For every new app I download and plan to keep, I usually delete one I’m not using. Let’s call this the LIGO method of app management or Latest In, Garbage Out. The average usage difference between the apps I use daily (5-10) and the remaining apps (50+) is huge. I’m guessing that’s true for most people and won’t change no matter how many apps become available.

(Photo credit: gnta’s photostream)

My obsessive app prioritizing is probably not the norm – I’m sure there are many people who just keep accumulating apps until they reach the 9 screen max. Either way, your organization behavior with apps is most likely very similar to how you manage blog subscriptions, your desktop, people you follow on Twitter, etc.

Let’s not forget about the problems that start to arise when you have too many apps on your iPhone including: slower performance and freezing, too many app updates, low memory, and decreasing battery life (steady improvements to hardware/software may address some of these issues). On the other end, Apple will have to keep hiring more people to try and keep the app store clean. As long as the quality of apps increases and Apple continues to manage the app store effectively, I’m all for the rapid growth. And the rapid growth will continue as long as we keep seeing success stories from the developers themselves who are increasingly starting to reveal sales figures.

I also wonder if Apple should phase out featured apps completely (but keep Top lists) similar to how Twitter hopes to abandon its suggested users list. In the future, I hope to see them make less “App Store breaks 200,000 apps” announcements and more announcements about improvements to the app store. The other major players like Google should also focus on designing a better app marketplace, then maybe people won’t care as much about them always being behind in total number of available apps.

What surprises me is the fact that major brands haven’t really been too aggressive in experimenting with social games and simple, fun apps. Of course that will change soon, but hopefully only if it makes sense for the brand. If they aim to target a younger audience, I think a branded social game can be a very powerful marketing effort based on the success stories we’ve seen so far.

This quote from a recent article in Ad Age sums it up nicely:

While the heavy gamers remain highly serious and addicted to games, we’ve begun to see another emerging, and even larger, market — casual gamers who are into social networking. They visit gaming sites during their lunch break for a shoot-out, for instance, or for a fun break at night or on weekends. This changing demographic is opening a wider opportunity for marketers who should definitely look into gaming as an area of growth potential for communicating their brands.

And two more quote’s from the Three Minds blog:

If customer engagement and social relevance are the new holy grails of marketing then designing for play should be put on the agenda of all marketers.

The fact that gaming is still unexpected is an opportunity to surprise and delight your audience.

Below, I wanted to highlight some of the examples that came to mind since social games/apps and other miscellaneous fun social sites started gaining traction. I’ve included some general usage stats and pointed out what made them social.

OMGPOP

For those unfamiliar with OMGPOP (formally called iminlikewithyou), it has been around for a couple years now and growth isn’t slowing. It can be highly addictive and judging by the chat rooms, it seems to be most popular among teens. Teen or not, I think some of their most popular games such as Draw My Thing and Balloono can appeal to anyone. They’ve made it extremely easy to invite friends to instant matches which is one of my favorite features (no sign-up required).

The stats:

• Balloono has been played over 106 million times which amounts to nearly 3 million hours
• Blockes has been played over over 52 million times which amounts to nearly 2 million hours

What makes it social:

• Private games w/ unique invitation links to invite friends through AIM, Facebook, and Twitter
• Quickly join live multiplayer games, make friends by randomly challenging them
• See which friends are playing after logging in & join their games

JibJab

You’ve probably seen these videos or eCards pop up in your Facebook news feed or at least read about JibJab on TechCrunch. Sure they’re a bit cheesy but there’s no denying people love to create and share these with their closest friends.

The stats:

• 6 million registered users, over 100 million visits/yr (source)
• Gained 1.5 million users through Facebook in 5 months (source)
• 80% of new users are now signing up using Facebook connect

What makes it social:

• Taps into Facebook to remind you of friends’ birthdays for eCards
• Import Facebook photos to easily customize videos to share

Fishville

Plenty has been said about all the very popular Zynga games. I recently decided to give Fishville a try instead of Farmville and Mike Arrington is not lying, it’s very easy to get hooked (which shouldn’t surprise you).

