Information Week writes that MySpace made the announcement Monday. The app will be available in late summer for Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 devices.

And, in typical Microsoft fashion, some Windows-phone owners won’t have a choice according to the article: “the application will be preloaded on smartphones later this fall.”

MySpace said it expects to have about half of its traffic come from mobile devices within the next five years. The company also said the step onto Microsoft phones comes after its success on BlackBerry phones, and apps for iPhone and Android.

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TweetGrid’s site today shows a message: “NEW! TweetGrid for iPhone. Point your iPhone or iPod to http://tweetgrid.com/iphone/ for a unique TweetGrid experience.”

My first reaction? Wow, why isn’t this how the web-version works?

The standard web version is a bit ugly, but it works great. Go to tweetgrid.com, choose a grid shape, and create custom searches in each cell. The grid automatically updates.

The mobile version is a web app, go to http://tweetgrid.com/iphone/ and has a custom homescreen icon (though the icon is a bit cluttered, IMHO). It allows users to authorize multiple Twitter accounts (click on Settings on the top right to authorize accounts).

Not sure yet if I think this is better than the iPhone Summize app. At first glance, I like Tweetgrid better than Summize for my phone because of the ability to add Twitter accounts (so I can save search terms for my @sonyanews account and for when I’m representing my company on @ocreggie) and ability to change settings unavailable in Summize.

Here’s the full list of features for the new iPhone web app from TweetGrid:

• Real-time auto-updates of Twitter Search results
• Multiple account authorization through OAuth
  • Authorize as many accounts as you want under the main screen “Settings” arrow
• Tweet from the results page
  • Click the “Tweet” button in the top right title bar
  • Choose any of your authorized accounts to send the tweet
• Save your searches for quick access from the home screen
• See and search current Trending Topics
• Sticky Settings for:
  • Auto update – on/off
  • Refresh Interval – 10 to 60 seconds
  • Show Avatars – on/off (handy for EDGE/slow connection)
  • Show TwitPic thumbnails – on/off (just for fun…)
  • These settings persist for each new search

Related news around the web: Rumor: Palm Pre coming on 4/30, says some guy on Twitter, YouTube Adds A Twitter Button, Follow The Hires: Twitter Looking To Ramp Up Search And Platform APIs, Twitter To Start Serving Local News To Users?, Twitter Creates, Then Kills Bogus Palm Pre Launch Rumor.

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Brightkite and Loopt have both been on the market for a while and offer good service, but Google’s Latitude brings — well — Google. After using both Loopt and Brightkite here are my thoughts on location-sharing apps, and now, Latitude’s arrival:

• Loopt focuses on a younger crowd by its marketing as a friend-finder and service called “the mix.” In the mix, that users must choose to join, any one near you can see whatever details you want — and it allows searching by sex, location — basically coming across as a semi-dating service.
• Brightkite is the more mature location service. The application seems to target an older set, perhaps ages 24-50. My best evidence: I found a few of my similarly-aged friends on Loopt, but I found all my Twitter (2.0, nerdy crowd for the most part) on Brightkite. Brightkite’s service is also more grown up than Loopt — taking away “the mix” feature and adding a clean interface, solid integration across all cell phones (Loopt is on select phones), and a focus on posting notes and photos about location (rather than just posting “here I am.”

• Latitude will likely be the most-widely adopted of location services. The service was announced yesterday and is currently available for people online, with the ability to set location only for users of Chrome or Google’s Gears. They seem to have a good start on privacy settings, but really this must be up-front and clear when users set up their accounts online or on mobile phones. Based on the iGoogle gadget of Latitude (all that’s available now), I’d say it focuses just on location — rather than conversation and context about a person’s location. Maybe I’ll be surprised when Latitude is out for the iPhone and I try it out — in that case I’ll write a follow-up (probably either way I’ll follow up). But, at this point, I feel Brightkite is the best service to use — but I have a sneaking suspition that either: Google will win most users because of its name brand, or, most people will never jump on board with these services due to privacy concerns or not seeing an immediate way that this type of application is helpful or entertaining.

