t-mobile | Devin Reams

I love the iPhone (on T-Mobile). It’s been an awesome phone slash iPod slash internet device for me for almost two years now. As I check out some of the other mobile phones out there I realize I may never leave the iPhone because of its applications.

It’s always fascinating to me to see what other people’s home screen looks like (what applications do you use the most? why is that one up there? why do you have two red icons next to each other? etc.) and I’ve found some of my favorite applications just by seeing what other people use.

In fact, word of mouth, like many other products, is the best way to find the best applications. Talking to a trusted source with similar interests and behaviors is a great way to find applications that match your lifestyle. Matt Galligan introduced me to Grocery IQ and it’s served as my grocery list ever since.

So, with that said, here are my favorite underrated apps for the iPhone:

Instapaper Pro ($5)

Instapaper is one of the greatest free services on the web. Marco has spent a lot of time building a site where you can flag web pages you want to read later (built in to Tweetie, bookmarklet available, etc.). Instapaper takes the page, saves it, and adds it to your very simple list of unread articles.

The iPhone application is perfect because it syncs with your Instapaper account, downloads the text-only (optional) version of the page, and allows you to read it on your phone. The fonts are customizable, the orientation can be swapped (portrait/landscape) and it even uses the accelerometer for tilt scrolling (look ma, no finger swiping). Even though I don’t need all of the ‘Pro’ functionality, I bought this app just to support an excellent product. Instapaper Pro (download) has changed the way I poop.

Mint (free)

If you use the web-based money management service Mint, then the iPhone app is the natural compliment to the site. The application shows your account balances, recent transactions, and budgets. Everything you need in your pocket to decide “should I really buy a burrito for lunch?” or “should I really be buying a round of shots tonight?”

You may not focus on finances that often but by having the application, you can check your money’s pulse in a few taps and start to understand important things like: where is my money going? Am I on track this month? Mint (download) has helped me cut costs and optimize my spending.

foursquare (free)

Hands down, foursquare is one of the best location based applications available. You simply ‘check-in’ to the various places you visit (socially) and start to gain points and badges based on where you’re at. But that’s not the point, you can see where your friends are this weekend, where they’ve been (“hey, what’s the scene like there? is it worth stopping by?”) and discover some cool places through to-dos and tips left by other players.

The iPhone app has push notifications so you can be alerted when your friends are out and about. Mayorship status (most check-ins at a location in the last 60 days) sometimes gets you a free drink. Foursquare (download) is an amazingly fun, social location game that makes me want to live a more interesting life.

But those are just a few…

What are your favorites? I’m sure there are tons out there that I’ve never even heard of. Leave a comment or start your own post and leave a pingback.

Note: GV Mobile had originally been on this list but has since been pulled from the app store.

The following violates the fine-print for the MyFaves plans and I do not suggest you break rules. As mentioned by Josiah in the comments, the following guide goes against this statement on T-Mobile’s website: “Your five numbers must be US domestic numbers and must not include … customers’ own numbers; and single numbers allowing access to 500 or more persons.”

Some quick background: I’ve been a long-time customer of T-Mobile and have been extremely happy with their service. There have been four or five of us (friends and family) on a myFaves FamilyPlan for over four years now. We have free Mobile-to-Mobile, nights and weekends, unlimited SMS, five unlimited-call myFaves contacts and 700 minutes to share. With the $6 T-Zones internet, I pay only $37/month. life is good.

But it gets better. I rarely, if ever, am forced to use our daytime minutes thanks to Google Voice (formerly, GrandCentral).

Add your Google Voice number as a Fave

fave5

It’s not crazy, you do want your own phone number as a contact. Once you add your number to your MyFaves you can receive and make calls from/to that number with no charge. But first, make sure you set your incoming calls to display your Google Voice number instead of the caller’s number (so the calls appear from your MyFave contact):

Google Voice Set Caller ID

Why is this awesome? You never use your minutes and have more than one way to complete a call:

Google Voice call

Call your number, dial a number: though not very practical, when you dial your Google Voice number from one of your existing phones (added to your Voice account) you are then prompted to listen to voicemail OR press 2 to dial a call. You can then dial a number and, while you’re still on the line, Google Voice will connect the call (unlimited talk time!). Keep in mind, the receiver will see the incoming call coming from your Google Voice number.
Use the web service: your Google Voice contacts are the same as those in your Gmail account. If you sync your phone’s contacts with your Google Contacts then this is a seamless integration. All of your friends’ phone numbers appear in the Google Voice dashboard and you can click to call them. You are then called (the incoming number is your Google Voice) and your friend is connected. Again, since the call was from your Voice number, no charge!
Use the mobile interface: same as the web interface, you can select a contact and have Google Voice connect the call by dialing your number (incoming from your Google Voice number).
iPhone app: An application called GV Mobile for the iPhoneis available in both a free and premium versions and will interface directly with your iPhone contacts. The premium version also allows you to do cool things like review your call history, incoming SMS messages (to the Voice number), and listen to voicemail. AT&T/Apple have pulled all iPhone applications for Google Voice (including an official one from Google).

Bonus: free conference calls

One thing you’ll notice about T-Mobile MyFaves is that toll and toll-free numbers can not be added as a Fave. Bummer! No free calls to customer service, conference call lines, etc. Lucky for us, there’s FreeConferenceCall.com.

FreeConferenceCall assigns you a phone number that is not a toll free dial-in (in my experience, all the numbers are area code 605). This means you can add your conference call number as a Fave, dial in, and never be charged for the call.

(or, yes, you can just connect to the conference number through Google Voice)

UPDATE: Some users have claimed that Google Voice acts as a forwarding service and you don’t need to turn on the ‘display Google Voice’ number setting in order to have your minutes counted as myFaves. This is false. I’m looking at my call records from T-Mobile and can easily identify two calls that were charged to me though they came through Google Voice number. The display number does matter. The call presentation (announcing who is calling) does not.

Devin Reams

Tag Archives: t-mobile

Most underrated iPhone applications