2. 12cast: After much anticipation, 12seconds.tv released their video application for the iPhone 3GS. The app allows users to create a short 12 second video clip and from here they can share the video's short URL with their friends through Twitter.

3. Twitvid and Posterous: Both Twitvid and Posterous allow users to create videos on their mobile phones and email them to be uploaded to the site. With Twitvid, friends receive a DM message with a link to the newest video. ReadWriteWeb recently covered Twitvid in a round up of Twitter video apps. Meanwhile, with Posterous, your files are instantly converted and embedded as a flash player on your site.

4.Livecast Bambuser and Flixwagon: Livecast, Bambuser and Flixwagon are all similar services that allow users to stream videos live to their channels, blogs and Facebook accounts. Depending on your community preference you can upload vlogs, short films and vignettes.

5. Qik: Qik allows users to stream live videos to their channels, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Justin.tv accounts. One nice feature of the Qik video for Android is that users can trim their clips via their phones before uploading them. ReadWriteWeb named Qik one of the top 100 products of 2008.

6.Kyte: While it doesn't support live streaming, Kyte's iPhone 3GS app allows users to record video and upload it to their channels in an extremely easy manner. The service also offers branded mobile sites for big name celebrities.

We know we're only skimming the surface. If your favorite app isn't listed above, let us know about it in the comments.

SHARED TRAVEL PLANNING: Both Tripit and Dopplr are fantastic tools for keeping track of itineraries and sharing travel plans with friends. Meanwhile Gliider is a great tool for saving large blocks of trip-related text and syncing them to offline folders.

gliider from jared richardson on Vimeo.

DIRECTIONS: TeleNav provides GPS services for a number of mobile devices including the iPhone. The tool offers voice driving directions, spoken address recognition, rerouting for accidents and traffic jams, and locates wireless hotspots, the lowest gas prices, parking lots and ATMs. TomTom for iPhone is also expected to be a great tool as the docking station doubles as a charger.

FOOD: Many of us are familiar finding food with the Yelp and Urbanspoon iPhone apps; however, if you want an authentic road trip experience you might want to consult Roadfood. This site lays claim to the "most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America." We get heart palpitations just looking at the heaping plates of pulled pork, burgers and ribs. Meanwhile, if you're looking to picnic with something more healthy and sustainable, Local Harvest's farmer's market finder coupled with the Locavore iPhone app offer users the chance to find local in-season produce. Locallectual offers a similar tool with their iLocavore app.

VIDEOS & PHOTOS: One way to get images up quickly is to stream them directly from your camera. Eye-Fi uses a wireless connection to upload photos and videos directly to your Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Picassa accounts. If you want to live stream sans touch ups or editing, Eye-Fi is an extremely useful cordless solution. Other mobile streaming video and image options include Qik, Flixwagon, Stickam, Justin.tv and Kyte Producer.

GEO-TAGGING: AroundShare is a mobile application that allows users to publish photos to Google Maps. Meanwhile, Flickr's users can also organize their videos and photos on a map via the site's geo-tagging features. As for geo-based discovery, Flickr mobile utilizes the locational features of the Android and iPhone and allows members to explore public photos from nearby sites.

TRACKING:Google Latitude lets users share their location on a map in real time from their phones or computers. Maps can be embedded in public websites and road trippers appear as moving dots on the map. Imagine your best friend surprising you with Thai food just as you pull up to your hotel. Services like Brightkite and Loopt also broadcast your location; however, these services are based on push notifications rather than real time tracking.

TELLING THE STORY: The Whuffaoke group is using Dipity to aggregate their media. The service allows users to upload their Tweets, blog posts and photo sets to a map, time line and flip book interface. The nice thing about this tool is that it can either be embedded (as seen here) or shared via Facebook, Delicious, StumbleUpon, Reddit or Digg. Other tools to aggregate road trip-related media include JS-Kit's Echo, Disqus or an embedded hashtag feed.

iPhone App

We weren't able to test the iPhone app in detail yet, but based on what we have heard about it and the screenshots we have seen, as well as the information we have received from TweetDeck itself, this app looks like it might be a winner. Overall, the iPhone app will recreate the look and feel of the desktop app, with the ability to flick back and forth between different columns, create and manage groups, etc.

The most important aspect of the app, though, is that changes in one app (desktop or iPhone) will automatically be synced with the other app (this includes groups, columns, etc.).

