Note

 
All application names & icons link to their page at AppShopper.com, a brilliant free app directory service that is much easier to browse than the iTunes AppStore.

You can also create an (anonymous) account there, which enables you to automatically keep track of the apps you want or own and get informed about price changes and updates. Saved me lots of money already!

They also have helpful rankings of all categories and consolidated lists of what's new or on discount. Check it out!

All links will open in a new window or tab.

Games

Looking at it now it's obvious, but who would have thought? Surprising even Apple, the iPhone has become the fastest growing gaming platform ever. While the accelerometer and touch screen allow totally new game types, it's particularly casual and simple gaming that rules. There is an incredible amount of truly spectacular titles, but here are the personal favourites that I actually play at the moment (and way too often).
Bejeweled® 2 is the phenomenal sequel to the classic gem-swapping puzzler that already wasted hours upon hours of my life with the Palm version. The new update now includes Bejeweled Blitz, a high-powered, portable version of the one-minute gem-matching challenge seen on Facebook! I probably play this at least 30 minutes per day. Sick, I know...
TowerMadness: "Aliens are coming to turn your beloved sheep into intergalactic scarves! Protect the flock using only quick thinking and the arsenal of upgradeable weaponry at your disposal. Join over 2 million players worldwide and experience the most epic 3D Tower Defence Strategy Game you can fit in your pocket!" I've never even heard of "Tower Defence" Games before the iPhone, but they are perfect for the platform. This is my second most played game by far.
Solebon Solitaire™ is for me still the best premium handheld solitaire. With millions of satisfied players, it beats all it's flashy, noisy, animated newer competitors with a tidy simplicity that doesn't distract from the actual game. The 40 solitaire types include Accordian, Aces Up, Ambrose, Askew, Baker's Game, Beleaguered Castle, Blind Alleys, Bouquet, Colorado, Creepy Crawly, Demon, Doublets, Eight Off, Fanny, Fortune's Favor, Four Seasons, Fourteen Out, Free Cell, Golf, Honeybees, Klondike Deal 1, Klondike Deal 3, Monte Carlo, Penguin, Pyramid, Russian Revolver, Scorpion, Spiderling, Spiderling 2 Suits, Triple Mulligan and Yukon.
Plants vs. Zombies is an absolutely hilarious new addition to the tower defence genre (from the makers of Bejeweled). A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home, and your only defense is an arsenal of 49 zombie-zapping plants. Use peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more to slow down, confuse, weaken and mulchify 26 types of zombies before they can reach your front door and eat your brain. As ridiculous as it sounds, but oh such fun!
PuzzleManiak is a collection of 20 clever puzzle games: Sudoku, Pattern (Picross like), Bridges, Dominosa, Filling, Galaxies, Loopy, LightUp, Mines, Net, Rectangles, Slant, Tents, Unequal, Untangle, Blackbox, SameGame, Pegs, Mastermind and Map. All games are generated on-the-fly with a unique solution, thus you’ll never play the same puzzle twice. One of the first games I bought and still great – and challenging!