If you frequently use 37Signal's Backpack web software, then chances are you don't like having to open a new web browser tab/window each time you wish to update your Journal. Logbook hopes to ease your woes by updating your Backpack Journal directly from your Mac OS X Menu Bar.

The application gives you a simple user interface with which you can update your status and add completed tasks. If you're having a hard time remembering to update your Journal, have Logbook remind you every x number of minutes, and only between certain hours. In addition, you can set a keyboard shortcut for showing/hiding the application in the menu bar. Your updates are sent using 128-bit SSL encryption.

You can purchase Logbook from the developer's website for $12.99. A demo of the application is also available.

There are a lot of App Store submissions and works-in-progress that trigger anticipatory drooling here at TUAW (Sling Mobile! Sling Mobile!), among them the program guide and movie finder i. TV; we first saw it a few weeks ago and I've been checking every day to see if it's shipped. Now you can download this free tool from the App Store and see for yourself what's so exciting. (The promo video on the i.tv site borrows heavily from Apple's 1984 ad and the Apple TV intro, so clearly there's an effort to brand this app as 'revolutionary.')

The heart of i. TV (App Store link) is a TV listings browser, which connects to the free data feed from the i.tv site (registration is required), including synopses and cast info. You can select your zip code and programming provider (the app currently supports US and Canadian TV listings only) and the current schedules are there at your fingertips; you can rate, review, filter or flag shows as favorites and optionally share your feedback with other i.TV users.

Along with the TV content, the movies section of the app lets you browse by title or by nearby theaters, and watch streamed trailers of your selected films. Trailers and previews of TV shows are also included. The UI is clean and the app is easy to navigate; I was able to find show listings quickly for several series.

As cool as the initial version of i.TV appears to be, the development directions are exponentially cooler. Future versions of the app are planned that will include remote DVR programming (ooh!), IR blaster integration (yes!), DVD rentals (ahh!), movie ticket purchases and even the ability to watch full TV shows streamed from the programming source (hmm.).

Note that there is another app with a similar name, ITV, which provides French television listings and goes for $2.99 US.

Since most people travel everywhere with their iPhones, it is only fitting that an application would come along that would allow you to create a grocery list. Now if you want, you can shop in the store while listening to tunes and looking at your shopping list -- Grocery iQ [iTunes link] allows you to do this and more.

To add an item to your list, just tap the "+" button in the top right corner. When you start entering the name of an item, Grocery iQ will start searching its database of more than 130,000 items. This is amazing, because everything that I threw at it, it recognized! The database even has brand-name items, if you prefer to search that way. You can enter the quantity of the items needed (from 1-100) and some notes about the item. Something that sets this application apart from others is the ability to sort items by aisles -- and the app automatically tries to match your item to an aisle (however, you will probably have to re-arrange this to match the layout of your preferred grocery store).

Another nice feature added by the developer is the ability to email the list to yourself or someone else! It doesn't just email a plain 'ole list either, it formats it to look just like it does in the application (with sections and everything). The application also keeps a running history of the items you purchase -- from this list, you can easily re-add items to your shopping list.

This application should be on any iPhone/iPod touch owner's to-buy list if you forget items at the store, or just want to track your shopping list a little better. It would be nice to see a simple calculator in the application, so you could add up your list as you go through the store (or perhaps cache the recent price of the item). This application costs $4.99 at the iTunes App Store and weighs in at 7.2 MBs. Be sure to check out our gallery of screenshots to see the application yourself. An application update is expected soon that will add support for multiple lists/stores, and add even more information to the item database.

Keeping with the famous science teacher saying of "every number must have a unit," Equivalence (iTunes link) is the one-stop converter for all things units. Did we say "one-stop?" Why yes we did, because Equivalence can convert between over 260 units in 31 categories.

Once of the nice features of Equivalence is the ability for the application to auto update the unit conversions over the air, instead of through the App Store. So, if the developer decides to add a unit, or if a unit were to change, updates could get pushed out to the application.

The beauty of this application is when you flip your iPhone into landscape mode. Just like the built-in iPhone calculator, this application adds much more functionality when horizontal, including a calculator that can add units together.

Bottom line: This is the best unit converter for the iPhone, hands-down. Be sure to take a look at our gallery of Equivalence screenshots. You can buy Equivalence from the iTunes App Store for $4.99 (US).

