With the increase in the number of smart phones, more and more users are making use of applications to tailor their mobile experience.

DM2PRO and Quattro Wireless compiled a report last year where they questioned over 600 respondents to determine whether or not the respondents have been integrating mobile apps with their brand’s current marketing strategy. According to the report the majority of the respondents haven’t invested in mobile apps yet but 65% of them planned to develop a mobile app in 2010.

On the other hand, those that have invested in mobile apps seem to be limiting the success of their app by not properly marketing it. If the aim of developing the app is to build brand awareness or convert impressions into profit, then a proper promotional plan is needed. On Emarketer.com Noah Elkin looks at the opportunities and challenges mobile apps provide marketers in “App-ortunity” Knocks. To summarise his key points; make sure that there is a consumer need for your app, pay attention to user feedback and keep users engaged with regular updates.

Read the full report by DM2PRO and Quattro Wireless for more information and statistics. Do you think South Africa will follow the same trend and see a significant increase in the number of mobile apps developed in 2010?

We’re nearing the end of the second month of 2010 and many of us have set goals for ourselves for the New Year – be they professional, personal or both. Completing tasks effectively and efficiently is necessary to reach goals yet maintaining productivity levels through-out the day is a challenge and many of us are masters of procrastination. There are a number of applications and tools available to improve your daily productivity and below we have listed our favourite four time management applications.

Remember The Milk
“Never forget the milk, or anything else, ever again.” According to the developers of this app creating and sharing tasks have never been so easy. With Remember the Milk you can manage your tasks from anywhere and easily share them with third parties. Twitter integration allows you to send new tasks to Remember The Milk by following @rtm and sending the task as a direct message. The app syncs with your Google Calendar and task reminders can be received via email, IM or sms.

Toodledo
Toodledo is an online to-do list that aggregates your tasks in one place.  Toodledo is a handy tool that can sync with Microsoft Outlook’s calendar and allows you to access your to-do list from anywhere, at any time.

Twittercal
Do you spend a lot of time on Twitter? With Twittercal you can add events to your Google Calender by following @twittercal and sending event details as a direct message.

Tempo
With this paid-for app you can track how much time you spend on certain projects (even when you are not in the office) and generate reports based on certain criteria. Twitter integration makes it easy for users to keep track of what they spend their time on by direct messaging the application with details of where they are and what they are busy with. Pricing for Tempo starts from $12.00 a month.

Whilst updating the FormFunction fan page I came across a few interesting Facebook applications for fan pages and profiles you might find useful.

• The News24 app helps you stay up-to date with the latest breaking news from News24.com.
• Want to connect with others who enjoy reading and writing about the same topics as you? Join Networked Blog’scommunity for bloggers and blog lovers to promote your own blog and discover new blogs.
• Testimonialsis a handy app that gathers your professional, academic and personal references in one place.
• The Slideshare app adds all your SlideShare presentations to your Facebook fan page and you can upload presentations from either Facebook or SlideShare.
• Want to know how your fans feel about a certain matter? The Poll app allows you to customise polls and shows you graphs of user responses.
• Make the most of your current network and add a LinkedIn badge to your Facebook profile. The LinkedIn Profile app links to your business profile from Facebook.
• The EasyCV app allows you to insert a summary of your CV onto your profile page and will link to a more detailed version on a dedicated page.

Are there any other Facebook applications that you use and find worthwhile?