With the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch SDK on its way and the first raft of application intentions announced I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what applications I would like on my Touch and, what I would pay for.
The list itself is actually pretty short but these are a few of what I would regard as killer apps for me:
- mobipocket reader. I like the idea of eBooks and have a number from various sources which I currently read using the mobipocket reader on other devices, such as my BlackBerry. However, a mobipocket reader on the Touch could be very compelling
- BBC iPlayer. Recent updates have allowed programmes to be streamed to the device but it would be great if they could also be downloaded on played offline saving battery through not having to use the wifi
- Task manager. I know that tasks can be done through third party apps (such as Remember the Milk) and (probably) can be sync’d with the Calendar but to me neither of these approaches works. The former because you need to be online and the second because it has always struck me as strange having tasks in a calendar. Tasks to me are prioritised and dates are less important. I want something similar to TasMan an app I wrote for the Psion 5 years ago
- wifi toggle. I find it a real pain to have to keep going into Settings | Wi-Fi to turn the wireless on or off. I want an icon on the home screen that toggles it on and off.
And that’s about it. As for paying I would consider it for all of them but from what I have read I am not going to have much choice as downloads are going to be tightly controlled by Apple and are only going to be available through iTunes (which I still haven’t overcome my objection to).
One final thought is this: with the calendar, mail, contacts, notes and other applications the Touch is much more than a media player but much more closer to a PDA, albeit a closed one that is difficult, if not impossible, to update. How long before it becomes a serious threat to the multitude of Windows Mobile and Palm devices?