first part of this multi-part post I focussed on my top 5 productivity apps. Here are four more apps I use all the time and turn the iPhone a great productivity tool for me…