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iPhone apps - the 10 smartest and the 10 stupidest

One man's meat is another man's poison

No. 4

Smart: Vlingo - Voice App

They say: "Using innovative speech recognition technology, Vlingo lets iPhone users dial their contacts, search the Web, look up numbers and maps for local listings, and send status updates for Facebook and Twitter."

The Reg says: If - when? - Apple incorporates voice control into the iPhone, let's hope its as versatile as Vlingo.

Voice recognition is surprisingly strong for an app that doesn't require you to memorize proprietary keywords. In most cases, you just tell your iPhone what you want it it to do, and it does it.

As long as you're in a reasonably quiet environment and are comfortable with Vlingo's privacy policy.

Price: free

  Vlingo - Voice App screenshot

  Jared screenshot

Stupid: Jared

They say: "Did you know Jared is a star? He was in a Blockbuster commercial. It was about sausages. It was great."

The Reg says: Stupidity is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a truly stupid app can be thoroughly disarming - such as Jared (aka Jared: The Butcher of Song or Jared: El Carnicero de Canciones).

This li'l yellow off-key singing head first appeared as a highly pixellated Mac app in the mid-90s and quickly became second only to Clarus the Dogcow in cult reverence. Jared is the digital world's "Shaggs" - sincere, unaccountably charming, and very, very stupid.

Price: free


Next page: No. 3

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