Jason Calicanis has said “they have figured out what’s addictive about social games. And what do we like about playing games? It’s playing games with other people.”

The stats:

• 25 million monthly active users and growing (source)
• Zynga sees revenues of $50 million in 2008 from sales of virtual goods (source)

What makes it social:

• Become neighbors with your Facebook friends playing Fishville (like most Zynga games) plus incentives for helping them out and sending free gifts
• Frequent news feed publishing if user allows it

Parking Wars

I had to include Parking Wars which is probably still the best example of a branded social game to live on Facebook by A&E.

The stats:

• 66,905 monthly active users but declining (down from 110k)
• 400,000 people signed up in the first two months (source)

What makes it social:

• Adding more friends gives you more places to park

Other notable Facebook apps: Pet Society, Scrabble, Mafia Wars, Flixster Movies, Social Interview, Friends Exposed, etc.

I Am T-Pain

The stats:

• Users have created over 10.2 million recordings (source)
• 300,000 downloads after 3 weeks w/ average time spent in app being 66 minutes (source)
• During it’s most popular time period, was receiving 10,000 downloads a day (source)

What makes it social:

• Basic posting to Facebook Wall or Myspace profile
• Demoing sure to get friends wanting to try it themselves

Tap Tap Revenge

There’s no denying Tapulous is leading the way when it comes to social iPhone apps.

The stats:

• Downloaded by 1 out of every 3 iPhone/iTouch owner
• 500,000 paid app downloads, over 6 million users (source)

What makes it social:

• Challenge and battle friends online or real life 2 player mode
• Now including messages, integrated chat, and rich profiles

Other notable iPhone apps: Words with Friends, Foursquare, Live Poker, Who Has The Biggest Brain, VW GTI, Moron Test, etc.

Modern Warfare 2

Gaming consoles made huge improvements several years ago with the most recent generation releases but it’s not until now we are starting to see the next phase of social features.

The stats:

• 7 million copies sold on day one (source), $550 millions in sales first 5 days (source)
• 8 million online players within the first five days (source)

What makes it social:

• Instant online play with logged on friends
• Link your gamertag to Facebook profile

Other notable gaming console/handheld games: Animal Crossing, Halo, and basically any other game with online multiplayer mode.

———————

Most brands probably wouldn’t be creating their own console games like Burger King, but they need to keep in mind how hard it is to reach hardcore gamers. Some of my old work friends spend most of their spare time playing games like Modern Warfare.

Social gaming sites and Facebook apps are threatening multiplayer sites like Big Fish Games, Pogo, Addicting Games, Candy Stand, and Yahoo! Games and casual games in general. I’ve also been wondering why peer-to-peer iPhone games over Bluetooth have not really taken off (some examples).

For much more in-depth and daily news only on social gaming, definitely check out the Inside Social Games blog.

Yes, that’s sarcasm in the title. Here’s the latest: over 85,000 iPhone apps available, 10,000 apps for Android devices, 80 for Palm, and who knows how many for BlackBerry (update: someone heard me, it’s 2,500 apps).

As of right now, there isn’t a Brands category in any of these app stores and I don’t foresee that ever happening (wouldn’t really make sense anyway). As more big brands release mobile apps, it’s becoming harder to keep track of who is doing what.

So I created a Google spreadsheet to try and organize all these apps in one place. I’ve decided to only focus on the iPhone for now, but should be moving on to the rest soon if there is interest. I’m also probably missing a lot of apps right now but this will, of course, be an ongoing (and hopefully collaborative) effort.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GOOGLE SPREADSHEET

Some trends

1. Out of the 200+ apps listed so far, only about 15 have an average rating of 4 stars or better
2. AndroLib shows 64% of all Android apps are rated 4 stars or better. Are branded apps in general worse or just on the iPhone? As soon as I build the Android list, we should have a better idea
3. In general, it’s pretty obvious the total number of ratings should be a good indicator of the apps overall popularity (not downloads)
4. The biggest category by far is Lifestyle, News being the second
5. Brands are consistently improving apps because I rarely noticed an average overall rating that was lower than the latest version’s rating
6. Not surprisingly, free dominates branded apps (about 90%)
7. Top 5 most rated apps: Facebook, Zippo, Barclaycard, Weather Channel, and Google

Update: Steve Smith from MediaPost’s Mobile Insider wrote a great article titled Your Brand App Hit Parade that references my spreadsheet. Make sure to check it out if you didn’t come from there.

