Recommended iPhone freeware

Based on experiences with an iPhone 3Gs.  Includes some crippleware and trialware, but nothing too annoying.

Strongly recommended:

• Dragon Dictation - a must-have voice-to-text program.  Wish it was a little more integrated into the OS the way Android's voice-to-text is.
• Siri - works really well for quickly finding things around you.  I can see this as critical for very busy people.
• iMailG - a Gmail front-end that works really well.
• Google Phone - text message for free when you have a net connection, get your own forwarding phone line, and other Google services
• Gorillacam - a must-have photo program with all sorts of tweaks and boosts, including taking 3 pictures at a time, camera stabilization
• Wifi photo - get pictures and videos off your phone over a network connection quickly and easily.  Big help if you didn't install iPhoto.
• TuneIn Radio - has the best ratings of anything on the App Store, even above Angry Birds.
• Soundhound - great for finding out what artist is playing on the radio around you
• WavePad - the audio is TERRIBLE on the default speaker unless you turn it way down in options, but very good on headphones.  Has a variety of basic audio-editing capabilities including cut, echo, voice-triggering, and more.  Doesn't save to a compressed format, but great quality and feature-rich.
• Sleep Machine - simple but effective sleep assistance
• Mint - won't sync correctly with some banks, but still great.
• Motionize - just a silly video/photo toy, but I've had a ton of fun playing with it
• Photosynth - creates amazing panoramas, but you've got to sign up for Microsoft's service in order to save them in a panoramic format off the phone.
• PS Express - great little picture toy for tweaking images
• Glympse - tired of trying to tell someone where you are or want to keep track of someone else?  This service transmits your location to a person of your choice or a duration of your choice.
• PDFReaderLite - not oustanding, but the best file viewer program if you want to read your PDFs and other documents on your phone.
• Wuala - great backup service and tool
• Dropbox - similar to Wuala, with less space but more convenience

Also good:

• Alarmed - outstanding, but can't use a regular alarm when the phone is on silent like the default timer.
• TouchMouse (free) and Mobile Mouse (not free) - lets you use your iPhone as a touchpad for a computer or media center.
• TeamViewer - a remote desktop client with a long list of uses.
• Speed Test - check your internet connection speeds.  Very helpful to compare different wifi spots.
• Opera Mini - simple, easy to use, and a little smarter than other browsers.  Sadly it runs a bit slower, too.
• Mercury - lots of tweaks and improvements on Safari, including password protection, privacy mode, tabs, skins, and more.  Some restrictions too for the free version, but not too bad.
• The Weather Channel - their Android program sucked, but the iPhone one is nice.  Wish they wouldn't use national weather service for severe weather.  Barely readable.
• Flight-Light - my flashlight program of choice.  Either on or blinking -- simple.
• AroundMe / Localscope - prefer these to Google Places.  One of them isn't free anymore, not sure which.
• SpyVid - important if you ever end up in a situation where you want to record someone or something unnoticed.
• Gloop Free - kill about 45 minutes with this cool (tiny!) program.  Sort of interactive screensaver.
• Indeed job search - the best job search program I've found so far
• Errands - great todolist program, but doesn't save to any servers or back up to anything
• CraigsPro - surprisingly feature-rich craigslist tool.
• RPG Roller - good for table-top games like D&D
• Stellarium - if you've ever wondered what's above you, this program will tell you in an altered reality format.  Just point it up at the sky and watch.

Games:

• Physics Box - simple and fun
• Overkill - not outstanding (in fact pretty hard), but if really bored, you can kill several hours
• BTD4 Lite - so far the only "tower" game I've found for iPhone, its just as good as the online flash version
• Pictoral - imaginative, interesting, and Challenger.  Save for the fact that its only visual, all the other brain teaser programs suck compared to this.
• Beyond Ynth - a cool puzzle program, but anything past initial levels was genuinely difficult.