InformationWeek has released a list of some of hot iPhone apps to watch. These include office apps, to GPS, to MLB game tracking.

Specifically, I think that the iPhone version of OmniFocus will likely be a big hit. It’s a GTD–Getting Things Done–app, made by Seattle’s OmniGroup, which has been developing Mac apps since time began. The small company could see a huge boost in recognition as iPhone users cut the spectrum of Mac and PC users.

One that I find very interesting, and kind of scary as well, is Loopt. Loopt allows you to add your friends to your buddy list…but instead of just showing a presence indicator like AIM or MSN, you’ll actually see their location on a map. Loopt can also be set to alert you when friends are nearby. Having done work with location-aware computing before, I looked a lot at the privacy issues involved with this, and it’s kind of interesting. What if your boss wants to be added to your Loopt network? Can you turn it off easily? Can you lie to some people but not others? Can you set zones of “don’t tell people I’m here when I’m here”? What do people think if you do turn the information off–was it because you were buying a Christmas gift for your wife and you didn’t want her to know, or because you were actually at the strip club? Loopt answers some of these questions on its site, but most people probably don’t think these things through before starting to use the app.

I guess I won’t know which apps I think are the sweetest until I get my 3G iPhone, but that won’t be until people have thoroughly tested out the Exchange sync functionality…or until I give in sometime next week…say on Tuesday.


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