Please let me know what branded apps are missing by using this form or send me a reply on Twitter @jsmakr with the brand/app name.

Check it out and maybe create a list of your own. If you do, please send me the link or consider tagging it with the hashtag #mysuggested. It doesn’t matter what day you do it.

In no particular order:

@dberkowitz – Senior Dir, Emerging Media & Innovation at 360i
@Malbonnington – Managing Partner @BBHLabs
@paulisakson – Head of Strategy at space150
@spikejones – Chief Firestarter at Brains on Fire
@bogusky – Chairman of CP+B
@flytip – VP, Executive Creative Director at R/GA
@workforfood – Associate Creative Director at R/GA
@Shivsingh – VP & Global Social Media Lead at Razorfish
@Steffan1 – Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Euro RSCG Chicago
@bud_caddell – Strategist at Undercurrent
@mikearauz – Strategist at Undercurrent
@colindrummond – Cultural + Business Insights Dept at CP+B
@eyecube – Global Director, Account Management at Taylor PR
@lynneluvah – Director, Social Media at FastCompany.com but will soon be Senior VP Social Media, The Advertising Research Foundation
@IanSohn – SVP, Marketing and 360° Digital Influence at Ogilvy PR
@bastholm – Chief Digital Creative Officer at Ogilvy
@heyitsnoah – Head of Planning and Strategy, The Barbarian Group
@faris – EVP Chief Technology Strategist at McCann Erickson
@scottfrog – Chief Executive of StrawberryFrog
@awolk – Blogger, Creative Strategist, Consultant
@Armano – Senior Partner at Dachis Group
@jowyang – Partner, Altimeter Group
@dmklee – Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Digital Arts
@its_amber – Dir of Digital Strategy, Naked Communications
@rachelpasqua – Dir of Strategy, Emerging Technologies at iCrossing

Just a handful of the agency accounts that I currently follow and find very interesting:

@BBHLabs, @Wexley, @RGA, @BrainsOnFire, @AgencyNil, @razorfishee, @bigspaceship, @firstborn_nyc, @NakedNY, @ogilvydigital, @hillholliday, @booneoakley, @modernista, and of course where I currently freelance @mslworldwide

And don’t forget about:

@AdweekDotCom, @tweetfreakblog, @adage, and @agencyspy

I haven’t been a huge fan of Follow Friday lately because 140 characters simply isn’t enough. Many people send out several tweets in a row with just @usernames – who actually clicks through to each? In a blog post, you have the freedom to include as much info as you want and you can update it as often as you want as things change.

.

Cairo

• By far, most people carry Nokia but the latest models are rare.
• Most people are on prepaid accounts: data usage is charged per KB and texts are charged per sent/received instead of having a monthly allowance so people are overall careful with their usage.
• I used local provider Mobinil while there – 3G coverage was widely available and speeds were great (even around the pyramids).
• The iPhone is available on two local carriers (with MMS support) but considered very expensive.
• Somehow even though Egypt is still behind on widely available and affordable broadband internet access, most people are on Facebook and actively using it (mainly through mobile access). Minimal Twitter use as far as I could tell.

Istanbul

• Same as Cairo: saw mostly Nokia handsets being carried, a majority of which are Nseries devices.
• I used local provider Vodafone Turkey and got ZERO 3G coverage the entire week (even though customer support told me to make sure I turned on 3G in the settings during activation). This was around the entire city and even some areas outside of city center.
• The iPhone also available in Turkey on two carriers but along with BlackBerry’s not nearly as commonly used as here in the U.S.
• Staying in a hostel, it was interesting to see everyone accessing Facebook & Gmail during downtime via laptops and sometimes their phone on the hostel’s WiFi.

