An insidious application, Byline synchs with Google Reader, and provides an easy way to view RSS feeds on the iPhone or Touch. You can access most of the major features of Google Reader through Byline: Read feeds, star them, share them, and share with notes. That alone is nothing special; Google provides a version of Reader optimized for the iPhone and Touch that does all that, and the Google version is free.

Byline is an RSS reader for the iPhone or Touch that syncs with Google Reader.
(click for image gallery)

However, Byline goes Google one better by offering offline access. You can still read your feeds even when you're disconnected. The app doesn't just make local cache of the feeds, it also caches the Web pages the feeds link to, so you can read the full text of RSS feeds that only offer excerpts of articles (like InformationWeek's'), even when disconnected.

So why is Byline insidious? It's addictive. The app downloads only 200 items at a time. When you've scrolled to the bottom of that list, you can tap a link to get 200 more. The Byline developers imposed that limit to improve performance -- but the limit also enhances the program's addictive qualities. You say to yourself, "I'll just sit down and read a few feeds on Byline. It'll only take a few minutes to read 200 items." Then you say, "Done already? That was fast! I'll just tap the link to get 200 more. It'll only take a few minutes to read those." You can eat up a whole day that way.

Byline, from Phantom Fish software, is priced at $3.99.

Download Byline from the App Store.

3. Flight Status

Krishna Vegesna's Flight Status is a toolkit for air travelers. It lets you check airline schedules, gate and terminal information, arrival times, baggage claim information, and more. Salespeople making multi-city tours will like the "trips" section, which lets them input all the flights at once and check them at a glance.

Flight Status does everything to enhance your air travel experience except help you sneak bottled water through security. It's priced at $4.99.

Download Flight Status from the App Store.