Well, the app store has been on line for a while now, and we’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and the just plain silly.  It’s amazing to watch the skills of iPhone coders–and to note the range in quality from really useful all the way down to absolutely goofy. Here’s our list of the 10 goofiest (or most useless) iPhone apps.

10. Polo Ralph Lauren Collection - As if it’s not painful enough shopping for overpriced clothing! The one good thing about this app is that, unlike the pink, too-small golf shirts that are so popular right now, it’s free.  For those without a Ralph Lauren store in the neighborhood, of course.

9. Cooking Mama for iPhone - One of the killer app launch titles for the Nintendo Wii console a few years ago, Cooking Mama Cook-Off was fun simply because of its immensely pleasing absurdity.  The laughably poor English voice recordings in the game almost singularly made it worth playing, at least in our book. Gone from the iPhone version are the Engrish voices as well as most of the fun.  Oh, and the game is easy to beat in just under an hour.  Serious Cooking Mamas need not download this waste of time. PETA’s ridiculous parody of the title is ostensibly more fun–though not by much.

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Tags: app store, apps, dumb, fake text, iphone, ipity, pointless, software, stupid, useless

All kidding aside, the Kindle, Amazon’s electronic book reading device, has kindled a ton of excitement among bloggers lately.  So much, in fact, that one had to wonder if it would be on Amazon’s agenda to support the iPhone with their Kindle technology.  Of course, common sense prevailed and Amazon widely realized that, when you have an iPhone in your pocket, you probably aren’t going to be partial to carrying around a second device just for book-reading.  Anyway, the Kindle app is here–so check it out.

Tags: amazon, books, e-books, iphone, kindle, reading, software

It seems there’s no shortage of racing games for the iPhone.  The tilt control alone makes for a very Wii-like racing experience on the iPhone and iPod Touch. In fact, we keep hoping somebody will do an Excite Truck clone for the iPhone. Excite Truck is, in my opinion, still the best game for the Wii.

But in the meantime, we’ll settle for Aqua Moto Racing Lite, a unique offering that simulates misty, tropical jet-skiing races. The developer bills it as the ultimate test of your jet-skiing skills.  In lieu of heading to south Florida for some real-life jet ski action, we’ll take it.

Tags: fun, games, iphone, ipod touch, jet ski, racing, software

The idea of an FM receiver in the iPhone has excited many a commentator over the last several years, because sometimes, you’ve got to set aside podcasts and iTunes and just listen to the radio.  The hyperlocal nature of terrestrial radio makes it a cultural staple, yet it’s conspicuously absent from the iPhone.  Apparently, that may be changing when iPhone 3.0 hits some time in the next 8 - 10 months.

And how about song-tagging, so you can purchase the currently-playing song from iTunes.  Some folks think High Definition (that is, digital) Radio is required to do this.  Actually, the text labels embedded in most FM broadcasts should be sufficient to drive links to iTunes Music Store…. if this was Apple’s style.

iHeartRadio and similar apps already pipe HD-quality data into the iPhone (over 3G)–and those don’t offer links to the iTunes store. If an FM chip is coming in iPhone 3.0, it will probably be used first and foremost for navigation-related features like traffic advisories and weather, and if we get radio out of the deal (like on some of the Nokie N-Series phones), then it will just be a happy little bonus.

Me, I’ll take photo messaging and a camcorder app, please.

Tags: camcorder, fm, gps, hd, hd radio, iphone, itunes, navigation, nokia, radio, software, video

Digital Illusions’ classic (and I stress classic) pinball simulation for teh Amiga–Pinball Dreams–has been resurrected to amazing effect on the iPhone/iPod Touch.  Serious gamers will remember burning many, many hours during the nineties play what many argue is the greatest Amiga game of all time.  $5.99 on the app store.  Now go play pinball.

Tags: amiga, appstore, games, iphone, pinball, pinball dreams, software