Other Tips

If you have a GSM phone, travel frequently, and like to stay connected I highly recommend you unlock your device and use local carries like I did. Besides the iPhone, I believe most carriers will help you unlock a phone before you travel. The fact that prepaid accounts are the norm here and in some foreign cities makes it very easy to walk into any major carrier’s store once you arrive with your passport and within 10 minutes you have a newly activated SIM card. And you will avoid being charged “affordable” international roaming charges. When possible, just use Skype to make much cheaper international calls back home over WiFi (or 3G with some extra work on the iPhone).

I honestly don’t see the iPhone being a dominant device in Egypt and think it will take a while before it’s big in Turkey. This recent Fast Company article highlights Nokia’s efforts on how they plan to remain a leader in these global markets. What I witnessed in Cairo and Istanbul verified what I have always been hearing and reading about when it comes to their global dominance outside of the U.S.

Before you read further, watch the demo video if you haven’t yet:

Download it here (iTunes link). I personally paid for a few similar apps a while back and have since removed them because I found them confusing and they really didn’t help me easily answer the big question, “What is a new drink I can order or make instead of the usual?” I’m pretty sure almost anybody that drinks and who isn’t a bartender has this problem.

Drinkspiration does a better job at helping you answer that question and at the same time it went above and beyond by adding several other social and location-based features which really sets it apart.

The number one complaint we’ve been seeing lately from developers is the challenge of app exposure now that it’s very crowded in every category. Until there are changes made, the most obvious answer to that question is to create something worthwhile for the user with unique features that are worth talking about. Of course that’s easier said than done.

What Drinkspiration does right…

1. Useful functionality

This app solves that common problem among drinkers in several different ways. Some features also leverage the iPhone’s built-in GPS and other available API’s. The different options that are presented allow you to get drink suggestions based on things like your location, desired taste/color of the drink, the time of day, the weather, liquor type, glass type, and even the type of bar vibe.

They also included two other unique options: see what other people are ordering in real-time across the world (I am 99% sure they got this idea from the popular Ocarina app but there is no harm in that) & recommend a drink by background volume (my favorite one that worked well when I tested it).

2. Well designed user interface

A must IMO for any iPhone app to be taken seriously.

3. Social network optimized

Linking to Twitter and Facebook worked as expected (except it got my location wrong but I don’t think that’s Absolut’s fault). One small change I would make: the Facebook status should also be updated so it says “I just had an Old Vic” like it does on Twitter or else your friends will be probably be confused.

I do like how they link all updates to absolutdrinks.com, the online version of the app where you can search, browse, and find more tips on how to mix the drinks.

If only they would have figured out a way to hook up with the already popular Foursquare app, that would have put the app over the top.

4. Good app name

Drinking + finding the inspiration to try something new = Drinkspiration.

5. Free download

There might be a few other exceptions but for the most part, people won’t bother paying for a clearly branded app. One of the exceptions might be paying for subscription based apps from magazines or newspapers that will have frequently updated content (and most likely replace a paper subscription).

Other Thoughts

Some of the early reviews for Drinkspiration on iTunes aren’t so great but it looks like they are mainly from people who are pointing out some of the bugs that Absolut will likely fix with future versions. I did notice it crashed on me a few times but that’s usually the case with a lot of the new and complex apps I try these days. Besides the iTunes store, the mentions on Twitter for Drinkspiration have been very good.

I imagine that Absolut will create the same app for Android, Palm and maybe even BlackBerry sometime in the near future (Update: already plans to release an Android version as this article points out). They created an app that people will likely show off to friends at the bar which will lead to more downloads. There is a huge opportunity for a major beer company to create something similar for the beer category. I’m also wondering since Bluetooth enabled accessories will be a huge part of the iPhone market very soon if it would be possible for Absolut to develop an iPhone breathalyzer which would allow you to blow into it and display your blood alcohol level within the app.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any other recent examples of branded apps which you thought were well-done. Some others that come to mind right now are Dunkin Donut’s Dunkin Run, Oakley’s Surf Report, Charmin’s sponsored SitorSquat and Kraft’s iFood.

