Top 5 iPhone apps for 2014 - Part I

If you were asked to list your favourite iPhone apps, the likely contenders would be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a host of other social networks and shopping apps. 

But there are thousands of great apps in Apple's App Store that deserve a mention, partly because you may not have heard of them before, and because they do something either unique or incredibly useful.

So here are the top 5 iPhone apps for 2014 that you should download:

1.      Cloak

This is an app I'm sure Jason Bourne and James Bond would have found handy out in the field.

Cloak is an app that pulls together all the locational data from the likes of Instagram and FourSquare so you can see where (on an actual map) all your social 'friends' are.

Cloak markets itself by saying: “Avoid exes, co-workers, that guy who likes to stop and chat – anyone you'd rather not run into”.

Now whilst this app may sound highly unsociable, in a world where our every move is now documented on social media, some balance does help.

2.      Steam

Steam helps avid gamers combine the worlds of social and video games within one platform. Already hugely popular on desktops, this mobile version opens up the iOS smartphone to over 2,000 games that can be bought or played for free within it.

The app encourages in-platform and even in-game chatting between the gamers, suggesting they can meet new people and discuss even form clans, and as mobile app development goes, this app is up there as one of the most impressive.

3.      Secret

Secret is a very new app only released at the end of April this year. It is essentially a platform for tech geniuses in Silicone Valley to vent frustrations about their bosses and the companies they work for.

Some humorous anonymous statuses make this a fun app to both vent and wallow in the frustrations of others.

4.      Here & Then from the Newspaper Archive

One for the avid reader (or perhaps extremely bored commuter). This app showcases newspaper articles for the user to read from over the past 200 years, as well as images and archaic adverts.

The app lets you read what happened on this day in history over a century ago as it was reported at the time, all delivered from the British Newspaper Archive.

5.      Live Football on TV

This app is brilliant for the busy football fan. Instead of spending a frantic half hour scouring through the TV Times or the Sky TV schedules looking for when you team is on which channel, this app tells you every game that is on TV throughout the year.

The app then integrates itself with your iPhone's calendar, and you can upload all the matches you must watch. The app also integrates with Sky+, and within the app you can tell your Sky box at home to record any match if you are out and about. 

So there you have it. All of these free apps are well worth a download and could be really useful, whether you are looking to avoid co-workers on your lunch break, play hundreds of games on your phone, schedule your TV watching schedule or read newspaper clippings from 1845.