Related posts around the inter-webs:

Google’s official word on Latitude

Garmin to offer more phones focused on location

FastCompany article, like most other Latitude stories, heralds Latitude as the next big thing

Mobile Crunch notes how Latitude is ready for Windows Mobile, S60 and BlackBerry users — but not Google’s own Android users

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1.Bluetooth 3.0

Gartner: The Bluetooth 3.0 specification will be released in 2009, with devices starting to arrive around 2010. Bluetooth 3.0 will likely include features such as ultra-low-power mode that will enable new devices, such as peripherals and sensors, and new applications, such as health monitoring.

mblapps: Bluetooth 3.0 would allow for health care applications (and other unique apps)  that would sync with monitoring devices. If Bluetooth 3.0 uses less battery life that means more power to play games on your cell.

2. Mobile User Interfaces (UIs)

Gartner: UIs will be an area of intense competition in 2009 and 2010, with manufacturers using UIs to differentiate their handsets and platforms. Better interfaces will make the mobile Web more accessible on small devices, and will be a better channel to customers and employees.

mblapps: Customers will be more likely to buy more advanced phones (that can use more applications) if the phones are easy to use. Compiled by mobile firm Mformation, a recent survey found that 85 percent of users reporting they were frustrated by the difficulty of getting a new phone up and working. An easy-to-use interface could also make customers enjoy using their phones, meaning they would be more likely to use their phones for more and more tasks.

3. Location Sensing

Gartner: Location awareness makes mobile applications more powerful and useful; in the future, location will be a key component of contextual applications. Location sensing will also enhance systems, such as mobile presence and mobile social networking. The growing maturity of on-campus location sensing using Wi-Fi opens up a range of new applications exploiting the location of equipment or people. Organizations delivering business or consumer applications should explore the potential of location sensing; however, exploiting it may create new privacy and security challenges.

mblapps: Gartner above spells out how location sharing will help mobile apps. The more users have access to GPS-enabled phones, the more people using services such as Loopt, Brightkite, urbanspoon and other location-based apps.

4. 802.11n

Gartner: 802.11n boosts Wi-Fi data rates to between 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps, and the multiple-input, multiple-output technology used by 802.11n offers the potential for better coverage in some situations. 802.11n is likely to be a long-lived standard that will define Wi-Fi performance for several years. High-speed Wi-Fi is desirable to stream media around the home and office.

mblapps: Increasingly faster Internet offered on mobile devices means developers will have more access than ever to mobile phones — skipping the downloading-apps business model to make web-only apps.

5. Display Technologies

Gartner: During 2009 and 2010, several new display technologies will impact the marketplace, including active pixel displays, passive displays and pico projectors.

mblapps: Mobile phones can be used to play games, watch movies and share presentations — but better displays make cell phones direct competitors with devices such as the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and ultra-portable computers.

6. Mobile Web and Widgets

Gartner: The mobile Web is emerging as a low-cost way to deliver simple mobile applications to a range of devices. It has some limitations that will not be addressed by 2010 (for example, there will be no universal standards for browser access to handset services, such as the camera or GPS).

mblapps: Better access to the web from mobile phones means some standardizing of mobile Web sites, more opportunities for Web sites and services who could develop mobile sites rather than mobile apps and a chance for companies to increase branding by offering a similar experience from physical locations, the desktop web and mobile phones.

7. Cellular Broadband

Gartner: Wireless broadband exploded in 2008, driven by the availability of technologies such as high-speed downlink packet access and high-speed uplink packet access, combined with attractive pricing from cellular operators.

mblapps: These advancements would allow for faster transfers of large volumes of data — a key development to make video work on mobile phones, less battery life wasted while waiting for data transfers and less dependency on mobile networks.

8. Near Field Communication (NFC)

Gartner: NFC provides a simple and secure way for handsets to communicate over distances of a centimeter or two. NFC is emerging as a leading standard for applications such as mobile payment, with successful trials conducted in several countries. It also has wider applications, such as “touch to exchange information” (for example, to transfer an image from a handset to a digital photo frame, or for a handset to pick up a virtual discount voucher).

mblapps: Companies and customers would become less dependant on things such as credit cards, business cards, USB cords, coupons and other items as those could all someday be transferred wirelessly using mobile applications.

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