With the release of the iPhone 3Gs, Apple included a digital compass application. What allows the compass to work is that the iPhone can detect magnetic fields. By using this magnetic detector, developer Gary Fung was able to create iMetal. He claims that iMetal is the first and best metal detector for the iPhone.

To use the app, you first calibrate your device by shaking it back and forth away from anything metal. Once calibrated, you simply place the iPhone over different objects. If the object is metal the sidebars will rise in relation to how magnetic the object is. If the object is large or very magnetic, the iPhone will vibrate and an alarm will sound.

That is all there is to this app. It is super easy to use and does exactly what it says. The only other features this app includes are just settings. By clicking on the “i” in the bottom right corner you can adjust the volume of the app or turn vibrate and sounds on or off.

The interface for this app is clean and simple. The side bars rise in relation to signal strength, making the app easy to pick up and understand.

For the most part this app worked great, but it is not very powerful. The iPhone has to be right up against the metal object for it to be able to detect it. Occasionally I would move the iPhone over something that I was pretty sure was metal, but the side bars would not move at all. This was rare though, 99 percent of the time it worked perfectly.

The only real problem I have with this app is the practicality. How often will the average iPhone user need to know what is metal and what is not? I am sure there is someone out there that has been looking for something like this, but I cannot think of a single practical use for it. It is not like you are going to head down to the beach or park with your iPhone to try and find coins or jewelry. And it is not powerful enough to find hidden treasure to dig up.

So all in all, if you are thinking right now, I have the perfect use for a weak metal detector you should pick this up. If you want to show your friends that your iPhone 3Gs can detect metal, this is the app to get. For everyone else, there is no real reason to own this.