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coolest iphone apps

iPhone apps and sites for watching movies and TV shows online are few and far between, mainly because of the iPhone's lack of flash support. That said, if you find yourself with a WiFi connection, an iPhone, and some time to kill, there are a few interesting choices out there that will allow you to watch free legal videos, movies, documentaries and TV shows.

The fact that there is no flash support opens up the world of videos to black and white films, documentaries, indy films, shorts, and old TV shows that are worth watching in retrospect.

The following list of some of the best free apps and sites for iphone shows you how to get started if you want to enter a realm of online viewing you may not have seen before.

Hollywood Pocket

Hollywood Pocket doesn't have the biggest selection of films to choose from, but the video quality is excellent and it's 100% legal since all of the films are public domain. Hollywood Pocket is one of the few legal sites that offers full length feature films for iPhone users.

Visit the site from your iPhone Safari browser, and you can choose from the list of categories: News, Action, Comedy, Science Fiction/Horror, Drama and Documentaries.

The films are in Quicktime format so you can pause, fast-forward and rewind as you watch.

So if you're a Fred Astaire fan, or feel like watching a documentary about Marilyn Monroe, or the 1960s flick Horror Hotel, which has been compared to the cult classic, Psycho, head over to Hollywood Pocket and start watching.

Watching a movie on Hollywood Pocket has the added bonus of watching something less mainstream, and gives you the opportunity to see some golden oldies you might never have heard of otherwise.

best free apps for iphone

B-Movies

B-Movies [iTunes link], a free app available in the iTunes App Store, is crammed with a huge variety of free, legal movies and shows to watch.

With a list of categories including Animation, Technology, Movies, Religion, Sports and Vlogs, there is something for everyone at B-Movies.

Each video is accompanied by a short synopsis, and a rating given by viewers.

You can find entire seasons' worth of some obscure older TV shows that might be of interest to watch just out of morbid curiosity, including an episode of Net Cafe, from the mid nineties about hackers.

The app allows you to bookmark your favourite videos, to search the collections for videos to watch, and to choose from Low, Medium and High Quality videos.

best free apps for iphone

Joost

The free iPhone app Joost [iTunes link] is another veritable goldmine for obscure films, documentaries and TV shows, with a huge variety from black and white Betty Boop cartoons to celebrity gossip, from Bridezilla episodes to extreme sports documentaries.

You can browse videos by category, browse all the popular videos, or the Joost picks. You can also search the Joost iPhone app for videos you want to watch.

The three main categories on Joost are Film, Music and Shows, which are further divided into Action, Animation, Classics, Comedy, Horror and Independent - to name a few. The Film category is however limited to Clips, Trailers and Documentaries, whereas the videos available under Shows seem endless.

best free apps for iphone

Daily Motion

The video sharing website Daily Motion [iTunes link] has an official app available in the iTunes App Store, making it easy to navigate through their videos.

Daily Motion is a great source for short films and documentaries. You can browse by category or by searching for the video you want to watch. Daily Motion also has integrated social media sharing, allowing you to share videos with your friends via email, Facebook and Twitter.

Signing up for a free account gives you the added ability to rate videos, to subscribe to channels and add videos to your favourites.

coolest iphone apps

Dropbox

If none of these options appeal to you, there is one way to stream movies you already have on your computer, using Dropbox. Simply add the movie file to your Dropbox folder, and allow it to sync. Once the film has been uploaded to your Dropbox account, open up your Dropbox iPhone app [iTunes link] and navigate to the film, and you'll be watching it from anywhere in no time.

Videos played through the Dropbox iPhone app must be in .mov, .mp4 or .mv4 format.

Failing all else, videos on mobile-optimized TV channel websites like Comedy Central can be played on the iPhone, so while you can't watch an entire episode of a TV show, you can at least watch your favourite clips from shows like South Park or The Daily Show with John Stewart.

What apps or sites do you use to watch movies online on your iPhone? Let us know in the comments.