After a few weeks use, I can say for sure that I love my iPhone. There is simply no other phone out there that does as much so well, and the multi-touch interface is so skillfully and intuitively harnessed that even a 1 year old can use it.

I just wish it had some more applications.

Yes, I know that there are tons of web apps for iPhone out there, but I'm talking real apps, instead of glorified web page bookmarks. (And though there are some pretty awesome native apps that have been created for the iPhone, it involves a lot of hacking on the user's part, which is something I've avoided doing every since I botched up my iPod nano trying to get it to run Doom. Though this little gem by Lucas Newman and Adam Betts is tempting.)

But since I'm not a member of the iPhone team, all I can do is dream. Here are five iPhone applications I'd like to see from Apple, along with mockup realizations by UI designer and friend, Josh Pyles, of Pixelmatrix Design. Enjoy!

An Archive.org/Ebook Reader

I know what you're thinking to yourself. Books? On the iPhone? Come on, who reads these days?

In all seriousness though, the iPhone's high resolution screen not only displays photos, videos and album art brightly and crisply, but renders text like a champ. And for the skeptics, I can attest that the iPhone renders text so well, I've browsed the web for hours on the little device without loss of vision, headaches, or eye soreness. In fact, it was actually a surprisingly pleasant experience.

Admittedly, the iPhone is not ideal for reading. And tackling a length novel on the iPhone's tiny, portable screen is in something like reading Harry Potter on thousands of sticky notes. But since Josh and I couldn't figure out an effective way to miniaturize the latest Harry Potter book into a pocket-sized version, we focused on the easier route. Dreaming up an interface for reading ebooks and Archive.org books on your iPhone that would one-up carrying around an actual book while traveling.

We looked towards the Apple Design Award winning media cataloging app, Delicious Library, for UI inspiration for the display of your library/downloadable books. DL pioneered an immersive, intuitive, and delicious looking interface for digital media browsing, and we love it, and it works. (Oh, and at the request of chief monster, Wil Shipley, here's my one word review of his app: buy.):

Click me to view in full size

Bookmarks, check. Intuitive navigation (tap the corner or slide to the next page), check. One tap definitions. "Skimming" scroll options by dragging around on the right side of the screen, ala iPod functionality in the iPhone. Browsing, purchasing, and downloading of books from anywhere. Check, check, check.

We live in a fast paced, busy world of fast food, on demand, one click buying, and twittering. I think I'd find myself reading more, in smaller chunks at a time, if this app was packed in by Apple.

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