i3Hand21 – ($0.99 USD) download is a good BlackJack app without any gambling software. So many apps like this are spam disguised as an application.  The odds of winning seem to be right on with RL blackjack tables, so it’s a good way to sharpen your blackjack skills. It even has a tutor function that will inform you when you’re taking a risk that isn’t statistically smart. You can download it here.
FlipPanda ($0.99 USD) is an awesome Concentration like game for small kids. My friend’s toddler had a blast playing with it. Even though she just repeatedly pushed the cards, she eventually got matches and squealed when she did. You can downlload it here.

Bejeweled 2 – is the a wonderful version of the popular PopCap game. It also has Facebook Blitz integration. You can download it here.

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies ($9.99) – An awesome first person shooter. Just downloaded this, so I can’t really review it completely. So far the action seems amazing, but the controls are a bit overwhelming to the newb. Still not completely comfy even after a week. You can see a demo below or download it here.

Need For Speed Undercover ($4.99) – This is probably one of the most awesome games I’ve ever played on the Touch, and definitely the best racing game. Intuitive controls, amazing tracks, and a good story make this a must have game. You can download it here.

Social Networking

Facebook (free) I’m sure this is a great app for iPhone users, but for Touch users I find the user interface a bit clunky. I prefer using the Blackberry application on my phone. The only time I’ve used this application is when showing my friends at work pictures of my son. You can download the app here.

Myspace (free) it’s too bad Myspace has a bunch of Nigerian spammers trolling for lonely people to scam, because this app makes Myspace actually usable and quite comparable to Facebook. Even though I don’t use Myspace that often, it’s a great way to check out comments (I use Myspace’s Twitter integration) that my “Myspace only” friends comment on. You can download it here.

OkCupid (free) If you’ve ever used an online dating site, OkCupid is one of the best (and it’s free!). This application makes the free dating site even more useful that it already is. You can chat, view your messages, and look for matches. One awkward thing about the Home screen is that it shows recent content by favorites but links to the profile not the full comment, but you can’t actually click on the comment to see it.  You can download the OKC app here.

TweetDeck (free) is a multi-twitter account reader. This application is another “good for iPhone users, but not so much for iPod users” kind of app. I find apps like Ubertwitter and SocialScope on the Blackberry much more useful, but when I simply want to view and respond to tweets while on my Touch, this app does the trick. It even syncs with your desktop Tweetdeck application. You can download it here.

Food
Urbanspoon (free) is an application that is great for finding restaurants in your area to explore. It has has user ratings, descriptions, and directions. You can download it here

Reference
WeDict Pro ($5.99 USD) is an awesome dictionary application that is great for Touch users and well as iPhones (unlike Dictionary.com’s application that is dependent on internet connectivity). You can also add custom dictionaries to the app, which really puts this app head and shoulders above any other dictionary application I’ve tried. You can download it here

Google Mobile App (free) is more of a portal than an app. It gives you access to most of your online Google Applications (Gmail, Search, Calendar, Lattitude, Docs, Talk, Tasks, Reader, and News) You can download it here.

Google Earth (free) is a slimmed down version of the desktop version. Think of it as your mobile digital interactive globe. A friend of mine asked me where a foreign country was and I popped out my Touch and showed her exactly where it was via Google Earth. You can download it here.

Offline RSS reader
Byline ($3.99 USD) is one of my top five used applications. This is a great app. For a long time Google Reader had become an exercise in frustration for me. Leo Laporte has said that RSS is dead, and before this app I agreed with him. If I didn’t read my feed in a few days it would be come downright unmanageable. I’d end up missing a lot of content because I got frustrated and marked massive amounts of my feeds as read when I hadn’t viewed them. If I tried to, I’d be tied to the desktop for hours. This application basically mirrors your Google Reader feed and allows you to cache them locally on your iPod. Now when I’m standing in line at the grocery, or any other place I have to “hurry up and wait”, I’ve got content to keep me occupied. There are many other options to Byline of which you can see in the review below. You can download Byline here.

IRC client
Colloquy ($1.99 USD) If you’re a geek like me and visit a few IRC chats regularly, this client based on the popular Mac IRC client hits the spot. You can download it here.

