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PhoneAble is an application available to Windows users who would like to sync their iPhone with multiple iTunes libraries. This application can be very useful as it allows you to sync your iPhone with other computers in your house, at work, or with friends and relatives.

How it works: Sync your iPhone with the iTunes library on your main computer. Then install PhoneAble on any other computers you would like to sync with. Once you run through PhoneAble’s setup process, it will set the library key in each of the iTunes libraries to coincide with the key on your iPhone. Now your iPhone will recognize all of these iTunes libraries as your main library, thus allowing you to have a much wider music collection available on your iPhone.

You can also follow this guide or use programs such as CopyTrans to transfer music you’ve taken from various iTunes libraries with your iPhone and back them up to your main computer.

Personally, I’m hoping PhoneAble will be available for Mac users in the near future. I can see myself using its capabilities regularly.

iPhone vs Nexus One

After almost 3 years of owning 3 generations of iPhones, I recently decided it was time for a change. The release of the Nexus One finally put me over the edge. I received my Nexus One in the mail a couple days ago and was able to compare it head to head with my iPhone 3GS. The iPhone does have features I will miss, but overall I am much more impressed with the Nexus One.

Benefits of the Nexus One:

• When connecting both phones to the same WiFi network and visiting the same sites at the same time it is clear that the Nexus One is typically loads web pages 1-5 seconds faster than the iPhone 3GS.
• Despite having more powerful hardware, the Nexus One is actually thinner and lighter than the iPhone 3GS.
• The clarity of the AMOLED screen on the Nexus One makes the iPhone’s LCD screen look washed out and cheap.
• The Nexus One’s casing and screen is MUCH more scratch resistant than the iPhone. Click HERE for a demo.
• The built in “Voice To Text” feature is extremely accurate and translates your speach into text allowing you to text without actually typing.
• The Android operating system is much more customizable than the iPhone’s operating system.
• Like many others, I have all my contacts, calendars and e-mail synced with Google through Gmail. Since this phone was made by Google, constant syncing of all of this information is much more fluid and easier to setup on the Nexus One than it was with the iPhone.
• T-Mobile offers $6/month insurance for the Nexus One which covers losing the phone, theft, and physical damage. Neither Apple or AT&T offer any sort of insurance like this for the iPhone so if you lose or break your phone you are “S.O.L”.

Benefits of the iPhone:

• Built in “Visual Voicemail” enabling you to see your voicemails on the screen and listen to the ones you choose while ignoring others. ** T-Mobile offers this feature for the Nexus One but they make you jump through hoops to get it activated.
• The speaker is located on the bottom of the phone allowing you to hear when someone is calling or texting even with the phone laying on its back. The Nexus One’s ringer is on the back of the phone and while laying on it’s back, the ringer is impossible to hear. This design flaw has forced me to miss a few calls already. ** The simple fix is to lay the phone on it’s face when you set it down.
• There are over 90,000 apps available for the iPhone. There are only 20,000 available for the Nexus One.

Facebook

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If you’re as addicted to this social networking site as the rest of the world then you should probably get their free app. There have been many updates and improvements and the newest version of the Facebook app has an excellent interface for updating and viewing statuses. (FREE)

Google

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Google’s iPhone app makes searching the web as simple as possible. If you know how to use Google on your computer you will have no problem using this app. (FREE)

RedLaser

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This app allows you to scan the barcode of items you find in retail stores. It will then pull up a display telling you the pricing of the identical product online, which is usually much cheaper. This app has saved me quite a bit of money and is very much worth the price. ($2)

RunKeeper

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With this app you can track your fitness activities, including distance, time, speed, pace, calories burned, elevation, and path traveled on a map. It also stores your workout history so you can keep track of your progress. There is a free version and a paid version available in the app store. (FREE) | ($10)

mSecure

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If you are like me and have a ton of various logins/passwords to keep track of then this app is perfect for that. It also allows you to store credit card information, frequent flyer info, etc. This app gets better reviews than its competitors because it is more secure and does not allow “back door entrance” for hackers or even government agencies to get into your information. ($3)

Shazam

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Do you ever find yourself listening to a song on the radio, at a friends house, at a restaurant, in a store, etc. and realize that you want to download it but you cannot think of the artist or song title for the life of you? Well Shazam is an excellent solution to this problem. This app has amazed me time and time again on it’s ability to listen to a few seconds of any track and pull the artist name, song title, and album name. Once it finds the information it stores it for you so you when you get home you can open the app back up, find the information you need, then download the song or album… legally of course. (FREE) | ($3)

Pandora Radio

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If you’re a fan of listening to Pandora Radio online then you’ll love this app. You can plug your iPhone into your home stereo or car stereo, open Pandora and begin streaming your favorite stations without having to rely on your computer. You have to have a 3G or WiFi signal for it to work without lag but these days you should have access to one of the two wherever you go. (FREE)

Amazon.com

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I do a lot of my shopping online because it’s usually much cheaper than buying it in a retail store. And I’ve found that I can find majority of my purchases on Amazon.com. Their new app makes it possible to make your online purchases while on the run. There are times that you will find a product in a retail store and discover that RedLaser cannot scan the item because the store has covered the manufacturer’s barcode. Have no fear because all you have to do is type the brand/model of the product you are looking for in this app and *voila*, tons of online options at your fingertips with a simple “one button checkout”. (FREE)

Remote

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The Remote app allows you to have full control of your computer’s iTunes music library from your iPhone. As long as the phone is on the same WiFi connection as the computer you can change the song, playlist, or even turn the volume up or down from another room. (FREE)

USA Today

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Browse all the latest headlines, watch news videos, check weather conditions, or see the new sports scores while on the road. (FREE)

Ever since the release of the Google G1, I’ve been envious of its Shop Savvy app which allowed G1 owners to scan items at local retailers and see how much that exact same item would cost them at various online stores. This app has saved A LOT of consumers from paying to much for products they want.

Until now there have been a plethora of apps attempting to replicate Shop Savvy on the iPhone. I’ve tried many of them myself and have been very disappointed with the results, or lack thereof. But RedLaser (iTunes link) has changed that. This application is fantastic in providing the same result that Shop Savvy has for it’s G1 users. I’ve used this app to do a lot of my Christmas shopping and it has saved me well over $100 in the past month. Even with a price tag of $2 in the iTunes App Store, I highly recommend this app for those who prefer to do their shopping online.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When using this app, be sure to scan the manufacturer’s barcode. If you scan the merchant barcode it may not provide accurate results.