The second mobile application store to hit one billion downloads has more morale-boosting news for its team. The US branch of GetJar, based in San Mateo, CA, has announced a series B funding of eleven million dollars from Accel Partners by way of ReadWriteWeb. Largest only after the Apple iTunes app store, GetJar is positioning itself as the largest cross-platform app store in a prime location for what some consider a looming Apple/Google app war, but also caters to Blackberry, Symbian and other mobile operating systems.

The investment is another sign that VCs see the long-term market opportunity that the mobile applications industry presents, and in turn that GetJar can continue to prosper. GetJar will use its newly-acquired funds to expand product development, especially in Android, Blackberry and Symbian offerings. The company also has tripled employees, quadrupled downloads and signed partnerships with Sprint in a time of economic challenge, the RWW article continues.

Accel has made its mark in other startup investments including “Admob, Baidu, ComScore, Etsy, Facebook, Macromedia, Real Networks and Zimbra.” The Palo Alto, CA firm is focusing on building global businesses as it grows its support for digital media, Internet and mobile tech businesses.

The site itself is helpful to newcomers, asking what model phone the visitor has so that it can make sure downloads are compatible. GetJar brings categories, recommendations and sponsored apps together in a clear and navigatable interface. To download apps within the GetJar interface, handset users access the mobile site and enter a code to download the appropriate app. Alternatively, users can download apps to their computer from the site and transfer them onto their phone.

Serial entrepreneur, CEO and Founder Ilja Laurs previously launched LuthuanianHotels.com, mobile service MicroPay and mobile games studio Gaxo Interactive. The core management team has previously been involved with other mobile startups and a game publisher.

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Until now, the smartphone market has been divided between the main operators, the most blatant example being the agreement between Apple and AT&T. Each brand has its own app ecosystem. More than 300,000 applications will be accessible in the Apple App Store by the end of 2010, and between 50,000 and 75,000 applications will be provided in the Android Market.

Applications are the symbol of the smartphone, but also one of its main values.

For brands that have invested in the mobile app market or want to do so, the breakup of market forces has caused them to multiply applications across platforms. Strategically speaking, smartphones’ individual OS’s maintain control over the attractive and steadily growing market by forcing developers to adapt to a new format for each ecosystem and seeking the consent of the OS owner before an app can hit the market. Apple, Google, Blackberry and Nokia are engaged in a format war that forgets the consumer and constrains brands.

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The Mobile Internet Strategies discussion organized by the German American Business Association (GABA) in SAP laboratories in Palo Alto on June 11 gathered a diverse panel, regrouping backgrounds in the internet, software, mobile networking, and hardware industries.

The questions raised concerning the evolutions and changes of the mobile phone industry due to the increasing use of the internet on the mobile were interesting.

The panelists started by analyzing the recent evolutions of the market and how the main actors reacted to some profound changes provoked by the introduction of new products such as the iPhone and an increased use of the internet on mobile phones. Some elements were given to explain recent successes and failures. For example, Apple’s success is mainly explained by the fact that they created a platform, and that they made an easy-to-use open Software Development Kit.

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A growing number of organizations are researching or releasing modified mobile phones and mobile apps that diagnose serious health problems and disease patterns.

Mobile health, or mHealth, could help ease medical costs and support areas’ health infrastructures, especially in developing countries.

Applied Nanodetectors (AND) has released a modified Nokia phone (picture right) that with a breathalyzer detects health problems as wide ranging as diabetes and cancer by reading the levels of gasses such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide and ammonia.

The phone can also detect lung cancer, bad breath, types of food poisoning and blood-alcohol levels. The phone informs its user’s doctor of its findings.

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Samsung’s Blue Earth was not the only solar powered mobile phone that was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, last week in Barcelona, Spain. Chinese manufacturer ZTE launched its own self-charging phone on February 18th, 2009. The Coral-200-Solar (picture above) was created in cooperation with Digicel and Intivation, and should be available in June. Designed with emerging markets in mind, where grid electricity may not be near-at-hand, the integrated solar charger can fully sustain the device.

Tom Bryant, Digicel Group VP Distribution Procurement comments , “Solar-powered handsets are clearly the way to meet the needs of power-challenged users across the globe,” in reference to the Coral-200-Solar.

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The Android Market is launching their paid applications section for the U.S. and U.K. this week. By allowing pricing for applications running on Google’s mobile phone operating system, the company is providing incentive for developers and revenue for Google - they receive thirty percent of revenue.

The Android Market launched in October 2008 at the time of the release of the G-1, the Android mobile phone currently available on the T-Mobile network.

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Palo Alto-based Facebook has been working to improve its usability in the mobile arena by coordinating with such mobile phone manufacturers such as Apple and Research in Motion with its custom applications for both the iPhone and the Blackberry. But since only approximately thirteen percent of users access the site from their cell phones, Facebook is contemplating non-smart phone possibilities and some newer models by Nokia and Palm.

The applications available at this time allow users to post updates and send messages to their friends. More collaboration with mobile phone brands could lead to more sophisticated interactions between central handset functions and Facebook functionality. Possibilities include social resources such as Facebook Notes, Links and Video.

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While smartphones are increasingly becoming cost-efficient options for replacing PCs, and while Blackberry and Apple have made the smartphone a lifestyle, competitors are seeing diminishing returns during the recession.

There seems to be a peeling away of the chaff during these tough times. Gartner’s new report focuses on the declining growth of smartphone sales, but their research makes something apparent: iPhones and Blackberries are selling just fine. In fact, sales are surging.

It’s their competitors who are seeing the decline. While overall sales are up this year, they have fallen off earlier 2008 trends. The difference in growth/decline is astounding: Apple is up 327.5 percent, Research in Motion, makers of Blackberry, is up 81.7 percent, and HTC is up 25.9 percent from 2007.

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Google is the fastest growing global brand, according to Businessweek and Interbrand’s Best Global Brand Survey.

The online search company first appeared in the top 100 list in 2005, at number 38; today, it is 10th on the list. Google’s brand value is calculated to be more than 25 billion dollars, and has risen 43% from its 2007 value of $18 billion. The key is Google’s quest for omnipresence:

“Innovations like Google Mobile, Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Google Book Search extend the brand’s reach and ubiquity and make it an increasingly important part of our everyday lives.”

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Nokia (NOK) is pushing itself into the mobile music market with a new partnership with Warner Music Group (WMG), with both companies hoping to entice customers into downloading more songs while helping dwindling music sales.

The world’s largest phone-making company is using the deal to push its Comes With Music subscription service and mobile Nokia music store, while Warner Music Group hopes the partnership will ease some of the burden from iTunes’ market.

Although iTunes is by far the largest digital music store and supports a pay-to-download MP3 service, many major record labels are struggling with the Apple store because of disagreements in price.

Nokia’s Come With Music service is the mobile industry’s most significant step towards aligning the offerings of Web 2.0 mobile technology with the needs of the music industry.

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