Update: The developer has dropped us an email to let us know about a special promotion. Equivalence will sell on the App Store for $1.99 until October 6th. The pricing changes have already been submitted to Apple for approval and should appear soon. Also, we have added two new screenshots in the gallery showing off the landscape mode in Equivalence.

Cosmovox by Leisuresonic is an intriguing iPhone app; the kind of app which immediately looks appealing to me. Essentially, it's a theremin hopped up on music-theory steroids. While it does a decent job of emulating first-gen Star Trek sounds -- using the iPhone's accelerometer to translate vertical rotation into pitch with a continuous tone -- it ups the ante with a very complete set of scales: Major, Minor, Harmonic Minor, Major Bitonal, Pentatonic ... even heading East a bit to Okinawa and Hirajoshi (in case you want to play a digital koto) scales. All total, there are over 30 scales available, as well as a set of controls for adjusting modulation, beating, vibrato and doing other fine-tuning.

Here's the thing, though. It's a lot of fun to play with by itself, and my head immediately filled with ideas for incorporating the sound into a composition. I was going to make a video demonstration with a breakbeat and B4 accompaniment, but try as I may, I found it too difficult to really make music with it. I attribute this in large part to a lack of practice and, quite possibly, skill; I can find my way around an array of instruments but this one is truly a challenge. For as simple as it seems once you set the scale (you can't play a wrong note, right?), attaining any kind of consistent melody or rhythm can be an uphill struggle. The best results I got were from layering Cosmovox tracks (recorded through a microphone, Cosmovox has no built-in recording abilities) with other Cosmovox tracks and chopping them up in post to cut out the mistakes. Thus, my efforts yielded no (bearable) movie. The demo video in the FAQ is far more impressive than my feeble attempts anyway.

My thoughts: Cosmovox is a fun app for musicians of any caliber, with a far-reaching landscape of space-age sounds to explore. If I can find the free time, I'm hoping that enough practice will allow me to do with it what -- at this point -- only my imagination is capable of.

Last I checked, Cosmovox was only $1.99USD at the App Store. A more-than-fair price for hours of wavering, warbling fun. Beyond its practical applications, it makes a great soundtrack for any occasion which kicks off with the words, "Captain's log: Stardate ... ," too.

If you're the golfing type (and I must admit, I'm no golfer), then you may like a new game/simulator for your iPhone/iPod touch. GL Golf [iTunes Link] allows you to play golf on your iPhone in a semi-realistic 3D world.

The game consists of 5 golf courses, and you can play with up to 4 people. I really like the ability to change variables in the game. You can change things like weather, time of day, season, ball color, difficulty of play, and the type of course.

The game play is solid. To swing the club just double tap on the screen; when the power meter reaches to a spot you want, just single tap and the club will swing, hitting the ball. You can change the type of club you have by dragging your finger up/down the screen, thereby changing the range. The game does pause itself when you tap the home button, so if you get a call while playing, you won't lose your game.

The game is almost perfect with the exception of two things that could be easily changed with an update. First off, the graphics are not the best that you're going to find on an iPhone game. Second, not being able to move the camera (view point) around is a big downfall in certain circumstances. Sometimes a tree or river bank might be blocking your view and you cannot see if you're hitting the ball in the right direction (see screenshot 6). Despite that, the physics model in the game is amazing and very accurate.

Overall, this is a solid game and should definitely be on every duffer's app download list. You can purchase GL Golf from the App Store today for $7.99. Be sure to look at our gallery of screenshots.

TextGuru is a new iPhone application that promising, useful -- and also really powerful! The application allows you to create and edit a ton of document types. TextGuru also includes the following features that makes it worth every penny you pay for the application:

• Cut/Copy/Paste
• Find and replace text
• Autosaves your documents
  
• Search document collection in entirety
• Web previews for web documents
• Pastebin support (with Pastie and Sprunge)
  
• Email entire documents
• Display documents with different iPhone fonts (22 available)
  
• Ability to view binary documents in either Hex or ASCII representations (all I can say about this is: 61 77 65 73 6f 6d 65)

This application has a built-in sharing feature to get your documents onto/off of your iPhone. Using the sharing feature requires you to download some additional free software, which currently runs on Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. A Windows version of the server software for your computer is in the works.

