Most complete music-maker
BeatMaker from is the deepest music application on my iPhone and iPod touch. And by "deep" I mean the US$20 app is a compelling (if occasionally confusing) application that contains a drum pad for playing and recording samples you've assigned to it, a step sequencer for those times when you'd rather create more-precise patterns, a song sequencer for assembling those patterns into a longer work, and effects you can assign to the sequences you create.--CHRISTOPHER BREEN
Read our review of Beatmaker; get more info on BeatMaker at the App Store.
Best image-editing tools at your fingertips
The iPhone's built-in camera might not be the best out there, but it's perfectly capable for casual snapshots. If, however, you want to spice up those shots a bit, you can turn to Sketches from and let your fingers do the image-editing. With the $5 Sketches (now on sale for $2 during the holidays), you can use your finger to draw on your pictures in a variety of colors, as well as inserting clip art like mustaches, clothing, and holiday paraphernalia. And when the pictures get too involved, a quick shake will remove all of your additions, leaving the photo as pristine as before.--DAN MOREN
Read our review of Sketches; get more info on Sketches at the App Store.
Best photo filter tool
The iPhone's built-in camera makes for a convenient way to snap quick pictures, but CameraBag makes those pics a lot more interesting. A collection of nine photo filters from that you can apply to images in your iPhone's photo library or to those you take from within the app, the $3 CameraBag includes such filters as Helga (square-format with vignette), 1974 (faded and tinted), Fisheye (warped lensing), and Cinema (wide-screen and dramatic). You can even combine filters by applying one to an image, saving it, and then applying another one to the same photo.--JONATHAN SEFF
Read our review of CameraBag; get more info on CameraBag at the App Store.