“More than 100,000 apps — downloaded more than a million times a day — are now available through Apple’s iTunes store for the iPhone and iPod touch,” according to Ryan Sharrow of the Baltimore Business Journal in his recent article, “Going App”.

I have to wonder what I’m missing out on…my cell phone consists of a purple Motorola MOTO W755, a standard flip phone from Verizon. I can text, send pictures, and take basic video — up until recently, that was enough for me.

Now with the craze of mobile technology, it seems as though cell phones are expected to double as a mini laptop in your pocket!! Sigh…like grade school recess all over again, I am the outcast.

So what does this mean for business marketers? — They to are now craving creative convenience, entertainment, and information at their consumers’ fingertips.

In his article, Sharrow discussed the explosion of mobile apps and how companies are using them to offer convenience and immediacy to consumers. First Mariner Bank, UMBC, and UMMS are just a few of the examples Sharrow touched on. From locating a nearest branch location, guiding a student around campus, or simply driving traffic to websites – you name it, there’s an app for it.

I found UMBC’s future expectations of apps to be the most intriguing. The campus portal architect, B. Collier Jones, visualizes future UMBC apps to go as far as helping a student find a parking spot on campus!! — Any Towson University student would probably cry tears of joy if this were to come to our campus. It’s truly amazing the direction that mobile technology is taking!

As a G.1440 intern, I am learning from the steps the company is taking to stay above the curve on this trend. With our mobile site recently launched, Marketing Manager, Tim Kassouf, is constantly stressing that strategy is key.

G.1440 is capable of mobile site & app development, as well as text sms marketing – aside from technical expertise, the most important aspect to keep in mind is strategy. Companies need to start by figuring out why & how going mobile would benefit their consumers. The key is using the technology to appeal and suit your customer base, and don’t limit yourself to iPhone apps!

Tim has also pointed out that he believes the trend of software downloads like mobile apps may steer more towards immediate web log-ins as faster connections become available and technology develops — the need for actual downloads may dwindle…

I guess I oughta’ start keeping up with technology — as a loyal Verizon patron…perhaps I’ll go try out Tim’s new Droid while he’s in a meeting ;-]

Ever wonder what’s going on in Baltimore while you are out of town? Wishing you could be watching the Ravens game or a little JHU lacrosse, but just can’t find any stations that are covering what you want to watch because you are in Montana, or Shanghai or please God, not…Pittsburgh!!! 

Now you can, if you have a Slingbox. Slingbox is a very cool piece of technology that lets you watch TV on your computer or your phone from any location…all you need to do is connect to the internet. You watch the same channels and programming that you could watch from your living room, from any location. Your location is now irrelevant. 

So, how does it work? You connect a Slingbox to your cable box and then to your home internet router/network. Lastly, load software on to your computer or phone and you are ready to go.  At this point, you can now connect to the Slingbox from your computer or mobile phone from anywhere you have a high-speed internet connection and watch the same TV signal that is in your home.

What’s special about Slingbox is that it can operate inside and outside the home, a phenomenon called place-shifting. You can watch TV anywhere in the world. As long as you can find a broadband connection, your laptop can communicate with the Slingbox in your home, bringing your local video feed on the road.

I believe that place-shifting is going to continue to grow dramatically. Place shifting is the act of using technology to make your location meaningless. There are many technologies out there that help us place shift…video conferencing is a good example. Slingbox is yet another. Place shifting will continue to grow as we make greater and greater use of mobile technologies.

 How about a few examples to help get your brain around this one…college students are installing Slingbox on their parents cable boxes and watching TV while away at school without having to pay for the programming or rely on the college to supply decent progamming…

Another report depicts someone that was living in Israel and was watching his favorite shows from back here is the USA. Slingbox is also extremely useful inside the house and it can allow you to access/play music stored on one computer in your house with another computer.

Slingbox mobile is required to watch TV on your phone and works with iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Smartphone, Treo and Symbian phones. Check it out at www.slingmedia.com.

Happy viewing and have a blast place shifting!!!