My "One Screen Challenge" got me thinking about how great it is when you are able to consolidate a number of functions into a single app. For example, Evernote can be used for text, photo and voice notes if I want to save time and space. There are others, and as the App Store matures the list will continue to grow.  There is one new app in particular that has the potential to replace many different apps.

The new app One Seek is, for all intents and purposes, a web app. It is useless unless you actually have a live data connection and there is nothing that a web-based app could not do that this resident app does (or could do- more on that later).  It does, however, have the potential to be hugely convenient by rolling numerous different search functions into a single app. With One Seek you can quickly and easily pull up numerous sites, including

??1) Google.com? 2) Wikipedia.com? 3) IMDB.com ?4) Amazon.com ?5) Ask.com ?6) Answers.com ?7) Dictionary.com ?8) Digg.com ?9) Ebay.com ?10) Facebook.com? 11) Linkedin.com ?12) MSN.com? 13) Myspace.com? and 14) Thesaurus.com

So for $2 you get a single web portal to some of the most popular sites. It might actually be worth it if…

Despite all the bad press, not to mention my frustration early on, I’m actually rather happy with the way in which Apple’s MobileMe has evolved. Overall, the process of syncing works well and allows me to have my most up to date PIM information no matter where I am and no matter what device I am using. That, combined with BackToMyMac, one of the best features of Leopard and MobileMe, means I have everything with me no matter where I am.

One of the many things I have been hoping for as part of an iPhone update has been the ability to use BackToMyMac and/or MobileMe’s iDisk on the iPhone. That would turn the iPhone into an easy to use extension of your desktop. Numerous applications have already allowed remote file access, but two recent additions to the App Store are particularly noteworthy. When used in conjunction with one another, they bring "back to my Mac" access to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

gSearch, a new $.99 app in the App Store describes itself this way–

Do you love using Google’s search engine but would like an easier way to get to it from your iPhone?
gSearch is an easy to use, one touch short-cut to launch all of your Google searches.
gSearch also opens up in landscape view with a widescreen keyboard so it’s easier to type.

FEATURES:
1. One touch to launch a Google search
2. Landscape view for easy typing
3. Launches a google search in Safari with your search terms
4. History page of past searches

I got it. I tried it. Here’s what I think…

One of the biggest selling points of both the iPod Touch and the iPhone is the touchscreen and its ability to determine when it’s being touched multiple times simultaneously and in what manner (leading to wonderful games like this one).  With this functionality, it is a natural evolution to create multiple methods of doing what should be one of the most common tasks on the device:  inputting text.  Whether it’s via freehand writing, sliding between letters or common typing, the iTunes App Store provides at least one program for each of the aforementioned methods. 

I have reviewed three of the free ones so you can determine which works best for you without cost.

When it comes to RSS readers for the iPhone and iPod Touch we have focused largely on NetNewsWire and Byline. Both are excellent apps for accessing your RSS feeds on and off-line. There are, however, a number of up-and-coming challengers and one just got a bit of an update.

Gazette, was released just the other day and has already received an update.