I wanted to highlight some of the advertising efforts that have gotten attention recently because of their creative use of technology. Video games, bands, major brands, and ad agencies themselves are all coming up with new ways to get attention online while typically leveraging the most popular social networks.

I placed the following examples into 4 categories: Social Media, Mobile, Interactive, and one honorable mention under Augmented Reality. Click on each example to check it out.

Social Media

The Protoype Experience

Prototype is a new game coming out (from Activision) on XBOX 360, PS3, and Windows. Sign in using your Facebook account, wait for it to load, and sit back and enjoy the game preview that’s customized with some of your Facebook data. It’s being described as the coolest use of Facebook Connect so far.

TRVSDJAM Mixtape

Simply connect using your Twitter account, post the auto-generated message with the #trvsdjam hashtag, and you get to download the new mixtape free of charge. Coldplay also recently released a free live album, but instead of a tweet, they just wanted your email address. What’s important to notice is how quickly good deals (especially free) have begun to spread now. Before it was mainly through forums, email, and instant messages, but now social networks are increasingly becoming the way most people share deals online.

It shouldn’t surprise you that this resulted in tons of links on Twitter and the hashtag #trvsdjam showing up in the trending topics for several hours. This also reminded me of another recent effort when Crank tried to take over your Facebook status. Advertisers have to be careful with this approach. Unless there is enough value in it for the consumer, the backlash against a campaign being considered spam can be brutal with the online crowd.

BooneOakley YouTube Home Page

Although this example is not advertising a product or service, it’s a genius way of an agency being creative with their own online home. Plenty has been said about this already but it’s a must see if you have not come across it yet. This is my new favorite agency website at the moment with a close second being Wexley School for Girls.

Quicksilver’s The Spot

I think they got this idea from the Honda Insight Let It Shine video on Vimeo, but that’s not important. This Quicksilver video got my attention (for long enough) to see that it ends with a skateboard being thrown at the screen. The shattering glass effect then shakes the browser window a few times which I had never seen before. I’ll take a shaking browser window over an auto-maximizing one any day.

Old Navy Supermodelquins

These Old Navy Twitter accounts might have been setup a while ago but I found out about them only after recently attending the Crispin Porter + Bogusky Digital Peepshow here in NY. Instead of just creating a general Old Navy Twitter account to push out deals and news, CP+B decided to take a different approach and created several accounts for the fictional store mannequins that are also featured in the latest TV ads. During the presentation, they mentioned Alex Bogusky does most of the tweeting for these accounts himself which I thought was very interesting :) I’m now following all of them, it’s like a comedic drama that takes place in my Twitter stream.

So lots of creative stuff being done with Twitter and Facebook. I don’t think that will slow down anytime soon since these are the two social networks where people spend the most amount of time right now. The introduction of Facebook Connect and Twitter OAuth has made it possible for digital agencies and brand marketers to create experiences like these instead of just the usual fan page or brand account.

Mobile

Digital iPhone controlled Ads

Although this idea is not something completely new, it’s the first I’ve seen with the iPhone. I don’t think many people will take the time to engage with these ads unless there is something in it for them (coupon, exclusive preview of product, etc). The linked article mentions “digital outdoor” but the ideal location for these types of ads will be indoor shopping malls. CBS has partnered with Westfield Shopping Centers so you should start to see these pop up soon at your local shopping mall.

One example of something similar to this was done as part of a campaign for NikeID in Times Square as Richard Ting, Executive Creative Director at R/GA pointed out to me. It also shouldn’t be long before more events and conferences create these types of setups allow people to play games or interact with live product demos.

