I think the iPhone is a great platform for learning so I thought I'd share a list of my favorite reference and learning applications, most of which are free. I find myself learning something new just about everyday with the iPhone running these great applications simply due to the fact that they make learning so convenient and accessible. Now when I wait for my doctor I'm not stuck reading outdated entertainment news!

This isn't only true for adults either. When I upgraded from the 2g to the 3g S I gave my four year old son my old phone and bought him a bunch of children's educational applications. I find him using these educational applications on his own. When he is not playing he is typically relaxing on the couch learning how to read, write, or do math on his own and I think this is just awesome. I should make a list of the applications he uses at some point also.

On to the list...

Stanza (free) Book reader. Not only can you download books from your computer or purchase directly from e-book vendors, but you can also browse and download thousands or public domain books for free while on the go. Why anyone would buy a public domain book or another e-book reader on the iPhone is beyond me. I'm sure you have heard of this consider every iPhone app list has it covered, but it really is good and is my number one favorite iPhone application.

Audiobooks (free) As the name suggests, it's an audio book reader. Find and download public domain books in audio format and play them back. Great for long road trips.

Wikiamo (free) Wiki search and display tool.

Howcast (free) DIY, do it yourself how to videos. Learned Origami with this app.

APOD (free) Astronomy picture of the day. If your interested in space this app is for you. View the latest astronomy images or look up past images. Images have descriptions, can be emailed to friends, or saved to your photos on the phone.

Open Culture (free) Free college courses, books, video lecture, and blogs. If you enjoy learning simply to learn you can't pass this up. The only thing that sucks is that it requires WiFi for a lot of the content.

Science VL (free) Science glossary.

Art (.99) If you want to sharpen your art knowledge you will want to get this. Learn about the masters and browse their masterpieces.

iPlant (free) Great plant reference with images. Includes identification information, medicinal uses, food uses, uses and warnings. Lookup by visual characteristics would be nice, but it's a great app none the less.

Natural Cures (free) If you're into alternative medicines and natural remedies you will be happy to have this on your phone. Also includes database of ailments and nutritional information.

Musictionary (.99) Dictionary of musical terms, translations, and explanations.

Public Radio Exchange (free) Public radio stations. A lot of classical stations and talk radio. The only complaint I have is streaming on 3G could be better.

Human Japanese ($9.99) This is one of the coolest language learning applications on the iPhone. If you're interested in learning Japanese this is a must have. I would also recommend Kotoba free Japanese dictionary and iKana and iKanji, which are not free, but well worth the money.

Documents ($2.99) Great application for storing and viewing files, like text and pdf, on your iPhone. You can moves files between your phone and home computer via WiFi. You can also download/upload to Google docs. Create new text and spreadsheet files or edit already existing files on the go. I think this application deserves higher ratings.

Dictionary (free) Great unabridged English dictionary with search history, thesaurus, and word of the day.

This really is a small list of the great educational applications available, but I really like them and hope some are useful for you as well.