Mobile e-reader
Kindle for iPhone (free) is an awesome e-reader. The Kindle reader software is available on the Kindle, on PC, and on the iPhone/iPod. You can import your Kindle books between devices and sync the location of where you last left off on any of the three devices. Reading is best on the Kindle, followed by the PC, then the iPhone/iPod. Reading via the iPod wasn’t difficult, it was just a strain over long periods of time. This app, like the Byline app above, is perfect for reading when out on the go but you’re not going to want to curl up with it on the couch and read War and Peace. You can download Kindle of iPhone here.

Gym Goal ($7.99 USD) is an application that will help you when going to the gym to keep track of your workout. It’s a very advanced journal. It will record the reps, weight, and many other relevant data concerning your workout. It also has a database of exercises and corresponding animations on how to perform the exercise correctly. I already have my iPod in hand listening to music, so it’s only a little bit more of a bother to go into GymGoal and record each workout complete as I’m doing it. The only downside I see to GymGoal is the lack of a rich online recording mechanism and API. That being said, that’s the weakness of every exercise recording application I’ve found. GymGoal is better, hands down, to any other workout application I’ve used. The price is a bit high, considering the lack of online manipulation of data, but if you’re interested in recording your workout data, IMO it’s the best option. You can download it here.

WordPress (free) I have multiple WordPress blogs, and I’d love to have an application that would allow me to easily post to blogs, and maintain them. While this application is great for on the go moderation, as a blog editor, it really is lacking. For short posts this application is fine, but don’t expect to do full blog posts or major blog post editing on this app. Like the above mentioned Kindle e-reader, this application suffers more from the device limitations itself than it does from the app. You can download it here.

Grocery Gadget ($4.99) is an awesome grocery list application. I wish the developers of Gym Goal would talk to Grocery Gadget! Where Gym Goal fails as an application, Grocery Gadget kicks ass. You can maintain your lists via their website and sync them to your device. The app is very intuitive, learning not just what you buy, but in what order. The longer you use Grocery Gadget, the more useful it becomes. Watch the video below to fully understand the power of this app. Even though the acting is horrible, the application rocks. You can download it here.

CardStar (free) I love the concept of Cardstar. You load all the information you get from the “extra value” cards that retailers give you onto your device and use them instead of fumbling for the right card on your key ring. I just downloaded this application this weekend and will try it out soon. I’ve read in some places that it’s difficult for the scanners to read the device. I’ll post my results here after I’ve used this for a while. But it does seem promising. You can download it here.

As I’ve written before, I love the iPhone, but I don’t like AT&T. The iPod Touch is perfect for people like me that love their Blackberry phones and Verizon service, but still want the utility of the iPhone.

Communications
Skype (free) is a voip app that allows you to chat free to other skype users and allows you to make voip calls. I’ve used this app to make short calls and it worked fine. I don’t believe it’s of such a high quality it should replace your phone, but it’s very useful if you want to chat with users for free. If you have an iPod, you’ll need headphones with a microphone (standard iPhone headphones work perfectly with the Touch.  You can download Skype here.

TouchLife ($2.99) – Is essentially a mobile bare bones IM client for Second Life. It’s pretty limited on what you can do in world  but if you just want to jump on to talk to friends, this is perfect. You can download it here.

1. The iPhone has no expandable memory. I can buy multiple 16GB cards and smoke the iPhone’s memory into the ground. With the iPhone you’re stuck with 16GB for the life of your phone.
2. Probably the biggest problem I have with the iPhone is that without jailbreaking the phone you can’t run multiple apps.

A new application I’ve found that I’m loving on my Pearl is the Pandora like  Slacker Radio. With Slacker’s station caching on my phone there’s no reason for me to fill my phone with music from my library.

Thinking about Slacker is what made write this post. I like the fact that I can listen to music, read and receive email, and update twitter from my phone and never have to stop any of them to run the other.

The biggest hit I’ve heard about comparing the Storm to iPhone is that the Storm doesn’t have Wi-fi. I’m sorry, but isn’t that a tad redundant? If I have 3G, why do I need wi-fi?

For my lifestyle my Blackberry fits me perfectly.

Maybe it’s a Ford (APPLE) vs. Chevy (Blackberry) kind of debate, but I love my Blackberry Pearl more than any phone I’ve ever owned. I wouldn’t own an iPhone because of its screen size. I had a T-mobile Wing (HTC 4350) and I ended up breaking the screen. I’m hard on phones (I end up dropping them a lot) and I don’t need that much visual real estate. With a wide screen portable device like the Wing there isn’t really a good way to protect the device and it still be usable. Besides, I have a MacBook that I can use if I want to watch movies or visit sites while I’m out (I have Verizon Broadband Internet through my Blackberry).

