1st & 20, a site that features the iPhone homescreens of various well-known people throughout the Apple/tech community, is one of my favorite new places to visit. A tip of the cap to them on the great idea. I figured I’d jot down my own for fun.
ROW 1
iPod — I’ve tried to keep the top half of the screen as close to the default layout as possible. I swapped the iPod and Messages app on Day 1, and never looked back. I use the iPod app a good amount (especially listening to podcasts), and it works for me here. I can double-click the home button when the iPod app is running to pull it to the front from within any app, and that’s usually all I need.
Calendar — Pretty obvious. If anything, I find myself using it even more than I used to.
Photos/Camera — It’s so easy to access your camera roll from within the Camera app, that I really don’t need the Photos app there, but I’m used to it, and still find it easier to go direct. I use the camera a ton, and I also flip through the photo roll a lot. I’ve thought about setting the home screen button to launch the camera on double-click, but I’m used to it as is.
ROW 2
Calculator — Honestly, I don’t use this a ton, but I like having it handy.
Maps — The Maps app just keeps getting better and better. I use it all the time, but the value I get from it when I’m in a city like New York is incredible. The new-ish addition of public transport/subway routes is just awesome.
Weather — The Weather app gets the job done. I have a few cities set, and can get a quick update as needed (but seriously, can it start using Core Location?). There are better weather apps out there, but none that I really love. I just can’t get into something like Weather Bug. It has good info, but I hate the UI. I have the Weather Underground web app bookmarked for the few times I need more detail.
Settings — I just moved this up a row. I always need quick access to Settings to make changes, check Wi-fi, etc.
ROW 3
Things — I love Things. This app has had a place on my homescreen since I first got it. It allows me to quickly enter to-do items. Check on projects, make notes on future projects, etc. Beautifully designed iPhone app, and equally nice desktop version.
NetNewsWire — This slot has always been for RSS. Most of the time the Google Reader bookmark lived here, but with the recent NNW for iPhone update, it now stays. I’m really impressed with the 2.0 update to this app. There are still some small bugs that need to be fixed, but it’s a huge improvement. Also, the icon is night and day better. I hated having that old one on the homescreen.
Simplenote — Even though there were a few things that drove me crazy, I kept the default Notes app here until recently. Daring Fireball does a great job of explaining why Simplenote works so well. I’ll just say that I completely agree. I also love that it syncs automatically with the web app. This allows me to jot some notes from my work PC as needed, which comes in handy occasionally. I’ve ended up using Simplenote more than I ever used Notes. It’s so—ah, simple—and light that it’s perfect for small running lists I need to keep: movies to see, apps to check out, a quick phone number, etc. And yeah, I probably couldn’t have dealt with it with the old icon. The new one is great however.
MLB At-Bat — What can I say about this. One of the greatest apps ever. Beautiful interface, and great performance. Other than Shazam, this is the app that makes me stop and say “Holy sh*t, we’re living in some futuristic age and it is awesome.” I gave up my XM Radio because of this app. I can listen to the Sox anywhere. What kills me is that I can be out and about listening, and when something important happens, I can watch the highlight of the play a few minutes later. Essential. This slot will free up in the off-season, and will probably be replaced by Instapaper.
ROW 4
Facebook — I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook lately (I think about quitting about once a week), but this app gets the job done. It’s a nice improvement over the last version, but there are some things that drive me crazy: it seems to only occasionally let me know about notifications, you can’t mark emails unread, etc. It is however, very handy to be able to upload photos directly when I’m out and about (though I don’t do it that often). I feel tied to Facebook at this point, so it stays.
Twitterrific/Birdhouse/Birdfeed — Hi, my name is Beau and I have a problem with Twitter apps. Seriously though, Twitter is a huge part of my iPhone usage, and I have settled into a pattern of using all three of these together.
Twitterrific — This is my go-to Twitter app on the iPhone and on the desktop. The iPhone version was lagging for a big with some features that I really needed, but that have almost all been addressed in the latest update. I love some of the customizable features like being able to double-tap on a tweet to go into conversation view. The ability to “mark” tweets is also really helpful.
Birdhouse — This is absolutely one of my favorite apps, but it’s not for everyone. I use Birdhouse as much as a notepad for incomplete ideas as I do for anything else. Often I’ll have a quick point I’d like to make, or question I’d like to ask, on Twitter, and I will throw a couple of words in Birdhouse to remind myself. Sometimes I’ll go back and flesh them out later, sometimes I won’t, but I always know they’re there. The majority of my Twitter posts from Twitter (that aren’t replies) come from this app. It has a hell of a lot of personality. It’s hand-off, “You sure you want to post this? Yeah, okay then, let’s post it.”
Birdfeed — For no good reason, sometimes I’m just in the mood to use Birdfeed, and other times Twitterrific. I’ll go days at a time only using one, and then switch back to the other. Stylistically, Birdfeed is very different from Twitterrific. It has a super simple, and uncomplicated interface. It feels like a native iPhone app. I like the way it has a Mentions and Direct Messages counter. My favorite feature is the way that it handles DMs as iChat-style discussions in their own pane. Any time I’m having a back-and-forth DM discussion with anyone, I always go into Birdfeed. Also, I think the Services menu is a great, not-often-discussed feature of Birdfeed. Again, not for everyone, but if checking Favrd/DoesFollow/Overlapr, etc. are of interest to you, this is very handy.
DOCK
I’ve played around with switching up the dock, but I always come back to this exact setup. It’s been this way since Day 1, and I can’t really change from it. I do a lot of SMSing, so that’s needed there. Mail is obvious. I always think that I could do without Safari and Phone, but I can’t. Double-clicking my home button brings up my Phone favorites, but that’s not the same thing; I need access quickly and visually to the missed calls and voicemails. And Safari, I’m always surprised at how much I use Safari from the Dock. I never think I need it, and then whenever I use someone else’s phone that doesn’t have it there, I miss it.
