Each year, iPhone repair company XpressFix.com sifts through the various updates offered in the ever-growing supply of iPhone apps.  XpressFix examines updates to popular apps already on the market, and they even review some new-comers. Good apps can change how we use the internet, how we communicate with one another, and how we shop for goods and services.  Bad applications waste our time waste our money and can cause our devices to operate poorly or malfunction. With so many applications on the market all claiming to be awesome, it’s hard to determine which of them are buggy, too costly, or just downright useless.  Here we have picked 5 amazing applications that offer more than simulated bubble-wrap popping or 80′s-era video games.

1. Yelp – With over 31 million visitors, Yelp allows users to perform searches and read user reviews of local businesses, nightlife, restaurants and various events.  The iPhone’s built-in GPS tailors the searches to the user’s physical location, bringing up the opinions of other Yelp users in the area. Shake your iPhone three times, and you can activate the Monocle feature. Monocle is what Yelp calls “augmented reality”.   What’s augmented reality? Well, a user simply holds his iPhone up to view his surroundings through the viewfinder of the built-in camera.  In the viewfinder, the user will see reviews and other Yelp information layered on top of the local bars, restaurants and establishments that he sees in the real world.  And it’s still free to use and download.

2. FlightTrack Pro – We would have put this application, which works in tandem with TripIt, into our number one spot if it were free.  It’s still well worth .99 considering how much time and hassle this app saves. Here’s how it works: A user emails his travel itinerary, including hotel information to TripIt.com, which generates an organized itinerary.  The TripIt itinerary can be viewed with the downloaded FlightTrack Pro app. The application is smart enough to predict flight delays by monitoring bad weather, provide information on gate changes, notify of airport delays, and offer up-to-date flight departure times.  If a flight in cancelled, FlightTrack Pro will offer flight alternatives with convenient departure times.  And if the flight is late, this application can be used to email someone.

3. FoodScanner – This $ .99 app is very useful for a calorie-conscious type. FoodScanner is a barcode/UPC scanner application similar to the type used to do price comparisons.  As with price comparison barcode scanners such as ShopSavy, FoodScanner utilizes the built in camera on the iPhone, turning it into a barcode scanner.  However, when the user scans a barcode on a food item using FoodScanner, information about the product’s calorie content displays on the screen. The user can also enter portion sizes which will affect calorie intake. FoodScanner creates a food journal so a user can keep track of long-term trends in calorie content, which saves a lot of time for a person on a weight-loss regimen.

4. Free Memory – We are all aware of how our iPhone can crash or run slowly due to a lack of free working memory.  This application does exactly what its name says; it frees up working memory without the user having to go through the annoying process of restarting the iPhone.  It also allows the user to see how much memory is available, as well as view currently running applications or processes.  This application is currently free.

5. Shazam – Ok so this one probably won’t save you much time. And it’s not a brand new app.  But this free app will save you a lot of annoyance. And now you can get Shazam for your iPad, and it works faster than ever on iPhone. How does it work?  Is there anyone who doesn’t already know? For those of you who don’t, let’s say you are in a restaurant and hear song you love but don’t know who sings it.  Shazam can listen to the song and tell you the singer, song title, album name, and even the date the song was recorded.  Shazam solves the mystery in seconds with almost perfect accuracy.  Shazam allows the user to easily share songs with friends on Facebook and Twitter, as well as purchase music.  It will even make recommendations based on your tastes in music. Shazam will soon let you synch tagged songs between your iPad and iPhone.