How do you narrow down 10 iPhone apps out of tens of thousands? You can’t, but let’s have a go anyway. I am going to ignore games which make up a big number and concentrate on apps that do something useful for your work, play and travel. It is difficult to find apps which do specific things in certain areas because of the locked down nature of the iPhone, but that does not mean that there are not a huge number of quality titles to take advantage of. The following are in no particular order of preference.

1/ Co-Pilot Live (from £20.99)

With the big boys in the GPS market now tilting their heads towards the iPhone platform it should be difficult to choose the best navigation solution, but I have to say that it is not. Co-Pilot is priced extremely competitively and with more features on the way it is a bargain in my opinion. I reviewed it a while back http://www.pda-247.com/wordpress/2009/08/co-pilot-live-8-for-iphone-review/ and am still of the opinion that it is largely top class for general navigation.

It has to contend with the iPhones less than stellar GPS antenna, as do all other solutions, but I have managed to replace my standalone TomTom with this software and recommend it very highly indeed. Rating: 9/10

2/ National Rail Enquiries (£4.99)

It’s a travel related piece of software again. National Rail Enquiries got off to a bad start due to some copyright issues, but as a software solution it is brilliant. Powerful journey planning is at the heart of the software, but the ability to view live train times and even the location you are at during a journey take it one step ahead of the rest. I always use this when taking the train and it has not let me down once. Rating: 9/10

3/ PocketMoney (£2.99)

There are many finance programs in the App Store which can help you with expenses, but few that work well for looking after your bank account. PocketMoney has evolved into a competent effort which will help you to manage your finances on the go, but still has some quirks which need addressing. On the whole it works well, but is merely the best of a bad bunch. Rating: 7/10

4/ ToDo (£5.99)

ToDo is an impressive ToDo management application which can make a complex life look simple. It epitomises how an application should be made and will work well for many people. There are far simpler solutions in the app store and many which do a lot more, but the balance has been struck here and balance is what is needed when dealing with lots of tasks. It could be cheaper though. Rating: 8/10

5/ Classics (£0.59)

The iPhone form factor lends itself well to eBook reading and Classics is an example of how reading software should be made. With new books being added all of the time (24 at the moment) and an interface which feels more like a real book than any other, it is hard to fault this title. It won’t appeal to everyone because many of us have read lots of these titles, but it is programmed to perfection. Rating: 9/10

6/  AppBox Pro (£0.59)

AppBox Pro is actually a collection of 18 separate apps which come together under an alternative launcher screen to produce a hugely useful tool which is remarkable value for money at just over 3p per title. Not all of the tools will be useful for you, but I am sure that you can pick out at least 6 or 7 which you will use regularly. Battery Life and Days Until are particularly good, but I could mention many others. Rating: 9/10

7/ Date Wheel (£1.19)

Date Wheel has been under development for some time and has fulfilled its promise of bringing a specialised app to the iTunes platform, and one which you will soon get used to using every day. Its natural roots lie in industries that require this type of calculation, but anyone can use it for countdowns to important dates as well. It comes into its own when you dig beneath the surface and there you will find some complex mathematics to play with. It may be specialised, but it is rather good. Rating: 9/10

8/ Occasions (£0.59)

Birthday management sounds like an incredibly simple task and it sure is, but this app takes it to a whole new level. The look is great and so is the ability to include information about what a person likes. This will simplify present buying and with push notifications onboard you should never miss a Birthday again, provided your iPhone is connected to the network. It is about as good as an app can get in my view on presentation alone and deserves a place on any iPhone. Rating: 9/10

9/ Pocket Informant (£7.49)

I have to applaud WebIS for battling to produce a highly competent calendar app in the face of the restrictions currently imposed by Apple. The look is as good as I have seen in any calendar and works perfectly for offering a long term view of what is happening, but inevitably suffers due to not being able to use internal alarms. No calendar program will be as good as though on other platforms until Apple opens this up a bit, especially not the standard one, but Pocket Informant is by far the best we have at this time. Rating: 7/10

10/ Gratitude Journal (£0.59)

Gratitude Journal is a very simple idea which has been realised to perfection. It is basically a diary in which you input your reasons to be grateful for each day and lots of feedback suggests that it really works. Obviously it did not work for me because I am a miserable so and so even when I am happy, but it is beautiful to look at and offers just enough customisation to make it personal to you. Rating: 7/10