With a growing number of people bringing their own handsets to work, the phone has become an important component of corporate self image. Hidden gems ... the iPhone has many useful apps available that you might not know. Photo: Roger Cummins
Apple started the mobile app revolution with the launch of the App Store in July 2008 with developers clamouring to the iPhone platform as a result. In just over three years, there are 725,000 apps, which have been downloaded close to 25 billion times. Such popularity with users is due to the ease and secure nature of Apple's App Store, together with the reassurance that if an app is on the store, it will work on your device, unlike other platforms with fragmented device requirements.
The App Store itself has ways to find new apps, such as top sales charts and Apple's store editors highlighting some of their favourites. Despite the vast depth of apps available on the App Store, it is be difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff - Apple themselves have acknowledged this with the recent acquisition of app discovery startup, Chomp.
Due to Apple's quality developer tools and the attraction of designers and programmers to a well thought out and popular and non-fragmented platform, there are many truck loads of apps to choose from. Below are 25 iPhone hidden gems that aren't rocketing up the App Store charts, but are the best in their class, with attention paid to usability and design - just like the iPhone itself.