The Bayou Beat's Top 5 Iphone apps this week

Viper: It needs to be mated to an expensive remote ignition system, and it doesn't save you a ton of time, but this one ranks purely for coolness. I mean, you can start your car with your iPhone. This is totally the dream, for people with modest, iPhone-centric dreams.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Redbox: Those little red DVD huts in grocery stores all around the country—you know, the ones that opened a cruelly effective second front in the war against traditional video stores with their $1 rentals—now have their own app. Now you can find the nearest kiosk, see its catalog and reserve a movie from your iPhone. Free.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Think of it as the world at your fingertips. All of the content of Wikipedia, the user-created encyclopedia, nicely organized and made accessible in an app. Perhaps the coolest feature of the app, however, is the location option, which lets you instantly learn about anything (or everything) that happens to surround you at the moment.

A pocket-sized version of Google's awesome web app, the Google Earth iPhone app lets you travel the globe while, um, traveling the globe. Handy for lending some perspective or just locating yourself in a new city, the app makes use of the same types of global satellite and aerial views you would get on the web.

A virtual money-manager, Mint tracks your income, spending and investments after you enter your financial data to the password-protected site. It will also alert you, if you choose, should your spending go over a preset budget or if your credit needs attention. And It's FREE!