Last updated February 8, 2012
This page lists Montreal-related iPhone/iPod apps with a bit of description and information for each one.
If you would like your pay app reviewed on this page, you can select "Gift this app" from the little drop-down arrow next to the price, and send it to montrealcom@gmail.com. Please explain in the "personal message" field what your connection is with the app and briefly describe what it does. But remember, this page only reviews apps with significant Montreal-specific content or usefulness.
A list of iPad apps is coming, but unless someone gifts me the hardware to test them, it will be largely theoretical.
Connectivity
Île sans fil
Locate free wi-fi signal hotspots around town. But remember to create a free account with Île sans fil first so you can connect. FREE.
Transit and commute
STM
Montreal's transit commission has launched its own app with transit information including Bixi and Communauto locations, and promising even to send alerts in cases of metro outages. FREE.
MTL mobile
Includes schedules for the STM, AMT, RTL and STL, and stores schedules offline so you can check even if you're not connected. $2.99.
Montreal metro map
Static metro map with ads for the full version and other apps. FREE.
MyMontreal
App for looking up bus times and offers a metro map. More features are promised. FREE.
AMT mobile
Schedules for the Montreal-area commuter train system. 99 cents.
Trafficnet
Updated indications of traffic problems on highways in several Canadian cities. FREE.
iPap?
Application to check for paid-up parking spaces you can use. iPhone only. FREE.
STL Synchro
Bus times for the Laval transit system. FREE.
Taxi Québec
Lists taxi services throughout Quebec. Although listed as compatible with iPod Touch it's basically a phone dialer, so is only useful on the phone. FREE.
Tourism and culture info
Mont-Royal is an app by Les Amis du Mont-Royal about Mount Royal, its features and points of interest. The notes say "The application must be used on the Mount Royal. It is not meant to operate in your home or in another country" so clearly it's for the iPhone only, not the iPod. French only, although an English version is promised. FREE.
Montreal Museums displays local museums by name or proximity, suggests what's hot, proposes cultural walks, and allows you to select permanent or temporary exhibits. Very nicely done. FREE.
McCord Museum functions as a guide to the history museum on Sherbrooke Street. Flip between English and French. FREE. The museum has another app called Musée Urbain that lets you see how various locations throughout downtown and Old Montreal looked in archival photos. Also FREE.Poynt is not limited to Montreal, but will use your location to suggest movies, restaurants and other businesses and seems to have a decent database of Montreal information. Nice interface. FREE.
Yelp on the other hand makes you create an account and then, when you confirm your email address on the web, deposits you on Yelp Toronto even if you gave a Montreal postal code. It's another source of consumer and cultural recommendations but with a layer of social media attached. FREE.
Montreal "At A Glance" City Guide
Uses your location to propose nearby sights and services. Works fine in different parts of town. Compares favourably to pay apps offering similar content, has discreet ads at bottom of screen. FREE.
Old Montreal guide
Guide to the museums, attractions, restaurants, shops and bars of Old Montreal. FREE.
Montreal Map and Walking Tours Lite version
As described. iPhone only. FREE.
Queer Montreal
Map app shows six categories of gay-friendly businesses around Montreal, mostly in the Village. English and French. $2.99.
Sports
CBC Hockey
Lots of information about NHL hockey, not just the Canadiens. Live box scores, standings and other data, but also McDonalds ads not shown on the official screenshots. FREE.
iHabs
Schedule and news for the Montreal Canadiens. FREE.
LP Hockey
La Presse's hockey content, game results and so forth. FREE.
Rogers Cup
App for fans of the August tennis event. FREE.
News
LP Mobile
Mobile version of Montreal's daily La Presse In French. Very good interface: headlines, news categories and mobile-formatted news articles. If you can read French you should have this app. FREE.
Journal Métro
Mobile version of the free newspaper Metro available at metro entrances and elsewhere around town. Offers a rather strange option called Spreed which feeds fragments of sentences at fairly high speed onto your screen – worth experiencing but not for everyone. Ads at bottom of screen. In French. FREE.
