Facebook Most people who spring for an iPhone are probably connected socially in some way and the most likely culprit of their social connection is Facebook. No matter if you want to see what’s up with your friends or you want to update your friends about what’s up with you, having the ability to do this from your phone is a no-brainer. It also makes painful work meetings a little less tedious. For that reason alone it’s on the first app list.

Yelp That Chinese restaurant down the street is good, really good and thanks to Yelp I became brave enough to actually find that out. Whether in your own neighborhood or a new one Yelp is the tool for making sure you find something edible or a great shop or whatever you’re looking for. And having access to this on your phone while mobile is essential.

Skype This may come as some surprise as part of a first apps list but the reason this excels and is so necessary won’t once you realize why you have it. Not everyone uses skype but with the ability to call from any wireless hotspot I suspect once people see how completely useful this is they will. If you’re traveling ever, out of country or in, you will often find that getting a signal for your phone may not be as easy as finding a wireless connection. So then with this app you’ve got the ability to call whomever from any internet café or coffee shop with wifi. For a measly few pennies a call this makes the task of keeping up with loved ones while out of the country a non-issue. And if you find yourself traveling to more remote areas of the country or towns outside of the normal calling area this app will make up for what is lacking in regular service coverage.

Pandora Radio No matter where you are having music at your fingertips is fantastic. If you have a large music library you may not want to load up your phone with everything you have and thus at some point you’re going to be missing that specific genre of music you want to hear. Pandora’s free radio will save the day and allow you to get your music fix even if you haven’t gotten around to loading music onto your phone yet. A no brainer as part of a first apps list.

iHandy Level Free My favorite aspect of my iPhone is all the things I didn’t even realize it would do before I got it. The fact that it knows it’s location in terms of level still just blows me away a bit. And while everyone knows this isn’t the app you’ll use every day to communicate with friends, having something like a level on your phone is certainly useful and for the newbie (or the easily entertained) this app is fun to play with and show off to friends less familiar with why the iPhone is the best piece of hardware you’ve ever owned.