7 Most Wanted iPhone Widgets

[James Temperton]

Anyone who owns a Mac should know about and have a strange obsession with the wonderful world of widgets. These clever little applications make those every-day tasks easier or keep you entertained when you’re bored and have nothing better to do. Now the iPhone is on the horizon, which little widgets should it be looking to implement? Our top seven, because five isn’t enough and ten is too many...

1. iTunes Stats:
If like us you have a worrying obsession with keeping your iTunes library in tip top condition and you have a head for figures, then this iTunes widget is a must. It could easilly be implemented into the iPhone system and would provide you with some pointless (yet strangely worthwhile) stats about what you are listening to, how many songs you have, how many you have listened to, how many you have rated, how many don’t have artwork, how many albums have album info. You know you want it and you know you’ll look at it every damn day.

Download: http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/show...s.php?wid=1269


2. Hangman:
Wonderfully sadistic, beautifully simple, the game of hangman is a must for the world of iPhone widgets. It’ll keep you entertained whilst your sitting rotting away on public transport or whilst you’re waiting at the doctors or sitting at your desk pretending to be working. Just as Snake took over the world of mobile gaming for years, the simplicity of something like Hangman on the iPhone would have us hooked instantly. Obviously the in-terface of this current Mac one is a little dodgy, but we’re sure it could be refined and per-fected to provide the ultimate boredom buster on the iPhone.

Download: http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/show...ls.php?wid=675


3. RSS Feeds:
Utterly essential. The world of RSS feeds has taken the Internet to a whole new level and for many is an integral part of their day to day life. Be it technology news from digg or the latest headlines from the BBC, RSS feeds help us get to the news we want from the sites we want quickly. A well designed, easy to use and put together RSS feed collector that integrates into the iPhone’s online system for easy access. Like we said, a must have. The best one out there now (that we know of), is this Digg one...

Download: http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/show...s.php?wid=1607


4. Sudoku:
You either love it or you hate it. The crossword for people who can’t spell, Su-doku has taken over the daily commute, the coffee break and is a means of quick cranial exercise and entertainment for people all over the world. We’ve already said hangman is a must-have, so perhaps our obsession for stupid little games that you could easily play with a pen and paper is clear. Everyone loves something to do when they have a spare minute, and Sudoku would fit the bill perfectly on the iPhone.

Download: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashb...okuwidget.html


5. Harmonic:
We love music, but (and you may call us old fogies if you wish) we can never understand what the damn whippersnappers are saying. If like us you like to sing along, be it in your head or out-loud, then knowing the lyrics is essential. One of our favourite Widgets on the Mac is called Harmonic, an ingenious little application that fetches the lyr-ics for the songs in your iTunes library, and it really does work. So now you have no ex-cuse to ‘lalala’ along to songs as you’ll know every single ruddy word. It really would make a brilliant addition to the iPhone and if it turns up, we’ll be using it right away. Never used it before? Download it below and enjoy.

Download: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashb.../harmonic.html


6. Flappie: Or [insert cute creature name here].
If you’re sad enough to remember, Tama-gotchis were HUGE during the 1990s. Every little kid had one and they always died when you forgot about them and the screen filled up with crap. Depressing, isn’t it? Still, the iPhone has the potential to hop on the Nintendogs wagon that is taking over the world but with a slightly more mature and less obnoxious twist. Flappie reacts to your local weather conditions and basically you have to keep it alive in order for it to evolve. Clever little thing, and again something to keep you entertained, or something that will have your kids or younger siblings stealing your new toy. As the Apple website puts it: Displays the current weather conditions in your local area. These conditions can help determine the flapper’s mood and even if he lives or dies. Day and night also cycle in the flapper’s world. The longer you keep the flapper alive, the better chance it will have to evolve. One of our fa-vourites.

Download: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashb...s/flappie.html


7. TV Scheduler:
If you’re like us, you like TV, but sadly a lot of it is utter toss. So, to pick out the cream from the cud, this application is essential for the iPhone. Keep on top of what’s on each evening and schedule your evening’s watching in the palm of your hand whilst on the move. Heck, someone might even come up with an ingenious multi-scheduler that keeps train times, plane times, event times and TV times all in one handy little widget so you are always in control of what’s going on. We can but dream. For now, check out the widget below...

Download: http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/show...s.php?wid=1980


So, there you have it. We’re not saying these are the best or most essential widgets for everyone, but they are a selection of our favourites and also ones that we feel would work best on the iPhone. Got some better ideas? Disagree with our pick?. Be sure to share your views below.

[Ireland]

I couldn't help but register, so I could reply to this one.

Here's my list of the top 7 widgets that come to mind for the iPhone, and a few of them are even needed IMO:

1. Dictionary widget
2. Unit-Converter widget
3. BBC Radio widget
4. Wikipedia widget
5. Stopwatch/timer widget
6. Tile Game or Rubik's Cube widgets
7. what the heck "Whoopee Cushin" widget!

[jleblang]

How about voting on which one should be done first (or add a new one):

http://unspun.amazon.com/The-Most-Wa...permalink/4508

[neonmarg]

How about new stuff specific to iPhone?

For example I'd like a parking meter reminder widget - to trigger an alarm when money is about to run out at my meter. Give it a simple quick interface to set how long when you park. Maybe an option to enter a note about where you parked (especially if in a garage)?

A lot of people use their cel phones instead of watches these days, maybe sitting on their desk while they work. Maybe a Desk Clock display mode, with alarms from ical easily activated? While at it make it so it can be used as a travel alarm (another frequent use of my phone).

Jeff

[designr]

justify a jump to the iPhone:

1. Password Wallet 4. Blowfish encryption and Mac synchronization. So many passwords, so little brain-space.

2. ZagatToGo. Clubs, restaurants, etc. Where do I eat?

3. WorldMate. Currency Calc, International Tip Calc, Time Zones, Airline, Weather, etc. Is it a 10% tip in Tokyo or a 15% tip Paris?

4. Entourage Synchronization. Calendar, Contacts, Email, Memos, etc. Blackberry Enterprise push is the preferred method.

5. PDF Reader. I get a lot of PDFs.

That's it. I'm easy.

[Ireland]

PDF Reader. I get a lot of PDFs.

Safari can read PDF's.

[winmuj]

hi i am new

[jmatteson8]

While out with friends, my wife and I like to make future plans for going sailing with these friends. I have a Tides widget on my mac but I'm not always at my mac when we're trying to make these plans. So, a Tides widget would be wonderful.

Also a weather.com forcast widget and perhaps a Doppler radar widget would be nice.

[designr]

Originally Posted by Ireland

Safari can read PDF's.

but requires a 3rd party plug-in to do so.

[emerrill]

Originally Posted by designr

but requires a 3rd party plug-in to do so.

No it doesn't doesn't. By default the Preview rendering engine does it. They fixed that a number of revisions ago (I think 10.3, but maybe 10.4).