Chris Bowler

http://log.chrisbowler.com/

Chris Bowler is a Christian, a husband and father of five, and a co-founder of Fusion Ads. He loves software, good design, strong, black coffee and simple country living. He produces typos at log.chrisbowler.com and wastes too much time on Twitter.

As a Shawn Blanc disciple, I also don’t like a full home screen. So I keep the bottom row clear and filled the Dock with the 3 apps that I spend the most time on. For most of the past two years, I only owned an iPod Touch and used the device more for entertainment than business. But as the need for cell access increased, I finally plunged into a 3 year contract and upgraded.

I have to say that I previously was of the opinion that a Touch was an iPhone without the phone. However, having access to a network at all times — rather than just when in wifi range — has made more of a difference than I had imagined. It really increases the usability of the device and lends weight to the iPhone as a satellite device to my main working computer.

Although I sometimes toy with the idea of ordering my apps by color or function, the librarian in me will not allow it. Alphabetical it has to be.

Bible: the iPhone version of the web app YouVersion, this app allows me to read the Bible when I need unexpectedly and has my yearly reading plan included. It is well thought out application overall.

Camera: Another aspect of the iPhone that the Touch owner in me did not appreciate. I take a lot more photos now, because the best camera really is the one that is with you all the time.

Calendar: this app is the one that first made me fall in love with the platform and admire what a great job Apple had done. Flicking through the slot machine interface when creating a new appointment time was my “Aha” moment.

Ego: the essential narcissistic inclusion. Garrett Murray is a genius for putting all the stats in one spot, and I use this on my iPod rather than looking at numbers in my desktop browser.

Fliptime: when my iPod is sitting on my desk beside me as I work, this is always running. It’s attractive and useful in its simplicity and is probably my most used app.

OmniFocus: I was a faithful user of Things for the past couple of years, but I switched to OmniFocus because of the ability to nest tasks. And when I’m out of the office, the @errands context is my best friend.

Safari: I actually don’t surf the web much on the device. I only use it as my feed reader, loading the great mobile interface for Greader. I just haven’t found a feed reader that suits me.

Simplenote: As a faithful Yojimbo user, I needed something to fill the void on my iPod — this is it. Plus, it has great ads.

Tumblr: It’s partly the engine for my personal site, partly a feed reader (for the Tumblr sites I follow). It’s also likely another big reason I don’t use mobil Safari a lot.

Tweetie: the Twitter client that defined Twitter clients. Indispensable on my Mac and iPhone ... I can’t wait for the desktop version to catch up with the iPhone version. I feel for Android users who have to use something other than Tweetie.

Voice Memos: This is a capability I always wished my 1st gen Touch could do. There’s nothing worse than having inspiration strike in the middle of a run. Now I can talk to myself.

Weather: I always like to know the forecast, even for places I don’t live. It’s weird, but I indulge in this whim.

And the apps in my Dock, the ones I use the most when away from my Macbook:

iPod: Well, it is an iPod after all. Music is a big part of every day for me and I love the entire iTunes ecosystem.

Phone: The phone in iPhone. As a recent newbie to the iPhone, I’m still amazed at how well Apple designed this part of the package. The phone application is simply intuitive and fun to use.

Mail: I use this constantly to stay on top of customer inquiries and team updates. But I usually wait until I’m on the laptop to reply.

A few other apps that almost make the home screen: Birdhouse, Clock, Dropbox, Fare City, GeoDefense, Nike + iPod, Orbital, and everything from Tapbots (see, alphabetical).

Overall, my iPhone is very much a satellite device. It hasn’t changed my computing experience the way it has for many iPhone owners, who can go days without their primary computing device. But it’s definitely the best satellite device I’ve ever used and perfectly fills the entertainment role in my life. I’m so curious to see if the iPad take that place for someone like me.