Journal de Montréal
App for the daily paper. Comments suggest you're better off having the canoe.ca app instead, which gives you more QMI and Quebecor content. Both are in French and are free.
The Gazette
App for Montreal's English-language daily paper.
CBC News
Nicely designed news vehicle with text, on-demand audio and video, local news options. English.
Entertainment
La Vitrine is a cultural calendar that claims to have the most complete entertainment listings, and direct links to buy tickets. In French. FREE.
RestoMontreal restaurant listings, using maps to locate the various establishments rated. FREE.
Party@Montreal night life app. FREE.
Wenite proposes nightlife options, crowdsourcing venues by general ambiance, male/female radio, seduction potential and more. Also offers free specials and the like via your screen. FREE.
Urbania is an app from the magazine of the same name, offering a mixture of video content, map-tagged information, and TV listings (one of the sponsors is TV5). You're invited to create an account and contribute content of your own. $1.99.
bombe.tv
Video clips, photos and blog entries covering Quebec vedettes and comic incidents. FREE.
Tou.tv
Radio-Canada TV app lets you catch up on shows you like and easily chat about them on social networks. French. FREE.
NFB Films
Over a thousand National Film Board films are available via this player. FREE.
Piknic Electronik's app gives you a complete schedule for the summer season of the Sunday afternoon island raves. FREE.
Cinemas Guzzo
Show times for all the films at the Guzzo chain. FREE.
Radio
Montreal Radios Free
Gathers together 20 radio streams from Montreal radio stations, although the interface obliges you to shake the device so a random station shows up. The pay version doesn't improve on this.
Sélection radio du Québec
Player for Quebec radio stations. The pay version lets you continue to stream the radio while using other apps. FREE.
CBC Radio
CBC content live or on demand, choose your city. English. FREE.
Radio-Canada
Radio-Canada content, live or on demand. French. FREE.
Virgin Radio
Mobile player for Virgin Radio station. FREE.
Radio-Classique
Classical music station 24/7. French commentary. FREE.
CJLO app lets you stream Concordia University's radio station. FREE.
92.5 The Beat
An English-language mainstream radio station in Montreal.
Astral Radio
More English-language mainstream radio.
Weather
Atmosphérique
Gets its data from Environment Canada and will display it in English or French, Fahrenheit, Celsius or Kelvin. Will display information from any Environment Canada location. Despite being free, there are no ads. Nicely done. FREE. The same people offer Atmosphérique Pro at $1.99 with additional features like weather alerts and warnings, historical weather data, and more detail generally.
Banking
Guichetier
Locates ATMs in the Montreal area. FREE.
BMO finder
Finds Bank of Montreal (BMO) services. FREE.
Shopping
Poynt and Yelp, both listed above under Tourism, include lots of shopping recommendations and information. FREE.
Rockland gives you an index of what's available at Rockland Shopping Centre. FREE.
Holt Renfrew lets you page through products and events at specific branches of one of Canada's higher-end classic department stores. FREE.
Education
Université de Montréal helps students stay in touch with news, information and maps. FREE.
mDawson
Information about Dawson College in Montreal – services, maps, class cancellations. FREE.
Bixi
Bixi is Montreal's public bike-sharing program which closes at the end of November and reopens in May. Bixi has spawned a mobile information category all by itself.
Bixou Lite
Shows how many Bixi bikes are available and how many slots are open, in real time, using your location to focus in on nearby docks. The lite version has all the info you need and with no ads. FREE.
Spotcycle, BixMe
Much the same idea: where are the Bixi docks and how many bikes are available. FREE.
iFindBikes is supposed to locate available bikes for you not only on Bixi, but on other city bike systems worldwide. FREE.
Festivals and events
Apps connected with specific festivals and events in Montreal. This section will change seasonally as apps are updated for the new year.
2012 Nuit Blanche à Montréal is a guide to the all-night cultural extravaganza that's the culminating event of the Montreal High Lights festival. In 2012 the Nuit Blanche is on February 25. The app has good features: categories, maps, option to create your own itinerary, proximity radar, and hooks to social media. Displays either English or French according to the language your device is using. FREE.