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Another way to find free iPhone apps

FreeAppAlert does what iTunes can't: rounds up apps that just had their prices slashed to zero. Granted, some of the apps are crap, but at least they're free!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida

You don't need Twitter to keep tabs on the latest newly free iPhone applications.

To paraphrase the old Sara Lee commercial, nobody doesn't like free apps.

Good luck trying to find them, though. Sure, the App Store lists the top freebies in each software category, but what about the apps that have just been price-reduced to $0? iTunes offers no way to find them.

However, FreeAppAlert does find them for you. The site catalogs all iPhone apps that previously cost money but are now free (either temporarily or permanently).

If this sounds a bit familiar, it's because I recently wrote the 148Apps' Twitter feed that notifies you when an app's price drops to zero.

But what if you're not a Twitter user? Bookmark FreeAppAlert, which lists each newly free app along with its former price tag and one or more thumbnail screenshots.

What's great is that when you mouse over a thumbnail, the full-size version appears immediately. That beats clicking all the way through to the App Store just to see what an app looks like.

Likewise, you can show or hide an application's description by clicking View Description; no need to leave the page.

Like the aforementioned 148Apps service, FreeAppAlert has a Twitter feed. You can also become a fan on Facebook and subscribe to an RSS feed.

Bottom line: If you like free apps, you'll like FreeAppAlert. (Best newly free freebie I've scored lately: "multiplayer" doodle app Doodle Buddy.)