Tech Spotlight: iPhone Apps for the Outdoorsman

The 3G iPhone release was one of the most hyped up and talked about events of this summer for tech geeks, business people and trendy pop culture fanatics alike. On July 11th, Apple released the second version of its acclaimed iPhone and over 1 million handsets were sold in the first weekend! But why should the everyday outdoorsman care about this smartphone phenomenon? Well it turns out that there is more to the iPhone than what meets the eye. One of the most exciting aspects of the launch of the 3G iPhone was that the iPhone application store was also launched on the same day. Containing over 500 applications at launch, the iPhoneApp store is filled with downloadable programs for your handset ranging from 3D games to social networking programs. I recently took a closer look at the iPhone App store to see if there was anything that the average hunter might find useful and I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s a couple of the more interesting iPhone applications I found, that hunters and outdoorsman might want to check out.

The 3G iPhone

1. WorldWatchr: This is an application that allows you to monitor any online images transferred from a webcam or trailcam, right from your handset. It will cycle through your different cameras and update on a regular basis. I see this being really useful if you use a trail camera that automatically uploads it’s photos to a website. You can then check your trail camera photos from your iPhone, no matter where you are. Being able to check out your trail cameras from deer camp sounds like a pretty nice tool to me. Check it out here.

2. Gas Finder: This handy application will tell you where the cheapest gasoline is in relation to you. This is perfect for the road trip to deer camp or out west for a back country hunt. Not only will it tell you where the best price for gas is, but it ties into the Google Maps/GPS capabilities of the phone to give you directions straight to your gas station of choice.

3. Sunrise & Sunset and Moon phase Applications: These two applications are pretty self explanatory, but useful nonetheless. Moon phases are widely accepted as effecting deer behavior, so it can only be helpful to keep tabs on what phases are expected now and in the future. Knowing the time of sunrise or sunset is equally important when planning your hunting trip.

4. Pocket First Aid Guide: First aid is always important to keep in mind when enjoying a hunting excursion, keep this information handy with the First Aid iPhone application. It looks to be a great resource for dealing with most basic injuries or ailments. You can learn more here.

Other useful applications for outdoor use include:

• Compass
• USA Weather Maps
• The Weather Channel

Have any other useful mobile phone applications for hunters and outdoorsman? Let us know!

UPDATE 11/1/09: Here is a new article featuring 10 more great iPhone Apps for Outdoorsman!