Summertime, cell phones and free love seem to go together, if last year's rash of music festival phone chargers was anything to go by. This year, US Cellular is kicking off what could be a brand-new trend by giving consumers free, fully charged cell phone batteries in exchange for their drained old ones.

Launched late last month, US Cellular's Battery Swap program lets customers go to any company store and change out a dead or dying battery for a fully charged one at no charge. The provider is the first to offer such a service for free, it says. "Our Battery Swap program is a convenience for people who depend on their wireless devices as their lifelines, such as business people, parents, not to mention heavy users who drain their battery daily," Jay Ellison, the company's executive vice president and COO, explains. "We're offering this service to help our customers stay connected whenever they need it."

In a competitive industry like wireless—and during tough economic times—a little free love can go a long way toward making customers happy. Other providers: the Generation G* train just pulled into the station—better hop on board! ;-)

Website: www.uscellular.com/uscellular/SilverStream/Pages/x_page.html?p=batteryswap
Contact: www.uscellular.com/contactus

Spotted by: Judy McRae

* The G stands for generosity—more on that in our sister-site trendwatching.com's briefing about how businesses are following a societal shift from taking to giving.

We've already written about a few microfinancing platforms focused on the developing world, including Kiva and C4-World. Next up is Mobile Movement, a Canadian initiative we just learned about that works via mobile phone.

Few young social entrepreneurs in the developing world have computers, so Mobile Movement provides mobile phones and training to foster both micro-funding and professional advice via SMS, MMS and email. Through a collaboration with UN-HABITAT, Microsoft Research India and the Vancouver-based Environmental Youth Alliance—with funding from the MacArthur Foundation—Mobile Movement's first prototype project is currently under way in Kenya, where it is working with 15 youth groups from the slums and low-income neighbourhoods of Nairobi that are part of UN-HABITAT's Urban Entrepreneurship Program. One such group aims to open a tailoring school for at-risk youth, for example; another hopes to build an urban agriculture project. Last fall the groups were given mobile phones and trained in their use, allowing them to begin taking photos and sending emails and texts soon afterwards. Thanks to Mobile Movement's storytelling website and videos, several groups began to secure funding for their projects earlier this year, and a creative business partnership was formed between a bone-craft collective in the Kibera slum and a New York City jewelry designer.

Potential donors of funds or advice begin by reviewing the groups' project descriptions online. When they find one that interests them, they can write a comment on the group's page, and it will be sent directly to the youth group's phone. The group will respond via text message or email, and Mobile Movement will notify the donor that the youth group has responded. From there donors can offer creative business ideas or mentoring as well as microfinancing loans and community grants, sent via PayPal or CanadaGives. The Environmental Youth Alliance and UN-HABITAT manage and administer funds raised; 90 percent of proceeds go directly to the youth, while 10 percent is reserved to administer the fund and maintain the website.

Ultimately, Mobile Movement hopes to get companies to use its platform as a way to personalize their employee charitable donations programs. For the next phases of its test project, it seeks technological, management and marketing experts to help improve its current system. Later this year it hopes to expand to additional East African cities, followed by a broad public launch in early 2010. More information can be found on NetSquared; one to join up with, participate in, or be inspired by!

Website: www.mobilemovement.tv
Contact: team@mobilemovement.tv

Spotted by: Darren Roberts

If ever there's been a company we've enjoyed watching evolve over time, it's fast-moving Zipcar, whose frequent innovations since we first covered it back in 2003 have warranted fresh coverage on our pages on numerous occasions. The latest? Just announced on Monday, Zipcar now has its very own iPhone application.

Created through a partnership between Apple and Zipcar, the new application will allow users of Zipcar's car-sharing service to use their iPhones to find, reserve and unlock vehicles. Specifically, the application puts the iPhone's GPS to work in locating the closest Zipcars, indicating them with coloured pushpins on a map; users can then use it to reserve the vehicle they want. Once they're close to their vehicle, the technology will even beep the horn of the reserved Zipcar and unlock it. A video on CNET from the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, where the technology was announced, demonstrates the application in action. The software will be available as a free download from the Apple App Store later this summer, Zipcar says. (Back in 2007, Zipcar launched a less fully-featured application for GPS-enabled cellphones that helps members pinpoint the nearest available car.)

More than 25 percent of Zipcar members say their "life is on their iPhone," according to Zipcar CTO Luke Schneider, so tapping the brand clearly makes good sense from a practical perspective. In addition, however, it's also a prime example of what our sister site would call a brand butler offering—something extended by a familiar name, that helps to make consumers' lives easier and more enjoyable. How can *your* brand "drive" customers to new heights of satisfaction...? ;-)

Update 29 Sept 2009 | The free Zipcar App is now available from the iTunes app store. "Like so many urban dwellers today, more than 25 percent of Zipcar members live their life from their iPhones," said Scott Griffith, Zipcar chairman and CEO. "The new Zipcar App is a simple, fun and self-service technology that now allows millions of iPhone and iPod touch users to have on-the-go access to Zipcars around the globe."

Website: www.zipcar.com/iphone
Contact: info@zipcar.com

Spotted by: Ruben Feith

Millions of teens around the globe are already well-acquainted with Habbo, the popular virtual world aimed at those aged 13 to 18. Now Sulake, the Finnish creator of the site, has launched Bobba, a counterpart designed for mobile phone users 16 and older.

Launched into beta last month, Bobba bills itself as a "pocketsize virtual world" that's designed for use on mobile phones. Much as with Habbo, users can create avatars, build and decorate their own virtual surroundings on the site, and meet and interact with other users. More than 11,000 accounts have already been created; supported phones include a variety of models from Nokia, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Lenovo; support for iPhones and the iPod Touch is coming soon.

Of course, besides enabling virtual product sales within the site, communities like Habbo and Bobba also provide a nicely targeted way for other businesses to meet and interact with particular segments of consumers—much the way Dutch Postbank did when it set up a presence on Habbo. After all, in today's socially networked world, the effectiveness of advertising is limited at best. Instead, companies must reach out to consumers where they naturally spend their time—and for legions of mobile users 16 and over, that just might turn out to be Bobba. One to watch!

Website: www.bobba.com
Contact: business@bobba.com

Spotted by: John Greene

It's an increasingly mobile world out there, and a new service aims to help music bands large and small get in on the action. Specifically, Mobile Roadie lets artists quickly create their own iPhone applications to connect with fans on the go.

Bands simply register their basic account information and choose a name for their application; they are then assigned a unique URL for their app's dashboard. Mobile Roadie then creates their application, causing it to appear in Apple's App Store and on the iPhone or iPod Touch of any fan who downloads it. From then on, artists can use the application's content management system to share news, photos, videos and song notes, for example, and to stream music for fans to sample and then buy through a direct link to the iTunes Store. The customisable platform also allows bands to integrate their social networking profiles within the application, while a fan wall allows listeners to interact, participate and have their say. Mobile Roadie was created by Los Angeles-based agency Fluidesign. Pricing is USD 399 to set up the app and then USD 29 per month for up to 1,000 fans; each additional fan costs 1 cent per month.

There's no doubt mobile applications are increasingly the way to reach young, hip consumers. Make it easy and inexpensive for organizations of all kinds to do that—preferably with some niche customisation—and you'll soon be listening to the sweet tunes of success! ;-) (Related: Adidas creates free iPhone guide to Berlin's street art — Photographer launches iPhone-only style mag.)

Website: www.mobileroadie.com
Contact: help@mobileroadie.com

Spotted by: Miriam Brafman