Genealogy Apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch

I never thought I would say this about a cell phone, but the iPhone my husband gave me for Christmas finally has me enjoying my phone. It makes it so easy to text my daugher, check my email, and snap impromptu photos at any interesting cemetery that I stumble across.

Now that I'm finally beginning to use my iPhone on a regular basis, I've started looking for useful genealogy apps. The iTunes store offers a number of family tree viewers for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), including:

• Shrubs - Dick Eastman just reviewed this interesting genealogy program for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Unlike many of the genealogy apps available for the iPhone, Shrubs is a stand-alone program and can import a GEDCOM file from your desktop genealogy program of choice. View it in iTunes

• FamViewer - Another stand-alone genealogy viewer, FamViewer accepts GEDCOM imports from your desktop genealogy software, as well as from Ancestry.com. View it in iTunes

• GedView - Yet another stand-alone GEDCOM viewer for the iPhone. GedView, by David Knight, offers individual and family views, as well as sources and notes.View it in iTunes

• Reunion for iPhone - As you might expect from the name, this iPhone/iPod Touch app works directly with the Mac OS X genealogy software, Reunion 9, including syncing capabilities. View it in iTunes

• MobileFamilyTree - Designed to work with Synium's MacFamilyTree software, this mobile application for the iPhone and iPod touch lets you view your tree and even make changes to it on the go, and keeps these changes in sync with your MacFamilyTree files. View it in iTunes

Another iPhone / iPod Touch app that genealogists might find useful is FamCam, a free photo sharing application by FamilyLink.