Nissan Cube Accessorizer

Nissan created this iPhone app which lets you customize and build your own Nissan Cube. Essentially the same thing you could do online but now on your iPhone. What the app is missing is a way to share your customized Cube with friends or through Facebook once it’s customized. There isn’t even a way to save your car to bring in to a local dealer and order the exact configuration. Unfortunately, no matter how I customized it, I still couldn’t get it to even look somewhat decent. iTunes direct link is here.

Gillette uArt

I wouldn’t consider this a cool app but I wanted to mention it anyway. I downloaded the new Gillette iPhone app uArt because I thought it would be fun to see what I’d look like with different beards. I tried it out and within seconds found the app was a huge disappointment. A decent idea but the execution is terrible.

But I give Gillette credit for the recent How to Shave Your Groin video they put on YouTube that is already approaching close to a million views. Gillette is clearly putting some money toward unconventional marketing methods online and in mobile, but they need to work on the mobile part.

Overall, I had a lot of trouble finding good examples of branded iPhone apps, even with 50,000 in the store now. I do like the fact that more apps are starting to include Facebook/Twitter sharing options. The AP Mobile News app recently added this to their latest release so I can now use Facebook Connect and my Twitter account to share articles in less than 3 seconds.

Interactive

GTI Project

Although this VW site isn’t targeted toward the U.S. market, I still enjoyed this simple game because I am a car enthusiast and I’m always interested in anything VW/Audi related (I currently drive a Honda but have owned a VW & Audi). There is a leaderboard so if you’re competitive, it could suck you in until your time gets better and better.

There are probably a ton of other cool interactive sites that were just released, but this is just one that I recently came across after seeing a link to it on Twitter.

Augmented Reality

USPS Virtual Box Simulator

This was created by AKQA for their client, the United States Postal Service. It’s being described as one of the first practical uses of this technology. The first example using this technology that I came across was GE’s SmartGrid not too long ago which I thought was pretty amazing. I’m looking forward to seeing what else this can be used for like this video I found on YouTube.

Update: I came across a great blog post with 10 more great examples of augmented reality being used in recent campaigns.

Coming Soon

At the Digital Peepshow, Crispin Porter + Bogusky gave attendees a preview of a Facebook app they have been developing for their client Coke Zero. They partnered with the University of Illinois to license face recognition technology to create an app called the Facebook Profiler. The Facebook Profiler will analyze your photos and then find your look-alikes on Facebook (to promote Coke Zero tasting just like regular Coke). Keep an eye out for the app over the next couple of months and expect it to get as much attention as the Whopper Sacrifice app they released not too long ago.

Any other creative campaigns that I missed? Connect with me on Twitter @jsmakr or comment below.

What I’d like to summarize as best as I can in this post is what Palm is doing online to engage with potential early adopters and long-time loyal Palm fans (which there are many of). I believe Palm could be considered a Prom King Brand, which advertising consultant Alan Wolk describes as a brand that people don’t mind “conversing” with. I think that alone has simply been the biggest factor in helping Palm successfully grow an online following.

Here are 7 things I noticed they are doing very well:

1. The Official Palm Blog

The blog looks to be managed by Palm’s Director of Online Communications, Jon Zilber and Palm’s PR agency, Edelman. It is updated a couple times a week, just enough to keep people coming back and interested. There are great discussions going on beneath most entries where Palm fans voice their opinions and seek answers to Pre questions (which usually get answered).

In Rohit Bhargava’s latest book, Personality Not Included, he refers to a great example of a Moleskine blog that was started by one passionate Moleskine customer, or what he calls an “accidental spokesperson” (pg. 59). Moleskine didn’t realize it would make sense for them to have a blog until one was started. The blog owner was later hired to officially continue his efforts for the brand. It’s obvious that a blog makes sense for Palm, especially since there are already several “unofficial” blogs out there that are doing very well. This official blog gives them better control over the information and rumors that are released about their own products.

The only thing I would suggest is for Palm to make it easier for visitors to share the content via Digg, Twitter, and Delicious.

