Jorge Quinteros
Blogger, web enthusiast & avid photographer based in Brooklyn.

18th September 2009

My Unofficial First & 20

Following on First & 20’s popularity and continuing with Jose’s extension on it, I decided to provide a glimpse of what’s been brewing on my home screen lately.

Calendar: Invaluable app that’s sync with iCal which I use mostly with work associated deadlines and occasional upcoming engagements that I may have in my personal life.

Maps: I’ve always been bad with directions and ever since I got the iPhone, I developed this new sense of confidence in stating that I can find anyplace you want me to go because of my reliance on it to guide me. The GPS is perhaps one the most respected features for me on the iPhone.

Clock: I’ve forever been a morning person and even on my days off, I instinctively wake up at 7am but I don’t like to rely too much on that capacity, so I bank on Clocks as my wake up call. I also have a hearty list of cities and countries displaying their current time that I like to look at occasionally for some strange reason.

Settings: There’s always aesthetic changes I love to make on the iPhone, so I consider this app the janitor’s closet for the tools I need to implement them. I’ve noticed that not a lot of users have opted to Jailbreak their iPhone but I’ve always been the rebel to do so mostly because of WinterBoard app. It’s located in Settings and it enables me to switch back and forth between themes. The theme in this screenshot is called Classica.

Tumblr: My site is over course powered by Tumblr but oddly enough I’ve never had the urge to publish anything from this app. It’s purpose relies more on me reading what’s being published via the Dashboard.

AIM: I’m not sure exactly why I have this app on the home screen because I don’t give it much use as it deserves. All I can say is that it’s the paid version so I don’t have to put up with annoying ads. Any iChat for me happens on my MPB.

App Store: Just when I randomly think of something that I would love my iPhone to do, to no surprise I find out that there’s an app to help you do that already. This is my portal to goodness.

Ego: Can’t say enough about Garrett Murray’s great app for keeping track of your stats from one centralized location. I launch this one about twice a day.

Instapaper: The internet provides you with both distraction and great stuff to entertain you. I carry the latter with me for those occasions that require waiting and also I feel I’m able to concentrate more on an article when it’s confined to a small space as oppose to a 23” monitor at home.

Simplenote: The name says it all. Before I use to email myself all notes I took but being able to pickup where you left off via its companion web application is great.

Facebook: I was never so engaged in a social network as much as I am with Facebook and I attribute that engagement to this brilliant app in allowing you to perform almost any task you would want to do on a desktop. Complete convenience in your hands with this one.

BirdBrain: With Twitter’s recent uncontrollable spamming dilemma, this is a great tool I use to weed out those bogus accounts. Not only does it do a great job but the icon is beautiful enough to look at even if you don’t use it at all.

Kindle: I generally carry my Kindle with me a lot but during those moments that I don’t, I can still continue my reading on this app exactly where I left off on the Kindle. The syncing works both ways.

Byline: I’ve gone back and forth between this app and other RSS readers so much that once I eventually launched Byline again, it reminded me why it’s become my favorite. It’s just simple and effectual in it’s delivery of feeds. Don’t need extra bells and whistles that will get in the way of reading.

Birdhouse: You always have the most random twitterable thoughts and opinions that come up and I like keep track of them here. Also, if I’m going to be somewhere and I know I’m going to what to tweet about my location, I type the tweet ahead of time so when I’m ready, I just hit publish to update my status. On occasions like this is when I wish Birdhouse allowed you to can schedule future tweets.

Tweetie: My number one Twitter client to execute anything regarding to the service. On a side note, I also have TwitBit installed which I rarely use but keep around because of it’s push-notification feature.

On the Dock

Phone, Mail, Safari, Messages: I use these apps so much that I find no motive in moving any of them around. I consider these the foundation of what the iPhone’s true purpose is and every other app I have installed is a bonus to what makes this device so special.

Home Button: As a photography junkie, I want to be able to have access to quickly setup to capture interesting stuff I come across so the home button gives me that as my camera launcher.