Touch screens driving mobile app growth

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Users of touch screen mobile phones are going out of their way to install additional applications to their phones in rapidly growing numbers, reversing previous lacklustre demand for third party smartphone software.

A good example is Google’s newly updated Mobile App for Apple’s iPhone, which has been generating a lot of buzz for one main reason: voice search.

Want to find the nearest pizza place, show times for the James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace," or the latest Bruce Springsteen video? Google voice search is uncannily accurate.

But it has obvious limitations, particularly with names. Say "Barack Obama" and you get a full page of data. Try "Emile Zatopek," the famed Czech distance runner? Forget about it.

Of course, there are many applications available for download on all sorts of mobile phones, but touch screen devices have emerged as consumer favourites.

While the mobile app race is still in its infancy, the iPhone is already well ahead of rivals such as RIM’s BlackBerry and T-Mobile's G1, which features Google's Android operating system.

But competition is going to get more intense. RIM's touch-screen Storm was launched last week, although its app store won't open until next year. The Android app store opened for business last month but so far hasn't generated nearly the momentum of the iPhone app store, which went live in July. Even Microsoft has one in the pipeline.

In the first two months, iPhone users downloaded 100 million apps, choosing from among thousands of options. The programs, the vast majority offered by third-party developers under the watchful eye of Apple, run the gamut from utterly frivolous time-wasters to the surprisingly useful.

In addition, many handy iPhone apps are available for free, not a small consideration in these troubled economic times.

The free Shazam mobile app is now available on the Android platform, following its successful debut on the iPhone. The app has developed a devoted following among music lovers as it seeks to solve the age-old question: "What is the name of that song?"

If you hear a song playing - on the radio, or blasting from a car stereo - and want to know more, launch Shazam and the software will capture the song, check it against its database and display the song information.

Another popular free app for the iPhone is offered by UrbanSpoon (pictured), which features user-generated restaurant reviews, but with a twist. If you feel like trying something new, just punch in your criteria, shake your iPhone, and UrbanSpoon will pick a restaurant for you.

The clever interface looks like a slot machine, and is a good way to break out of a food rut.

Ever been at the supermarket and found yourself wondering how safe or green a certain product might be? The free GoodGuide app - still an iPhone-only product at this stage - features ratings on more than 60,000 household and personal use products.

Just punch in the product name and GoodGuide gives you a ranking based on environmental safety, impact and employment policy.

Consumers can expect to see many more mobile apps in the coming months, as the sheer creativity of small, third-party software developers should keep the market buzzing for some time.

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