There are two bits of knowledge that all native New Yorkers are gifted with: where to get "the best" pizza (Grimaldi's on the Brooklyn waterfront, in case you were wondering), and where to stand on the subway platform so as to arrive at the destination station in exactly the right spot to exit ahead of the rush. While this sometimes leads to bunching and crowding in the desirable cars, it ends up saving a lot of time and aggravation on the far side.

If you aren't a veteran straphanger, you can simulate the expertise of the locals with Exit Strategy NYC, a $1.99 iPhone app that tells you where to stand based on your destination station. The app is straightforward: select your train line and your direction of travel, then pick your arrival choice from the list. You'll get a clear diagram of the exit locations, along with the conductor's position in the train (great for late-night trips) and notes on any special circumstances, transfer options or wheelchair access.

In my tests, Exit Strategy matched my instincts pretty well with only a few hiccups (one exit that was closed for construction wasn't yet reflected in the app, but chances are us NYC residents wouldn't know that either). There is one drawback for outer-borough residents: while Manhattan and most near-to-downtown stations are included, some of the further-out stops, like my station along the R line in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, are not yet built in to the app. Still, Exit Strategy should definitely be part of your iPhone arsenal for a visit to the Big Apple. The demo video for the app is in the 2nd half of the post.

Despite their much-admired situational awareness, even NYC subway veterans sometimes get confused about where to find the nearest station -- and if you're a first time visitor, fuggedaboudit. For iPhone 3GS-enabled residents and tourists, it's about to get a lot easier: acrossair is offering an NYC version of the Nearest Tube augmented reality app, New York Nearest Subway.

Hold your iPhone flat and see a 2D map of the entire system... then lift it perpendicular to the ground, and the heads-up display mode shows you floating icons representing nearby stations, complete with line legends and walking distances. For anyone who's ever walked to a faraway subway stop only to realize that there was a much closer option, this is incredibly compelling. No word on price yet, and the app is awaiting approval; as noted, this app will only work on the 3GS, as the magnetometer is used to determine the direction the phone is facing.

If you've got preferred apps for navigating public transit in your city, pipe up in the comments.

[via Gadget Lab]

Good news for those of you who live with me here in Chicago and also don't have a car: while AT&T has gotten on the bad side of a lot of iPhone owners lately (seriously, that MMS delay is lame), they're at least doing one good deed for us Chicagoans. They've just announced that they're bringing cellphone service to our underground transit systems.

Many's the time I've stood underground out on the Logan Square Blue Line station heading out to O'Hare, bummed that my iPhone isn't pulling up my flight times for one last check, but no more -- with a contract set up this week, AT&T says they'll have service up and running underground by the end of the year. And the deal will generate $3.1 million for the CTA, which could probably use the money.

That may do little to soothe the pain of all AT&T has done to us iPhone users. But being able to use my iPhone underground while waiting for the train will definitely be nice.

I have a particular affinity for trains. My father and grandfather both worked on the railroad, presumably all the live-long day. When a train rolls by, I'll make a comment about the engine or trucks or what-have-you, and my girlfriend will madly clap her hands together and yell yay twains! in a dumb voice. I love her so much.

Anyway. ZAGG, the same people who make the unscratchable Invisible Shield films for various devices, released Trains, a game not unlike Flight Control, where you must route freight trains, drop off cargo, and avoid collisions.

Flight Control itself recently had an update, and now includes new tropical and aircraft carrier levels. Having lost hours of time to the original level, I was thrilled to have more places to land. (My high score is 103, by the way: Post yours in comments.)

Trains, on the other hand, takes the same approach, only with -- well -- trains. You must tap the switches to create a route for each train through the cargo depot of the appropriate color, and safely off the screen. You can let trains pass through without dropping their cargo, but you won't earn any points.

Of the two, I think I prefer Flight Control, only because there's more flexibility in determining where exactly the airplane goes by drawing a path with your finger. Switching train intersections accomplishes the same goal, but is somehow less satisfying than drawing a flight path freehand.

Trains, though, is good fun. It's on sale for 99 cents until June 15. After that it will be $1.99. Flight Control is also on sale for 99 cents "for a limited time." Both Trains and Flight Control are available from the App Store, and are well worth the money.