Scrambling to take advantage of the iPhone 3G's brisk sales, many large media and online brands have launched mobile applications optimized for the new Apple handset.

Brands launching new mobile applications specifically for the iPhone 3G include The Associated Press, USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, AOL, MySpace and Google - some downloadable from the Apple App Store, others browser-based mobile Web apps. Apple Inc. claimed that from the iPhone 3G's release on Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13, it sold about 1 million handsets, although the launch was marred by software problems, Apple's activation servers crashing and long lines.

"We were looking at the mobile phones, and particularly the iPhone, and we saw a button for stocks, a button for weather and asked ourselves, 'Where's the news button?'" said Jeffrey Litvack, director of global product development for the AP, New York. "There wasn't a comprehensive solution, and the AP decided that we wanted to be that news button."

The Associated Press debuted its Mobile News Network, a multimedia news portal optimized for use on the iPhone 3G. Its Web app can be accessed directly at http://www.apnews.com and via the iPhone Web application pages at http://www.iphone.com/webapps. The AP's downloadable app is available at the Apple Apps Store.

The wire service's Mobile News Network features international and national stories from the AP and targeted local stories from various local news brands and sources that are part of the AP cooperative.

For example, a sports fan can type in his ZIP code to access stories about his favorite teams written by the AP, his local paper and an opposing team's hometown paper.

While the AP's application is available on all Web-enabled phones, its network has been optimized for smartphones, beginning with the iPhone. The wire service says it will also soon launch applications optimized for iPhone competitors including Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Bold, Samsung's Instinct and the LG Dare.

"We're building the platform working with handset manufacturers and carriers to make it more accessible to end users," Mr. Litvack said. "We're providing the best user experience for your given phone, with more multimedia features graphical and more video."

Several large newspapers have also launched iPhone 3G-optimized applications, including USA Today, the New York Times and the Washington Post - among the nation's top five daily newspapers.

The New York Times has released the NYTimes iPhone application, which gives readers offline reading capabilities, a photo browser with links to the related articles and personalization options for the iPhone and iPod touch models.

Available as a free download at the Apple App Store, the NYTimes iPhone application allows users to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch user interface.

Features include Times' articles available for offline and airplane mode reading, browsing the news in pictures with links to related articles and selecting four favorite sections of the Times for one-touch access.

"The New York Times is constantly seeking new ways to deliver quality news and information to users of all platforms," said Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager for NYTimes.com, New York. "We knew the new iPhone platform would be overwhelmingly popular, so a custom application was an easy decision."

The Washington Post has entered the iPhone sphere with an optimized version of its mobile Web site at http://mobile.twp.com powered by Crisp Wireless. Washingtonpost.com will also soon launch a downloadable City Guide application that will be available at the Apple App Store.

"By providing iPhone users with a mobile Web site that is optimized for their phone, we are giving them a dynamic interface that takes advantage of the iPhone-specific technology and provides a richer user experience," said Andy Sullivan, vice president of client services for Crisp Wireless, New York.

"We have found that when we provide an iPhone-optimized site, users return to the site more often and stay on the site longer than on a non-optimized site," he said.

The Post's iPhone site will offer social media-sharing capabilities via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Google, friendfeed, dig, reddit and del.icio.us.

"The Washington Post iPhone Web app provides users with new ways to share content with their friends, not only by email and SMS, but now they can also post articles to various social networks," Mr. Sullivan said.

"The Washington Post site also provides iPhone users with a richer user experience, not only in user interface but also in the depth of content and ability to search," he said.

Speaking of social networks, MySpace debuted its own customized iPhone application that is available via the Apple App Store. Key features include real-time updates and instant photo uploading from the iPhone to a MySpace profile.

The company claims that since its launch in October, MySpace's mobile Web site at http://m.myspace.com has averaged more than 1.7 million daily unique mobile visits nationwide.

"The iPhone is a natural fit for a MySpace application, because there is a hipness to this device that resonates with our core audience," said John Faith, general manager and vice president of mobile for MySpace, New York.

"The tailored MySpace environment for the device is deeply integrated and it leverages the unique capabilities and attributes of the iPhone," he said.

Helio, a mobile virtual network operator that was recently acquired by Virgin Mobile USA (see story), has two different MySpace mobile implementations - a downloadable application and a mobile Web site.

MySpace also has a T-Mobile Sidekick application and an AT&T downloadable application.

In keeping with tradition, Google Mobile has quietly made public its first native application for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch, as well as its compliance with Mobile Marketing Association guidelines on mobile image ads (see story).

Meanwhile, AOL has launched three new iPhone operating systems applications: AIM, an instant-messaging service; AOL Radio, an online radio service; and Truveo, a video search engine. All are available as free downloads from the Apple App Store.

"AOL has had a long-standing presence in the mobile arena and a big part of our strategy is to provide consumers with easy mobile access to our products that are appropriate for the mobile platform they choose to use," said Steve Murphy, senior vice president of AOL, New York.

"Mobile versions of many of our popular services are already available, and extending AIM, AOL Radio and Truveo video search to what's unquestionably one of the hottest mobile devices, the iPhone, is a natural progression of our mobile strategy," he said.

AIM for iPhone brings together all the core features of AIM, such as real-time communication, the Buddy List window and the ability to see when friends and contacts are online. It combines them with a host of new capabilities that enable instant messaging over a Wi-Fi, EDGE or 3G network.

New AIM features developed specifically for the iPhone include the use of Gestures, which allows users to tap to start a new message or to swipe a finger to switch between conversations; Favorites, which puts the buddies with whom you keep in touch at your fingertips; and the ability to easily incorporate a photo taken with the iPhone's built-in camera as a Buddy Icon.

AOL Radio for iPhone gives users nationwide immediate free access to more than 350 stations including more than 150 local CBS Radio stations and custom channels and more than 200 AOL Radio stations spanning 25 musical genres. The application detects each user's location and automatically displays stations nearest to the user.

For its part, the Truveo Mobile Video Search for iPhone maximizes the device's premium video experience and lets users search and browse through millions of online videos while on their handset.

Truveo provides direct links to video content from a variety of sources including CNN, Discovery Channel, HBO, NBC, PBS, Comedy Central, MTV and YouTube.

Even smaller, lesser-known companies are taking advantage of the trendiness of the iPhone 3G platform.

8x8 Inc., provider of Packet8 business, mobile and residential communication services, has added the Apple iPhone to the list of more than 450 mobile handset devices now supported by the Packet8 MobileTalk international calling service.

Featuring mobile international calling rates such as 1 cent per minute to China, 2 cents per minute to Britain, 3 cents per minute to Mexico and 6 cents per minute to India, the Packet8 MobileTalk service enables mobile phone consumers to reduce their international phone bills and maintain digital voice quality.

The Packet8 MobileTalk iPhone application does not require a software download, but rather uses a customized Web-based dialer, accessible via a standard data plan or Wi-Fi connection, to route calls to a unique local Packet8 access number and then on to the Packet8 digital VoIP network.

Once the call has been initiated, the data connection is no longer engaged and the call is carried to completion over the carrier's network with only Packet8's international calling rates applied.

"8x8's decision to customize the Packet8 MobileTalk application for the iPhone is based on the tremendous adoption rate of Apple's first-generation iPhone and the widespread anticipation, both domestically and internationally, for the new 3G version," said Huw Rees, vice president of sales and marketing for 8x8, Santa Clara, CA.