iTunes App Store Best and Top Selling Apps of 2009

Earlier this month, the iTunes Store announced “Rewind 2009” identifying the best of 2009 on iTunes.  The iTunes App Store Rewind 2009 page lists the best apps of 2009 as selected by the App Store staff and the top selling apps of the year.  There are separate lists for game apps and non-game apps.  Browsing these lists is a useful way to discover some great apps.  Since I don’t really talk about games on iPhone J.D. (with one recent exception), I’ll just list here the “best” and “top selling” non-game iPhone apps.  These are in alphabetical order; Apple doesn’t rank the lists.  All prices are current, but note that many of these prices reflect holiday sales so these apps may cost more in a few days.

Best of 2009, as selected by the App Store Staff:

  1. 20 Minute Meals – Jamie Oliver ($4.99)
    20 Minute Meals - Jamie Oliver
  2. Awesome Note (+ToDo) ($3.99)
    Awesome Note (+Todo)
  3. BeejiveIM with Push ($6.99)
    BeejiveIM with Push
    — supports all the major instant messaging protocols, and because it uses push notifications it works even when you are not running the app
  4. CBS Sports:  Live College Games ($4.99)
    CBS Sports: Live College Games
  5. CNBC Real-Time (free)
    CNBC Real-Time
    — the only free app that provides real-time stock quotes
  6. ColorSplash ($1.99)
    ColorSplash
    — converts a photo to black and white and lets you add color to a specific part of the picture to create a dramatic effect
  7. Convertbot ($0.99)
    Convertbot
    — I use this one all the time to convert between various units
  8. Credit Card Terminal ($0.99)
    Credit Card Terminal
  9. ESPN ScoreCenter (free)
    ESPN ScoreCenter
    — I have several apps to track sports scores, but this is probably my favorite
  10. Fandango Movies – Times & Tickets (free)
    Fandango Movies ? Times & Tickets
  11. Flight Update Pro – Live Status + TripIt ($9.99)
    Flight Update Pro - Live Status + TripIt
  12. Golfshot: Golf GPS ($29.99)
    Golfshot: Golf GPS
    — keep score, GPS rangefinder with distances, aerial views of 26,000 courses, etc.
  13. I Am T-Pain ($0.99)
    I Am T-Pain
    — Auto-Tune your voice to sing along with music
  14. Leaf Trombone:  World Stage ($0.99)
    Leaf Trombone: World Stage
    — my review is here
  15. Magellan RoadMate 2010 ($79.99)
    Magellan RoadMate 2010 North America
  16. Mathemagics – Mental Math Tricks ($1.99)
    Mathemagics - Mental Math Tricks
  17. Mover+ ($1.99)
    Mover+
    — send files between two iPhones
  18. Musée du Louvre (free)
    Musée du Louvre
  19. NBA League Pass Mobile ($39.99)
    NBA League Pass Mobile
    — watch live games on your iPhone
  20. NearestWiki ($1.99)
    NearestWiki
    — requires iPhone 3GS; provides information about your surroundings
  21. Pano ($1.99)
    Pano
    — turn iPhone pictures into panoramas.  I haven’t tried Pano, but I use a similar program called AutoStitch ($1.99)
    AutoStitch
    which works very well.
  22. ReelDirector ($7.99)
    ReelDirector
    — turn video clips into polished movies on the iPhone 3GS
  23. (Shazam)RED ($4.99)
    (Shazam)RED
    — (PRODUCT) RED version of the popular Shazam app
  24. SketchBook Mobile ($1.99)
    SketchBook Mobile
  25. SmackTalk! ($0.99)
    SmackTalk!
    — a voice-altering app featuring animated animals
  26. Star Walk – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide ($2.99)
    Star Walk - 5 stars astronomy guide
  27. Storyboard Composer ($19.99)
    Storyboard Composer
  28. Tweetie 2 ($2.99)
    Tweetie 2
    — I haven’t tried this Twitter client, but it gets great reviews.  I instead currently use and love Twitterific Premium ($4.99)
    Twitterrific Premium
  29. Vintage Video Maker ($2.99)
    Vintage Video Maker
    — make your video look like a movie from the 1920s or the 1960s.  I haven’t tried this app, but you can see some sample videos here.  What I find interesting is that even though the iPhone 3GS takes videos of somewhat limited quality, that doesn’t matter when you apply effects like this.
  30. Zipcar (free)
    Zipcar

