If you're planning a big night out, then the first thing you should reach for is your iPhone. In addition to its basic communication functions, by loading it up with the right apps, it can help you with all aspects of entertainment planning.
It will not only help you round up your mates, but also assist in the complicated matter of finding a mutually agreeable time and date for everyone. It can also help find you somewhere to go and something to do, whether you're looking for a huge night out, something a little more sedate or are just happy to go with the flow and see where you end up.
Arranging to meet up
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The first thing you need for the ultimate night out is some people - ideally ones that you know and like. You could, of course, jump straight into the phone app and start calling, but that all feels a little bit 1990s. It's also not exactly time efficient - you'll have to spend a good five minutes per call on idle chat before you can jump to the actual purpose you're ringing for.
Head over to Messages instead and you can tap out your enquiry and dispense with the pleasantries. Even better, you can send group messages so you can organise a whole bunch of people in one go - and if they're all using iMessage, the texts will be free.
Of course, if you're still friends with people that don't have iPhones, iMessage won't work and it will fall back to text message. Instead, try the cross-handset WhatsApp Messenger (69p). This app lets you send free messages between iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 and even Nokia handsets. What's more, as well as sharing plain old text, you can send your location, which makes meeting up with people that are lost much easier.
If you're only dealing with a couple of people, then keeping track of who's coming is pretty simple - but add more than five and it soon becomes unmanageable. Facebook's Event function makes it easy to keep tabs on who's coming and who's a loser.
While there isn't a way to create a new event in the Facebook (Free) app, if you jump over to Safari you can set one up there. Once that's done, you can go retreat back to the safety of app land and see how popular (or not) your event is as the RSVPs flood in. Of course, this is only an option if all the people you're planning on inviting are on Facebook.
Unfortunately, everyone has a friend that's morally opposed to Facebook and refuses to open an account, and occasionally you have to arrange to meet them. For times like these, calendar requests are the solution. Unless your iPhone calendar account is hosted on Microsoft Exchange, however, you won't be able to send them.
But there is, of course, a third-party app solution, this time in the form of iNvite (Free). Simply fill in the details of the event as you would a normal calendar entry, and then add the email address of each recipient. They can then reply with a yay or nay, and it's easy to see who hasn't responded yet.
In addition to deciding who you want to meet up with, you need to settle on when. Managing just your own diary can be problematic enough, but once you add in other people's erratic schedules, nailing it down to a time and date can be nigh-on impossible.
This is where Doodle for iPhone (£1.99) steps in. It's a free web service designed to make finding a convenient time to meet up really simple. The app is a little on the pricey side, but it's very slick and easy to use. Give the event a name, fill in the details and choose a range of dates and times. Participants can then vote on their preferred one and you can schedule the event safe in the knowledge you took on everyone's input before ignoring it and picking the best time for you.
Finding somewhere to go
You've worked out who's coming and what time everyone needs to get there - the next step is to pick what to do. Whatever it is you fancy, the iPhone has an app (or three) to help you narrow down your choices, whether it's catching a movie, having a meal, seeing the newest bands or even finding new things you've never thought of doing before.
If you're looking for a bite to eat, then the two big players are OpenTable (Free) and toptable (Free). They both let you find restaurants nearby and book a table straight from the app. If you think the results look startlingly similar, then it's because UK-based toptable was purchased by US-owned OpenTable a couple of years ago.
However, there's one very good reason to choose toptable, apart from good ol' British pride - the offers. If you're on the lookout for a deal, hit the Offers tab and you can browse discounts available and put the saving towards a second bottle of Prosecco.
However, if your idea of a three-course meal is a popcorn starter, hotdogs, and pick and mix for pudding washed down with a cup of ice and a dash of Coke, then Flixster (Free) is your ideal date for the evening. It will give you the low down on the latest Hollywood blockbusters and where they're showing nearby, so you can whittle down the choices.
And don't forget if you're an Orange customer, and there's a W in the day of the week, to download the Orange Wednesdays (Free) app. This will get you two-for-one cinema tickets, so you can look like you're splashing out and treating someone when it really isn't costing you any extra.
If live music is more your sort of thing, then SongKick (Free) is the go-to app. It'll keep you up to date on when your favourite artists are touring, and the really clever bit is that it scans your music library so it knows what you like (even your guilty secrets). It'll show you an upcoming lists of gigs nearby and you can then add them to your list and even book tickets.
If you'd rather throw some shapes on the dance floor instead, while an overpaid celebrity hits the play button on a playlist on their iPhone, the confusingly concatenated Clubbillboard (Free) is a club rep in app form. You can browse the featured club nights or drill down by date or location to find the perfect party.
All of the options so far are fine if you know exactly what you want to do, but if you're looking for more of a serendipitous experience, then Layar (Free) will show you what's around you right now, with an added drop of Minority Report. By using the compass and GPS in your iPhone, Layar will overlay information on the camera view, giving you your own personal heads-up display. It's a bit like being the Terminator, except without the total disregard for the sanctity of human life.
You can choose different layers (do you see what they did there?) of information, covering everything from restaurants to Tube stations.