2. Facebook Fan Page

The fan page is currently approaching 7,500 fans which is a solid start but still way behind BlackBerry which has 135,000 fans. The newsfeed is regularly updated with links to developing Palm news (even on other sites) and other online media. The Discussion board is very active and is used frequently to have featured Palm employees answer fan questions (where the accompanying blog entry directs you). Comments and Likes are common on most newsfeed items which makes it obvious the fans love the constant updates.

3. @Palm Twitter Profile

The Twitter profile appears to be for many purposes. The profile bio sums it up nicely, “Stay connected with Palm and learn about news, products, tips and tricks, deals and more.” Addressing customer support issues is another way they are using Twitter. What caught my attention was how well they are using their blog, Facebook, and Twitter together to host conversations and spread new content.

When asked about who handles the account, the reply was:

I think that will change after the Pre launches and the account grows along with Twitter.

4. Pre YouTube Channel

No need to go anywhere else, these videos straight from Sprint and Palm offer plenty of in-depth demonstrations of how the Pre will function and improve your mobile life. Apple did something similar for the iPhone but did it directly on Apple.com. Posting the videos on YouTube allows them to spread easily online by allowing people to embed them wherever they want. YouTube videos also tend to rank very high in Google search results.

5. Pre-Launch Pre Buzz

It’s becoming more common to see a brand highlight and try to aggregate all the buzz going on online in one location. Skittles drew a lot of attention to their site recently when they redesigned their homepage to link to Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Facebook. If you head over to the Pre homepage on Sprint’s website, they are doing something similar but keeping it all on one page. I think this site also aligns nicely with their recent What’s Happening advertising campaign that got a lot of attention.

6. Become a Real Reviewer

The Real Reviewers program is a great way to give back to the online community by creating an opportunity for die hard fans to get their hands on a free Pre for 6 months. This type of transparent focus group can be great if the company really believes they are about to deliver an amazing product. Put it in the hands of some of your brand’s biggest fans and let them do what they do best.

This immediately reminded me of another similar project that was launched recently by Ford called the Fiesta Movement. Ford partnered with Ogilvy to identify 100 “agents” that get their very own Ford Fiesta for 6 months before anyone else in the U.S. These selected agents are already starting to create and share their experiences with the car on Twitter, YouTube, and their blogs. All this new content is being aggregated on the newly created Fiesta Movement website.

Just like Ford carefully chose their agents, Palm is looking for select applicants that are completely wired online (like me!) and heavily rely on their mobile phones for constant connectivity to their social networks. This post called Do Something Small on the Brains on Fire blog reminds marketers that really good things can come from putting a lot of time and effort into working with a small group of loyal customers instead of always trying to reach as many people as possible at once.

7. Notify Me Pre Alerts

SMS/Email alerts are still a great way to reach out to potential customers who are willing to opt-in to your brand and get the first updates about a new product or service. This method of engagement starts online and extends to email, text, or even live phone outreach if it makes sense.

Because Palm is a reputable company that I have known for many years, I trust that they will not use my personal info for any other purpose besides what I signed up for.

Final Thoughts

Palm had a rough couple of years, but with the Pre it certainly looks like they are about to strengthen their position as one of the major players in the smartphone market. Growing their online community and leveraging it to constantly improve upon their products will only help the company overall.

A couple of questions come to mind: How will they react to any negative feedback and press once the Pre is launched and how will they make sure their other products don’t fall off the grid?

Connect with me on Twitter @jsmakr and while you are here, check out 6 ways to provide customer support and feedback online.

How are they being used by brands? The smart brands are the ones that have already thought of ways to connect with a large base of current iPhone users (Kraft, Obama, Audi, to name a few). Most other major brands are most likely in the process of or just starting to think about developing an iPhone app because of the successes they are continuing to hear about. But only a select few out of the rapidly growing database of 20,000+ apps with be successful because they will either be really useful, linked to a well-liked brand, or very creative. Of course the longer it takes for the app to be released, the smaller the chance of it being successful. It’s worthwhile to note that companies like Remember the Milk, Salesforce, Mint.com are creating iPhone apps to supplement their web services as an added benefit to offer to their customers. Some of the most impressive apps aren’t just displaying content in a mobile-friendly manner, but also paying very close attention to creating a sleek user interface and coming up with unique ways to engage people using the iPhone’s features.

