Guest Post: The Best iPhone Apps for Students
Monday, February 1, 2010 by Kelly Sutton 
Who can afford a dock? Not me. Photo by flickr user William Hook, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Today's guest post is from Shep McAllister, a sophomore at Trinity University. His post last week, "Dealing with a Car Accident in College," generated some healthy and not-so-healthy discussion about handling the logistics of a terrible situation. He's back again to discuss his favorite iPhone apps. Enjoy!
It’s a well established fact that iPhones and iPod Touches now outnumber male students on most college campuses. If you have one of these devices, be sure to keep these apps in your regular rotation to make college more pleasant. You’ll notice that most of these apps are pretty popular, and savvy iPhone users have probably heard of all of them. The reason for this is simple: most popular apps are popular because they’re good (or because they have pictures of women in their underwear, but I digress). Probably 90% of the apps in the store suck, including most of the ones supposedly geared towards college students. Presented here are some of the gems of the App Store, all of which I keep in my regular rotation, and have found indispensable throughout college.
All links open the iTunes App Store.
- Quickoffice - Our parents typed their papers on typewriters... typewriters! The very fact that we can write and edit out papers on a phone is remarkable enough, the fact that this app is actually good enough to write a few pages on is what gets it on this list. Stuck in a waiting room? Laptop broken and the computer lab is all the way across campus? Have a bad dream about that one awkward sentence (don’t laugh, it’s happened to me), and need to fix it on the go? This app can maximize your productivity, and is even—dare I say it—fun to use.
- Evernote - Yes, this blog talks about Evernote a lot, but it deserves another mention. Invaluable for recalling and backing up your professor’s hint about next week’s essay test, or that girl’s phone number you just overheard. Plus, it’s free.
- Flashlight - There are any number of these apps available, so there’s no excuse not to have one. Makes it much easier to navigate your dorm room at 2 AM without waking up your roommate. Maximize the brightness and hold it up at a concert to prove your phone’s superiority.
- Voice Memos - This is included with all iPhones and new iPod touches, so really you have no excuse. If you find yourself falling asleep in during your Medieval History of Prussia lecture, or simply enjoy day dreaming, just fire this up and record the lecture to listen to later. It’s like TiVo for class.
- Shopping List Lite - Your ability to get to the store in college is limited, particularly if you don’t have a car. Running low on contact solution, ramen, or Red Bull? Keep a running list so you’ll be sure not to forget anything. It’s free too, so you’ll actually have grocery money to spend.
- SnapTell - Everyone wants to get the best price on their physics textbooks and Glee DVD’s. Just snap a picture of the cover of any book, CD, or DVD, and instantly get a list of prices and distributors.
- eTextbooks for iPhone - Electronic textbooks are still a nascent market, but if you can find even half of your books on CourseSmart, you’ll be saving a lot of money and trees. This free app means you’ll never be without your textbook, and your bathroom breaks will never be more productive.
- Doodle Jump - Perfect for boring classes in large lecture halls. Can be used simultaneously with Voice Memos if you’re worried about missing something.
- Urbanspoon - Nobody wants to eat every meal at the dining hall, and finding cheap delicious food outside of a half-mile radius from campus can make you very popular. Combine with a car and you’ll be an unstoppable social force come dinner-time.
Did we miss one? Let us know in the comments! Think the list is perfect? Try sharing it on Facebook!
Reader Comments (6)
I'd love to have a similar list for Blackberry. I know that I'm probably the only college student with a blackberry, but I can dream, right?
May I suggest another app that I recently released into the App Store? It's called Audio Footnote [iTunes] and it lets you record voice notes while listening to audiobooks and podcasts. Notes are saved and sorted by the book or podcast you were listening to, the date recorded and your place in the program.
I developed it with college students in mind and hope that it is able to become a valuable tool for them. I've also got some wicked features planned, but I've got to hustle some sales first;-)
Check out a video demo of the app.
forget snaptell....get shopshavvy. does almost anything by the barcode.
Hey Mat, I have the similar Red Laser app, and while it works with older iPhones, the lack of an autofocus camera makes it finicky at best. Furthermore, I've read that most barcode apps will only work on a 3GS. Snaptell is a bit more limited in scope, but it works perfectly with any iPhone model (including my increasingly ancient 3G).
what's the best iPhone Apps? Can I install everything on the list on my iPhone?
I use a program called pocket informant. It integrates both my to do list from toodledo and my gmail calendar. Boom-shacka-lacka!