Hasta La Ideas

An explosive year for iPhone apps, in the final days of 2009 we now have over 100,000 to choose from making it possible to do everything from dictating text to
learning about the Greek Gods right from our fingertips. While many offer valuable solutions for chefs or designers, some are just plain fun, such as 55DSL‘s digital take on the classic arcade game WhackAMole (pictured above). Cool Hunting highlighted several during 2009, but below we culled our favorites of those featured.

FlightTrack Pro

FlightTrack Pro syncs up with Tripit itineraries, keeping users in the know about gate changes, delays, cancellations and current weather conditions with its elegantly designed interface that displays details and maps. In addition, an offline mode affords viewing up-to-date information at 30,000 feet, keeping passengers informed even when already en route.

MyPantone

For color lovers or designers, myPantone gives users easy access to the Pantone color libraries, serving as an on-the-go color reference guide. The application not only makes discovering new hues a snap, it also affords the user the ability to create and share color palettes, while also saving and storing them for later comparison.

Zipcar

While a few glitches continue to plague it, the Zipcar app allows members to locate, reserve
and unlock cars in the fleet. The app sorts cars by hours of availability, type or model, and the device’s virtual key fob unlocks the designated car or truck from a close distance or honks the horn if it’s lost among a sea of parked cars.

Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals

Boasting 50 new recipes, 21 technique teaching videos, step-by-step pictures illustrating the instructions and recipes, the app makes whipping up one of the Brit chef’s tasty meals a snap. Accompanied by a rundown of ingredients used, each recipe links directly to an interactive, sharable shopping list that sorts by aisle and provides a way to satisfyingly cross off items—it’s almost as good as having Jamie in your kitchen.

TED Talks

Aggregating the latest audio and video from the TED talks and conferences—the quarter-century old nonprofit based on Technology, Education and Design—the search function sorts through the hundreds of speakers and a bookmarking feature marks favorites.