Top 5 Most Useful Free Apps for Your IPhone

With so many free iPhone apps in Apple's App Store, it can be difficult to sort through thousands of apps (seriously, how many fart noise applications are needed?) to find apps that are actually useful. To save some time browsing through apps you don't want or need, check out the following apps first:

Siri Assistant

This app is listed first for a reason. Siri is, by far, one of the most useful iPhone apps. Having Siri on your iPhone is like having your own personal assistant. With Siri, you can find movie show times, make restaurant reservations, set up reminders, call a taxi, and much more. All you have to do is tap the on-screen "Say it" button, speak your request into your iPhone's microphone and Siri will perform the action. For example, you could ask Siri "Where's the nearest gas station" and in mere seconds, the app will list all nearby gas stations, provide you with their phone numbers, and display them on Google maps.

Dragon Dictation

Dragon dictation is a speech-to-text app. Using speech recognition technology, the app allows you to speak into your iPhone's microphone and convert what you just said to text. The interface is extremely simple and easy to use. When the app loads, there is an on-screen button, which you tap to begin recording. When the text is displayed, you can edit via on-screen keyboard to correct any mistakes. Once your speech has been converted to text successfully, you can copy the text to your iPhone's clipboard, send the text to one of your contacts via text message or email, and even upload the text to social networking sites. This app can save you a lot of time by cutting back on how often you need to type on the on-screen keyboard.

RedLaser

RedLaser is an app that allows you to scan barcodes using your iPhone's built-in camera. The app will use the barcode to find information on the product you scanned. While this may seem to be nothing more useless novelty, it can actually be quite helpful when shopping. While connected to the internet via WiFi or 3G, RedLaser will search online for the item you've scanned and compare prices at both online and local stores. You can also use it to find the model number and other specific information on an unidentified product which has a UPC attached. This is an app no smart shopper should go without.

Skype

The popular computer application is now available in the app store for the iPhone. Using this app, you can call another Skype user over Wifi for free. An iPhone app used to make calls may seem rather pointless but this app is quite useful when you're in a low reception area but have access to a Wifi signal. Also, this app won't cost you any minutes. iPhone users with limited talk plans should find this very useful. You can also call landlines and mobile phones with the app, however these calls require you purchase Skype credits.

Car Finder

We've all done it. You park your car in a crowded parking lot and upon returning, you can't remember where you parked. This is no longer an issue when using the Car Finder app for your iPhone. With this app, you can mark where you car is parked by clicking the on-screen "I'm Parked Here" button. When you're ready to find your car, simply open the app again and an arrow will appear on screen, directing you to where you parked your car. This app uses the iPhone's GPS so it may be a little off in areas with poor GPS reception but is great for locating your car in large parking lots or when parked downtown.