The iPhone is probably the one gadget that has changed my life. It allows me to access email and web when I’m out an about; I can listen to my music library wherever I am; and if I’m lost, there’s that very handy Maps app that has already saved me a number of times. And then there are those free apps you can download from the App Store.

The ability to easily add apps to your iPhone surely has to be one of the factors that has led to the iPhone’s ludicrous success. I’m sure many an iPhone user has spent hours downloading and checking out apps.

Following are 20 iPhone apps I strongly recommend you download and install. I know that there are many free iPhone apps lists, but the world can always do with one more.

To install the apps simply tap the App Store icon on your iPhone and search for the name of the app you’d like to install.

Bloomberg – if you’re a business news junkie, this app will allow you to easily keep up to date with the latest business news and stock prices

Checklist – a nice simply app that helps you keep on top of important tasks

Dictionary.com – In the old days people use to carry pocket dictionaries with them; nowadays all you need is this app installed on your iPhone. Also includes a thesaurus, and the good news is, you don’t need to be online for this to work.

Easy Clock – The bedside table tends to be the natural after hours home of the cell phone, and so this utility allows you use your iPhone as a very attractive clock.

EasyWriter – Being able to read and write emails while on the go is one the iPhone’s strengths, but not everyone likes the interface for composing emails, and this app provides an alternative.

Excuse Generator – The iPhone can do anything, even come up with excuses for you to get out of things you don’t want to do

Facebook – this app brings Facebook functionality to your iPhone, allowing you to keep in touch with what your friends are up to

Free Translator – Using the Google Translate API this app allows you to translate Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish and Vietnamese into a language you understand.

Google Earth – if you love the desktop version of Google Earth, you’ll love the iPhone version, where you can use the iPhone’s GPS system to pinpoint your location on Google Earth

iChoose – Ever get stuck making a decision, iChoose will help you make that decision – randomly. Don’t laugh, if you’ve read the book Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets, this may not be as insane as it sounds

Light – This MacGyver utility turns your iPhone in a reading light – all we need now is the utility that turns the iPhone into a knife or rocket launcher

Mighty Docs – Allows to to download Google Docs onto your iPhone, so you can read your docs when you are offline.

Multi Convert – With more 800 units in over 40 categories, this free app allows to convert almost everything, including currency. Exchange rates are updated every six hours.

NYTimes – This app allows you to read stories from the New York Times on your iPhone. Sure you could use the iPhone’s built-in browser to read the New York Times, but this app adds just an extra level of convenience

Skype – This brings VoIP to the iPhone, but only when connected to a wi-fi network – oh, what could have been

TouchCalc -  while the iPhone’s built in calculator is useful for basic calculations, TouchCalc has a scientific mode, bit/integer mode and statistics mode – much more useful for sophisticated calculations

Twitterfon – This is one of the better free Twitter app for iPhone. It allows you to read and write tweets on your Twitter account, but with the added twist of being able to include photos and your location with your tweets. This app was what finally allow me to “get” Twitter

Upcoming – If like me you’re hopeless at remembering people’s birthdays, you’ll love this handy little app, which will remind you about important birthdays coming up

WiFinder – this handy utility immediately notifies you if it finds a free Wi-Fi hotspot

WordPress – If you’re a blogger using WordPress, you’ll love this little app that allows you to create a new post or edit an existing post

Let the world know about your favourite iPhone apps by writing about it in the comments.

Related: