So iPhone software release 2.0 was let loose on the masses yesterday and with it came the much anticipated App store.  Apple released over 500 applications on launch day, enough to make any iPhone fan boy’s head spin.  While it is impossible to download and try every application I present to you the apps I found to be most useful, possibly leaving some gems yet to be discovered.  If you have others, leave a comment and I will try it out.  I’d love to have some apps crack the top 5.

So without much further ado I present to you my top 5 free applications from the iPhone app store.

Reports floated around the net yesterday that Apple may be in discussion about a subscription based music service for the iPhone. Today Business Week has released a story and said, “Not so fast”.

While they believe the time may be right for an all you can eat service, they report that no official talks are under way at this time.
The fact is that iTunes in it’s current state helps sell hardware for Apple. But iPod sales are slowing and competition is increasing from the likes of Amazon and other music vendors that already offer a subscription based service.

In order to keep sales of the iPod up and get new people interested in the device Apple may be forced to look in to a subscription based model. If that happens they are more competition to the likes of satellite radio which will have an even harder time trying to define itself in the market place.

One of the developers who were invited to the Apple town hall meeting to show off their wares have launched a iPhone friendly web site. Epocrates, they are best known for creating software for doctors to use as a resource on their jobs, but I like to have information available about any prescriptions I am given as well.

You can currently look up:

• Dosing
• Interactions and Adverse Reactions
• Safety/Monitoring
• Pharmacology
• Retail Pricing

The site looks great on the iPhone and will hopefully stay around after their native application is released in June.

Check out the site on your iPhone at
http://online.epocrates.com/public/mobile/iphone/

Apple’s iPhone scored another round of praise and publicity after unveiling a program that will let other companies create applications for the popular device.

But the excitement didn’t make its way to the mobile music market. Although those hoping to add mobile games, corporate e-mail accounts and other content to their iPhone are thrilled, music services see little opportunity to use the groundbreaking device as a means of advancing the enjoyment or acquisition of music from mobile phones.

The background: Apple released a beta software development kit (SDK) that gives programmers various tools to develop applications that not only run on the iPhone and iPod Touch, but also take advantage of several key capabilities — such as the touch-screen and motion sensor. In June, Apple will issue the AppStore, an update to iTunes that will enable users to buy and download these third-party applications much like they already do music and video.

Until the SDK was released I did not fully understand all the hardware capabilities of the iPhone.  I knew it was the best mobile device that I had used. It was easy to use, it did what it said it would do, and it looked good doing it.  That was more than any of the other smart phone manufacturer had been able to accomplish after several releases and years of head start on Apple.

What I did not understand was the hardware power that lies beneath the slick glass and chrome case.  Nothing pushes a hardware device more than gaming so the true test of the hardware horse power will be the iPhones gaming capability.