What about publishers? They need to recognize that besides an electronic reading device like the Kindle, people are already browsing their content frequently on the iPhone (and most likely not having the best experience if nothing has been developed for them). Even though it will take time, the iPhone will be a big advertising platform for publishers in the future. Besides newspapers, I think most major magazines will have iPhone apps soon. What they will need to figure out is a revenue model that makes sense because as of now the app store does not allow publishers the freedom of charging readers a recurring monthly fee to subscribe to the latest content downloads. The first successful magazine app will owe a lot of it’s success from free PR and it looks like Lucky Magazine and People Magazine are very close to launching. Update: Apple has announced that the 3.0 software update will allow subscription based purchases to be made within the app. Great news for publishers.

How are they affecting the gaming industry? The cost of the app plays a huge factor, but not as much as you might think. We are starting to see more findings that indicate increases in spending for apps on mobile devices. People are willing to spend $5-$10 on good game because it’s an inexpensive alternative when compared to most video games that cost over $40. It’s only a matter of time before more games that offer online play gain in popularity just as we saw happen for all the major gaming consoles over the past couple of years and the classis example of the iPhone game Tap Tap Revenge. While no one is sure yet if increasing sales of iPhone games are damaging the sales of the major players, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that the iPhone’s popularity is already hurting the sales of other handheld gaming devices.

Some further reading: 8 reasons for building an iPhone Web application, Mobile ROI: You get what you pay for, and Apple iPhone controls over 66% of all mobile web use.

As of right now, there still no quick way of unlocking or “jailbreaking” the T-mobile G1. But, it’s fairly easy to set up the phone to be used for everything besides making calls (unless a VoIP app becomes available in the future like the iPhone). I was able to purchase a G1 earlier today without signing up for a new 2 year contract with T-mobile (at the $399 price). The store manager was reluctant to sell it at first without a contract but finally agreed after some convincing. The fact that it didn’t look like the launch demand was as high as they thought it would be, definitely helped. It seems that the stores have been given specific instructions not to sell any G1’s without a new 2 year contract, at least until the first couple of shipments are sold. It’s a hit or miss.

The G1 was purchased for my company to use for testing purposes only, so we just wanted to be able to access all the phone features, apps, and internet browsing whenever connected to a nearby Wi-Fi network. And we did not want to get stuck paying for 2 years of monthly service to do so. Here are the steps we followed to get past the initial setup without having an activated SIM card. (Note: You will need a friends activated T-mobile SIM card for only a couple of minutes – data charges may apply.)

1. Insert friends activated T-mobile SIM into G1 along with battery
2. Power on and wait for setup screen
3. Go through setup process to link any Gmail account
4. Go to Settings > Wireless Controls > Wi-Fi Settings > Enable Wi-Fi
5. Connect to nearby Wi-Fi network if one is available
6. Optional: Stop the phone from syncing with Gmail account by going to Data Synchronization and unchecking Auto-sync, Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts
7. Once done, take out friends SIM card and insert unactivated SIM that came with G1

If you already have T-mobile service, you should be able to pop your SIM right in and get going. You can also do the same with a G1 purchased from eBay and using a prepaid T-mobile SIM card. I doubt T-mobile will do anything to change this because you are paying full price for the phone! One other thing to note is if you would like to change the Gmail account in which the phone syncs with, a soft reset is necessary and you must follow these steps again. For a comprehensive review of the G1, check out Engadget’s hardware and software posts which are very detailed. Also, check out my colleagues initial thoughts on how Google is becoming more evil because of this.

If you know of any other ways, please leave a comment. I will also be keeping an eye out for unlocking instructions as they become available. Connect with me on Twitter @jsmakr.

Update: Got linked to by Engadget and Gizmodo! Please see my comment below if you are confused about the difference between ‘unactivated’ and ‘unlocked’.