Basic iPhone app list

These are the ones I like:

• Stanza (free): an ebook reader which can connect to online stores and several free content repositories such as Project Gutenberg. It's so good Amazon bought it.
• ReLiSimple Free: a shopping list manager which can sync with an online account (in case someone at home adds something useful to it)
• IRChon Free: An IRC client.
• IM+ Lite (free): an IM client which supports multiple IM networks (Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, and many others). Unlike most IM clients for iPhone, this one doesn't require you to set up an account at the vendor's website. If you want Facebook or Skype, you'll need to pony up $11 (at time of writing) for the full version.
• TouchTerm SSH ($0.99): terminal emulator which supports a full keyboard: Ctrl/Alt/Function, arrows, and more.
  
• UrbanSpoon (free): one of the better restaurant finders/review apps out there. Maps, reviews, and if the restaurateur is registered with UrbanSpoon, even menus. It's the one you see in the Apple iPhone ads.
  
• Last.fm (free): internet radio tailored to your favorite music. Requires a free signup at last.fm.
• Mint.com Personal Finance (free): Arguably one of the better ways to keep track of all your finances at a glance is to register with mint.com (also free). This app gives you an iPhone-optimized view of your finances at mint.
• Sally's Spa ($0.99, on sale): Amusing time-management game where you run a spa and must manage multiple customers.
• Nutrition Menu ($2.99): Type 1 diabetics usually have a pocket-sized copy of the Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter book in their purse: it covers basic foods, prepared foods and a large variety of chain restaurant food. While this invaluable database of nutrition facts has been made into an app for the old PalmOS and Windows Mobile platforms, its authors have been dragging their heels on porting it to the iPhone platform, and Nutrition Menu is gaining on them. It keeps the database locally, so you don't need a wifi/3G connection to pull up nutrition information on the spot.