Really the only downside of owning a Blackberry is that there isn’t really a viable Blackberry apps store. But the suggestion that there aren’t good Blackberry apps is just bullshit. Here are my favorites:

Blackberry Media Sync – This is one of the most important applications for me. I listen to a lot of podcasts and music on the go. You can use up to an 8 GB microSD card which will hold 117 hours of music (at 128 Kbps)! That’s more than enough space for me.

Media Sync is a part of the newest update to Blackberry’s Desktop Manager. You simply make a playlist in iTunes and then open up the desktop manager and sync the playlist and the music on it to your phone. It’s just that easy!

Remember The Milk- Remember the milk is a task manager that is adaptable in many ways. You can add it to Gmail, Google Calendar or you can put MilkSync right on your Blackberry.

VZ Navigator- I’ve thought about buying a separate device for my car… but WHY? One less device is a good thing. Some might argue that the cost, $10 dollars a month, is a bit extreme. But I’ve not seen a good GPS system under 150 dollars. That’s 15 months worth of service of VZ Navigator. In 15 months the software will be better and I’ll have a newer phone (my two year contract will be up then). I see it like a lease vs. buy option with cars.  The cost of a new device (if I bought a GPS device I’d most likely buy a new one every 2-3 years to keep up with technology) would be close to what I’m paying for having the service and doing it with one device.

Google Suite- Where do I start? Google Suite takes all the good Blackberry products they have and roll them into one. Recently upgraded, Gmail runs fast and light. While I use VZ navigator for trips, I use Google Maps for finding stores or restaurants around me. The voice search function is very useful while on the road. A caveat though, when I tried using it like a GPS, I would get lost. It’s great on showing you the way if you know the area, but otherwise forget it.

Facebook- I LOVE this application! I can keep up with my friends anywhere I go! This is especially good when I’m in line at the store, at the doctor’s office, or any other place where I’m alone and have time to fill. It’s a lot more interesting than reading 20 month old Good Housekeeping articles! I can update my status (although I use twitter and the facebook/Twitter application to post my tweets to facebook as status updates), post pictures to my facebook albums, write on my friends walls, and more. If you like MySpace better, there’s an application for that too.

Twitter(berry)- This is the application I use to post my updates to twitter/facebook. It’s pretty minimilistic, but it does exactly what I need it to do… post tweets.

Opera- If you don’t like Blackberry’s web browser, Opera’s web mobile web browser rocks the house.

My Alarm Blackberry’s default alarm clock is lacking, but this free app does the trick with 6 different alarms, multiple snooze settings, and it supports multiple alarm rings (including midi and mp3s).

Wikipedia this application brings Wikipedia easily to your Blackberry.  Any time you are just dying to know about Peaches and Herb, it’s right at your fingertips (hey don’t laugh, there was a debate at work if it was Peaches and Cream or Peaches and Herb).

StopWatch – this application is good if you’re a runner. I use it to time my 2 mile runs. I set it, put on music, and let the road stretch out before me. You can read a full review of it here. Like the Twitterberry application, it simply does one thing and it does it well without a heavy memory footprint.

Orb – You can use Orb to remotely serve content to your phone. A good use for this is steaming content from Sirius (Usirius)  or XM (Uxm) with the directions for Sirius here and XM here. You can stream just about any kind of media stored on your home PC. For a full review of what Orb can do, read this review.

These are just a few examples of the useful applications that are out there. Granted you can’t play too many games on a Blackberry, but that’s what an Xbox is for.
The last but most important reason that I prefer my Blackberry phone over an iPhone is the cellular service. I’ve NEVER had a cell phone that would keep a call on an elevator, but my Blackberry on the Verizon network does just that. In fact, I’ve probably could count on one hand the number of dropped calls (in the last year) I’ve had with Verizon.

So to Leo Laporte and crew, you go ahead and pay a shitload of cash to AT&T and Apple. I’ll be rocking the road with my inexpensive but efficient and durable Blackberry Pearl (8130).  While you’re upping your nose at Blackberry, I’ll be over here counting my cash.