BKBIPHAP.RVW   20091130

"Best iPhone Apps", Josh Clark, 2009, 978-0-596-80427-5,
U$19.99/C$24.99
%A   Josh Clark jclark@globalmoxie.com
%C   103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA   95472
%D   2009
%G   978-0-596-80427-5
%I   O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O   U$19.99/C$24.99 800-998-9938 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104
info@ora.com or nuts@ora.com
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ /robsladesinterne
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/ /robsladesinte-21
%O   http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/ /robsladesin03-20
%O   Audience n- Tech 1 Writing 1 (see revfaq.htm for explanation)
%P   228 p.
%T   "Best iPhone Apps: The Guide for Discriminating Downloaders"

This book is a catalogue.  It describes (rather briefly, in most
cases) programs for the iPhone from the Apple App Store.  There are
roughly 200 from the 50,000.  Josh Clark considers them the best.

In my early days as a reviewer, one book was poorly written, badly
structured, difficult to comprehend, and made mistakes.  I said so.  I
was astounded to be contacted by someone who wanted more information
on where to obtain the book.  Turns out it was one of the only works
on his thesis topic, and he needed it, regardless of its lack of
quality.  The point I'm trying to make is that it is difficult to say,
on the basis of your own perspective, what the "best" is for other
people.

The apps are divided into categories for work, dining and nightlife,
leisure, play, home, travel, and health.  The author has provided lots
of screenshots, but fairly terse descriptions.  Particularly in regard
to the work utilities, I frequently found myself wondering how quick
and easy it would be to enter necessary information.

Many of the programs involve a price or fee, but a roughly equal
number are free.  However, the free apps tend to be those associated
with a freely available Website: you'd be able to get at pretty much
all of those with any computer and browser, or a browser on a
smartphone.  Or a browser on an iPhone.

Somewhere in these pages there probably is something for pretty much
anyone.  I suspect you'd have to be a real iPhone devotee to get
excited over the whole thing.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2009    BKBIPHAP.RVW   20091130