I've heard that most people either love or hate the IPhone. I, for one, love my IPhone and I'm glad I bought one. Buying the IPhone was one splurge I don't regret.

In addition to the default apps that come with the IPhone, there are hundreds of helpful and fun applications you can download for free.

Some of my favorites are:

• White Pages. Easily look up a phone number for any person or business in the country. Someone call you but you don't know the number? You can also do a reverse search to find out who a number belongs to.
  
• Around Me. No matter where you are, you can easily find the nearest bank, coffee shop, gas station, hospital, hotel, movie theater, restaurant, supermarket, taxi or pharmacy. This app was very helpful when I was working in Houston for three weeks and needed to find nearby services.
• CNN. Breaking news from around the world and breaking financial news.
  
• Bloomberg. If you like to watch the market, this is the application for you. Keep track of the equity indices of America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
  
• The Weather Channel. Easily find weather information for your location. The application allows you to view the current radar and see the latest weather alerts for your location.
  
• Ibowl. This is one of my favorite games to play. Swing your IPhone to send the bowling ball down the lane.
  
• Facebook. If you are big into Facebook, there is an app to keep you up to date on your Facebook page.
  
• IPhunny. Need a good laugh, Iphunny is it. Most of the jokes are from a political standpoint and most of them are from Jay Leno. Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien.
• UrbanSpoon. Can't decide where you want to eat? UrbanSpoon is the greatest app for you. Shake your phone and the app finds restaurants in your area. The app lists restaurants by location, type of food and by cost.
• Shazam. This is one of my favorite apps so far. You know that song you hear and you don't know who sings it? With Shazam, you hold your phone up to the song and within a few seconds, it will tell you the artist, title of the song, album and also give you the option of locating the song on Itunes.

If you own an IPhone, what are you favorite IPhone Apps?

Image Courtesy of Mario Sundar

I finally got one and it is awesome! I've wanted one for awhile but I just couldn't drop the money for it. It's been at the top of my wishlist since one of my friends got one about three months ago. I knew if I waited awhile, I would probably be able to get a better deal once the new 3G Iphones came out.

I could have just whipped out the credit card and dropped the money but things have changed. I am no longer a victim of "instant gratification". I set aside money in a special savings account to save up the money to purchase an Iphone.

My friend, who is not so good at delaying instant gratification, decided he just had to have the new 3G Iphone. Yeah, this is the same friend who just bought his Iphone three months ago. I told him since he'd already purchased the new Iphone, I would take the old one off of his hands. About an hour later, I was the proud owner of an Iphone. and it only cost me $250. Considering the 2nd Generation Iphones are still selling for $400+ on Ebay, I got an awesome deal. All it took was a little patience.

Setting up the service was pretty easy since I was already an AT&T customer. I just switched the Sim card from my old phone, put it in my new phone and setup the service on Itunes and I was ready to go. I was able to get the $20 Iphone data plan instead of the required $30 data plan with the Iphone 3G.

I know alot of people will say spending that amount of money on a phone is ridiculous but we all have our vices. If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that my weakness is electronics. Some people like spending money on clothing, shoes, spa treatments, etc. I prefer getting a new electronic gagdet and I am happy as can be.

What are your thoughts on the phone?

Image Credit: dan taylor