What happened? (Credit: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET) Some had Lycra-bathed women. Some had frantic presenters. Some had brochures, samples, salespeople, three-point shot competitions, and Marilyn Monroe. But there was (at least) one booth at CES that appeared to have precisely nothing. Just nothing. Empty chairs, empty shelves, a blank TV screen, no salespeople, no dancing girls. This was the booth belonging to Lanyuan Electronics Technology, which appears to be a China-based company that sells very fine cables. Here, there were no cables to be seen. There were no persuasions to be had. There was just an empty space. More Technically Incorrect Megan Fox struggles with Twitter Scientist: Hawking is 'brain in a vat' $100 to Facebook message Mark Zuckerberg? Bargain! 5 unanswered questions from CES Apple's Schiller: A cheaper iPhone? Um, no Naturally, I contacted Lanyuan Electronics Technology's reseller in the U.S. to see what might have happened. Tom Ren told me: "I just called the Lanyuan people in China (3 a.m. now) and they are surprised why no one showed up at the booth -- they had paid a lot of money for the booth. They have sent three people to man the booth. They must have emergencies." Perhaps someone clean forgot. Perhaps they thought it was next week. Perhaps they simply decided to do their business elsewhere. One hopes, of course, that nothing untoward occurred. But it was a strange sight. Among all the frantic excitement, posing, pushing, pulling, and selling, here was an oasis of nothingness. It wasn't the only one. Colleagues told me that they, too, witnessed the strange sight of unoccupied booths, left there to merely advertise a name -- a name that offered no promise of a future, not even of a present.

Got a new iPhone? Get some great apps to put on it.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Are you the proud owner of a new iPhone 5? Or perhaps a slightly used iPhone 4? Heck, maybe you scored an unlocked 3GS on eBay. Whatever the case, you need apps.

Ah, but which ones? Apple’s App Store is home to some 80 gazillion, I believe, and if you’re new to the iOS universe, you may have some trouble separating the app wheat from the app chaff.

Have no fear. I’ve rounded up 10 of my very favorite iPhone apps. They’re not all new, mind you, but they’re definitely indispensable — and most of them won’t cost you a penny.

Of course, this is just one man’s opinion. What apps would you recommend for a new iPhone user? Did I leave out some of your favorites? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

What happened? (Credit: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET) Some had Lycra-bathed women. Some had frantic presenters. Some had brochures, samples, salespeople, three-point shot competitions, and Marilyn Monroe. But there was (at least) one booth at CES that appeared to have precisely nothing. Just nothing. Empty chairs, empty shelves, a blank TV screen, no salespeople, no dancing girls. This was the booth belonging to Lanyuan Electronics Technology, which appears to be a China-based company that sells very fine cables. Here, there were no cables to be seen. There were no persuasions to be had. There was just an empty space. More Technically Incorrect Megan Fox struggles with Twitter Scientist: Hawking is 'brain in a vat' $100 to Facebook message Mark Zuckerberg? Bargain! 5 unanswered questions from CES Apple's Schiller: A cheaper iPhone? Um, no Naturally, I contacted Lanyuan Electronics Technology's reseller in the U.S. to see what might have happened. Tom Ren told me: "I just called the Lanyuan people in China (3 a.m. now) and they are surprised why no one showed up at the booth -- they had paid a lot of money for the booth. They have sent three people to man the booth. They must have emergencies." Perhaps someone clean forgot. Perhaps they thought it was next week. Perhaps they simply decided to do their business elsewhere. One hopes, of course, that nothing untoward occurred. But it was a strange sight. Among all the frantic excitement, posing, pushing, pulling, and selling, here was an oasis of nothingness. It wasn't the only one. Colleagues told me that they, too, witnessed the strange sight of unoccupied booths, left there to merely advertise a name -- a name that offered no promise of a future, not even of a present.