The 18 Best iPhone Apps

Illustration by Otto SteiningerSeeking the best productivity tools, utilities, and games for your iPhone? Here's our selection of the best apps exclusive to Apple handsets. To see multiplatform apps and titles made just for Android or BlackBerry, read the other articles in this package.

Browse in style: Re-creating a desktop browser on the iPhone's screen, Atomic Browser has tabs, ad blocking, multitouch gestures, a passcode lock, Facebook/Twitter integration, and more. Free basic version, $1 premium version

Manage your reading: Through Instapaper you can save Web articles you browsed on your iPhone for later reading, using a browser bookmarklet. The Instapaper Website reformats your saved articles (sans Flash ads and clutter) for quick reading on the desktop. $5

Add a phone line: Line2 brings a second line to your phone (with a special number). Calls on that line connect as free or cheap VoIP calls over a Wi-Fi or 3G data connection, but they can move to a cell network (which costs you plan minutes) when such connections are unavailable. This service is great if you have weak cell coverage in your home, or if you just want to cut down your cell-minutes usage. $15 per month

Never forget passwords: To maintain your usernames and passwords on your iPhone in one place, try 1Password. The mobile app syncs with the desktop version, as well. If you wish, you can use it to store other personal information, too, such as your Social Security number and credit card numbers. $10 basic version, $15 premium version

Find your way: The TomTom app turns your phone into a GPS navigation device with turn-by-turn directions. Maps and routes are stored in your phone's memory, so updating maps and changing routes happens quickly and without requiring a wireless network connection. $50

IncrediBooth faithfully re-creates old-time photo-booth fun.Revisit the photo booth: One of the first apps to use the iPhone 4's front-facing camera, IncrediBooth gives you an almost genuine photo-booth experience (minus the shopping-mall atmosphere). You get three "retro effects," and you can share a photo strip or just one image with Facebook friends. $1

Keep it rolling: In the bizarre but fun I Love Katamari, you're a pint-size alien prince who has been ordered by the King of All Cosmos to collect objects by rolling a highly adhesive Katamari ball. You use the phone's accelerometer to control the Katamari. $5