TextGuru also allows you to use Cut/Copy/Paste throughout the application. To use this feature, just double-tap, then hold and drag your finger across the text you wish to highlight. The application places brackets [ ] around the text that's highlighted. You can then press the Cut/Copy/Paste buttons along the toolbar.

The application is fairly solid, but I have experienced a couple of crashes after editing a document and pressing the "Done" button in firmware 2.1. Be sure to take a look at our gallery of screenshots. TextGuru is available from the iTunes AppStore for $4.99 (US).

Just like its Mac counterpart, WriteRoom for iPhone gives you a simple application to create a document in. When you open WriteRoom you are presented with a black screen -- all of your documents are located here. Clicking on a document name will place you in editing mode.

To create a document, just tap on the "+" button at the top right of the screen and a blank document will show up with a subtle blinking cursor against a black background.

WriteRoom's developer has created a neat way to retrieve documents from your iPhone and get them on your computer. You can browse, edit, and even create a new document on your iPhone from Safari. All of this is dynamic, so as soon as you create a document in Safari, it appears on your iPhone and vice versa (a web page reload is necessary in your web browser). The main problem with Bonjour sharing over Safari is that it only works with Safari's Bonjour bookmarks.

Overall, WriteRoom for iPhone is solid, just works, and is completely worth the $5 (US). WriteRoom is simplicity at it's best, and has a very nice user interface without distractions and fancy addons. You can purchase WriteRoom for the iPhone from the iTunes AppStore for $4.99 (US). Be sure to check out our gallery of WriteRoom screenshots.

Google Docs gives you document storage in the cloud, so why shouldn't you be able to access your documents anywhere you are connected to the cloud -- including your iPhone? Well, Google Docs viewing on the iPhone has been a bit kludgy ... until now.

Thanks to MiGhtyDocs (iTunes link), you are now free to roam about the office to view your Docs on the go. You can't edit and you can't view spreadsheets or presentations, but MiGhtyDocs does cache your documents for offline viewing.

This application just does one thing, and does it great. And did I mention that it's free? You can download MiGhtyDocs from the iTunes App Store today.

If you are one of the lucky ones who got in on the GrandCentral beta, then you might be interested in a new iPhone app that integrates with the GrandCentral service. Grandialer (iTunes link) allows you to use your iPhone to call people using your GrandCentral telephone number.

The service can be used on EDGE since it's not a VoIP service. The application works by connecting your calls through GrandCentral and ringing back your iPhone. To set up the application, you just need to specify a ringback number for GrandCentral to call you back. To do this, just navigate to Settings > Phone number in the Grandialer application.

Grandialer is a free application and is available today on the App Store. For more information on the application you can visit the developer's site.

Pennies is a new iPhone application from the same people who brought you AppZapper and Disco. Pennies is a simple, yet beautifully designed, application to manage your monthly budget right from your iPhone or iPod touch. When you first launch the application you are presented with a "This Month" budget screen where you can set your monthly budget, see how much you've spent, see top expenses, and get some statistics.

In the "Expenses" tab you can add, edit, or annotate your expenses. When you add an expense, you can select a category and enter an amount. You can choose between 10 categories including: general, food, electronics personal, and groceries. When you enter an amount and save the expense, it is automatically deducted from the budget and the "fuel gauge" moves towards the "empty" line on the month screen.

Overall, this is a very nicely designed application that offers a handy solution for managing your budget on-the-go. However, it would be nice to have a desktop application on the Mac that this app could sync with. Perhaps via a WiFi link, like 1Password for iPhone -- maybe it could connect with ChaChing? Still, for $2.99, this application is definitely worth the price. Pennies (iTunes Link) is available right now via the App Store.

Sketches was one of the apps I picked up the very first day the App Store opened -- in fact, it was the first I ever bought, and I bought it as a mistake: Apple's one-click shopping bit me for $7.99 (the app has since dropped in price to $5.99). But it turns out, as a mistake, it was a fortuitous one, because it's one of the apps I've been most impressed with. There are a few other "Paint" style apps floating around the store nowadays, but Sketches is worth the price of admission for doing exactly what it says: letting you easily and quickly draw whatever you want on whatever you want.