Top Selling of 2009:

  1. AIM ($2.99)
    AIM
  2. AppBox Pro ($0.99)
    AppBox Pro
    — contains 18 different utility apps
  3. Camera Genius ($1.99)
    Camera Genius
  4. Camera Zoom 2 ($0.99)
    Camera Zoom 2
  5. CNN Mobile ($1.99)
    CNN Mobile
  6. ColorSplash ($1.99)
    ColorSplash
    — converts a photo to black and white and lets you add color to a specific part of the picture to create a dramatic effect
  7. Documents to Go [the version without Exchange support] ($9.99)
    Documents To Go® (Microsoft Word & Excel editing & Desktop sync)
    — I’ve discussed this app many times on iPhone J.D. including:  6/22/09, 6/25/09, 8/4/09, 8/17/09
  8. ESPN Radio ($2.99)
    ESPN Radio
  9. Family Guy ($1.99)
    Family Guy
  10. FlightTrack Pro – Live TripIt Flight Status Tracker ($9.99)
    FlightTrack Pro ? Live TripIt Flight Status Tracker
  11. Golfshot: Golf GPS ($29.99)
    Golfshot: Golf GPS
    — keep score, GPS rangefinder with distances, aerial views of 26,000 courses, etc.
  12. I Am T-Pain ($0.99)
    I Am T-Pain
    — Auto-Tune your voice to sing along with music
  13. iBird Explorer PRO ($29.99)
    iBird Explorer PRO
  14. iEmoji ($0.99)
    ?? emoji iEmoji icons - get smiley, emoticon keyboard
  15. iSoda (iWater, iCola and more) ($2.99)
    iSoda (iWater, iCola and more)
  16. MobileNavigator North America by Navigon ($59.99)
    MobileNavigator North America
  17. MLB.com At Bat (free)
    MLB.com At Bat
    — this app is currently free because the season is over; during the 2009 season, you could use this $9.99 app to watch live games on your iPhone
  18. The Moron Test ($0.99)
    The Moron Test
    — I haven’t tried this, but it actually gets good reviews; the app includes lots of trick questions
  19. MotionX GPS Drive ($2.99)
    MotionX GPS Drive
    — my review is here
  20. Picfree – Send Picture Messages (MMS) Free! ($5.99)
    Picfree - Send Picture Messages (MMS) Free!
  21. Pocket God ($0.99)
    Pocket God
    — this is a game app, so I’m not sure why it is on this list
  22. Proloquo2Go ($189.99)
    Proloquo2Go
    — for people who have difficulty speaking, this app lets them type text or select pictures and then the app speaks for them.  The reviews are amazing because this app lets someone just carry an iPhone or iPod touch instead of a 10 pound AAC device that can cost thousands of dollars.
  23. Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite ($9.99)
    Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite
    — I’ve discussed this app many times on iPhone J.D. including:  2/20/09, 4/22/09, 5/5/09, 7/20/09, 8/4/09
  24. RedLaser ($1.99)
    RedLaser
    — scan bar codes and compare prices on items
  25. SlingPlayer Mobile ($29.99)
    SlingPlayer Mobile
  26. Textfree Unlimited – Send Text Messages (SMS) Free! ($5.99)
    Textfree Unlimited - Send Text Messages (SMS) Free!
  27. TomTom U.S. & Canada ($69.99)
    TomTom U.S. & Canada
  28. ViewTi Golf ($0.99)
    ViewTi Golf
  29. The Weather Channel Max ($3.99)
    The Weather Channel® Max
  30. Wolfenstein 3D Classic Platinum ($0.99)
    Wolfenstein 3D Classic Platinum
    — once again, this is a game app so I’m not sure why it is on this list

Only three apps made both lists:  (1) ColorSplash, (2) Golfshot and (3) I Am T-Pain.  I haven’t tried any of them, but now I’m starting to think that I am missing something. 

These lists reveal some disagreements on which apps are best.  For example, if you are looking to track flights, it looks like you have to choose between the “best” Flight Update Pro and the “top selling” FlightTrack Pro.  I haven’t tried either yet.  Likewise, if you want a turn-by-turn GPS app, the App Store editors pick Magellan RoadMate 2010 as the best, whereas Navigon’s MobileNavigator, TomTom and MotionX GPS Drive were apparently better sellers — the peoples’ choices, I suppose you could say — in 2009.

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