The quantity of options in a simple app like this are surprising. Choose from six different kinds of backgrounds, including photos shot with the phone's camera, existing album photos, a solid color, a webpage pulled from an in-app browser, a map of your location or a library of six included backgrounds.

Next, select from a bevy of colors and line thickness for drawing or the provided clip art. Finally, save the sketch in the app, export it out to your photo album or send it to Twitter. And even as you use the app, more fun appears -- there's a cool Etch-a-Sketch-like shake feature to erase what you've drawn, and the zoom button can move you in close for even more detail.

Text input is missing (and reportedly will be included in a later version), but as a quick sketch creator (you won't be designing the Mona Lisa with this, more like circling something on a map or pic before a quick upload to Twitter), Sketches is a really fun, very professional app. LateNiteSoft has it up to 1.2 so far, and even though I had no intention of buying it when I pressed the "Buy App" button without thinking (weren't we all a little feverish when the App Store first dropped?), I don't regret my purchase one bit.

One of our fellow bloggers, Erica Sadun, sent me an iPhone/iPod touch application that she created to manage files. iPocket is sort of like a Finder for your iPhone. It allows you to peer into the file structure on your iPhone. Specifically, I was looking to retrieve one of my voicemail.amr files for saving.

This application allows you to browse files locally, through FTP and a web interface. You can also send files via Bonjour (using a specially made Mac app) and through email. This is really handy if you want to browse the file structure of an application, or if you need to grab a file. Currently you can view images, sounds, movies, PDF files, text, and property files in iPocket. You will not, however, have access to your iTunes media library on the iPhone as Apple doesn't allow you to view this data.

Although this was submitted before the App Store deadline, it remains in review with an uncertain shelf date. You can also check out the gallery of screenshots from the application.

Managing passwords on the go is about to get easier, now that 1Password for iPhone has hit the App Store [iTunes link]. The release features secure notes, wireless sync to your Mac, and all the credential-caching fun you expect from the full-size tool -- in a handy pantsable format.

I was able to install 1Password on my iPod touch and (after a few false starts) synchronize my 600+ desktop entries to the device, but unfortunately now 1Password coughs and dies on the touch when launched. I did manage to get some setup screenshots before things went south, including the desktop-side code entry to pair the device and the computer, so feel free to peruse the gallery -- once we have a bit more time (and I've thinned out my sync list) we'll give the long-awaited utility the full review it deserves.

1Password for iPhone requires 1Password 2.8.1 on the Mac for synchronization. For a limited time, 1Password for iPhone can be downloaded free of charge.

Update: Agile has let it be known that version 1.2 of 1Password has already been sent in to the App Store, so you should be seeing the upgrade as soon as Apple gets it loaded (which may be a little while).

FileMagnet (mentioned briefly by Dave in his iPhone apps I actually use post yesterday) is a low-cost wireless file transfer tool for iPhone and iPod Touch. It requires you to install a companion desktop application, also called FileMagnet, which acts as the conduit for file transfer.

Usage is simple enough: drag files you wish to copy into the desktop app's window. Then open FileMagnet on the iPhone, and as long as the two machines are on the same WiFi network, they will find each other over Bonjour, and wirelessly connect. Then your files are smoothly and wirelessly transferred over. Transfer will also happen every time you sync the device, if the desktop app happens to be running.

FileMagnet is a handy place for reference materials, such as Word docs, spreadsheets, PDFs and images, that you're likely to need to carry at all times. It handles entire folders full of files, too.

There are a few problems right now, all of which are addressed on the official FileMagnet FAQ, mostly with a promise that they'll be fixed soon:

• FileMagnet cannot display iWork files (yet)
• The desktop app requires Leopard (but a Tiger version is on the way)
• You can't email files, or indeed do anything with them except view them (an email feature is coming)

Like a lot of iPhone and iPod touch apps, it's in its early days. Some features are lacking, or not as perfectly functional as you might like. But the developers are aware of the limitations and working on fixes and new features, and personally I think it's a decent value application with bright prospects for future development. I'll be watching out for updates with interest.

FileMagnet is $4.99, and available through the App Store.

UPDATE: Joshua Keay from Magnetism Studios has been in touch to say that that FileMagnet supports Tiger right now. He added that support for rotation and more file types is on the way in the next build, which will be a free update.