Update: we got to play with the iPhone client a bit more now, here are some of our observations:

• you need to register an account with TweetDeck to enable syncing
• the animations for switching between columns are very smooth - switching between columns also feels very natural
• the app doesn't work in landscape mode
• adding users to a group is a bit complicated, as you have to go through the 'columns' menu - you can't just look at a user's profile and add him/her to a group

Overall, after having tested the app for a bit longer, this is clearly going to be the iPhone app to beat now. It's easy to use, fully featured, and fast, even with hundreds of new updates coming in with every refresh. At least for this author, TweetDeck will probably become the default Twitter client on the iPhone.

Desktop App

On the desktop side, we are very happy to see the end of the 10 column limit. As we tend to use TweetDeck as a research tool, we love the fact that we can now see more groups and searches right in TweetDeck without having to resort to other tools.

Another neat new feature is the addition of a 'reply to all' feature. Thanks to this, you can easily reply to all users mentioned in a tweet, instead of just the user who sent the message.

There are also a number of other new features in the desktop app, including the ability to reference another user (marked as 'RE' in tweets), support for video playback from Qik and 12seconds, as well as the ability to see a list of local (instead of Twitter-wide) trends.

This is Big

Overall, this is an important new version of TweetDeck, and the addition of the iPhone app with syncing is probably the killer feature here. Other Twitter clients also feature desktop and mobile apps (Nambu, Tweetie, and Twitterific, for example), but while a lot of TweetDeck's competitors have promised a similar feature, none have delivered this functionality yet.

Qik isn't a huge company, so the presentation being held in what looked like Qik's main lobby with Robert Scoble popping in around the edges isn't too surprising. However, they made a couple of unfortunate choices during the presentation. First, using a cell phone (perhaps using Qik Roam technology?) as the primary camera meant the video was shaky and not perfectly in focus, and audio was mediocre at best. Second, the feed did not have a title on it, so visitors hitting the Qik front page only knew that a live presentation was happening - not what was happening or how far along it was. Finally, the video was horribly choppy, obviously suffering from an intermittent connection, which left the viewer waiting interminably for a few seconds of video here and there. The chat accompanying the video (which apparently is not saved after the live session concludes) was similarly full of confused and unhappy viewers.

Of course, after the event ended, the Qik software completed its job of filling in the missing pieces and the finished videos can be viewed here, now more or less unbroken. And, as we said above, the ability to have a SIM card that would allow us to use our phone's data capability and Qik video-streaming abilities anywhere in the world without additional roaming or other surcharges sounds like a pretty good deal! We've all heard of the poor guy who was stuck with the $3,000 phone bill.

On second thought, perhaps it was the fact that Scoble and MG Siegler were also streaming the event using Qik that caused the problems? We might never know.

Besides the basic chat function, TinyChat also features the ability to add a badge with your chatroom status to your blog or social networking profile. You can also save a copy of your chat log by saving it as a text file, or by forwarding it to your email account.

Hidden Features: Choose Your Own URL and Private Chat

If you don't want to use TinyChat's cryptic names for your chatroom, you can also choose your own by just appending it to the TinyChat URL. If you want to send a private message, just click on the person's name and your message will be invisible to the rest of the room.

The chatroom concept does feel a bit retro, and it would be nice if you could receive some kind of audio or visual notification whenever a new message was posted to your room, but overall, the service just does what it say it does, and it does it well.

iPhone and Flash Coming Soon

Dan Blake, TinyChat's developer, tell us that they are also currently working on a simple iPhone app and a flash widget. If you like TinyChat, you should also check out TinyPaste (short URLs for long quotes) and iOJ (file uploading and sharing app) from the same developers.

Most importantly, Posterous' new bookmarklet automatically extracts videos from sites like YouTube, Hulu, ESPN, Revision3, blip.tv, and many others. It also recognizes music on imeem and SoundCloud, as well as documents on Slideshare, scribd, and Docstoc. The bookmarklet also picks up on photos from flickr, Photobucket, and Picasa, and you can even include live video from Seesmic, qik, and justin.tv. In addition, the bookmarklet also recognizes embedded documents from these services on other sites and allows you to post them to your Posterous.

Autopost

Thanks to Posterous' auto-post feature, you can forward your posts to Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook, as well as to most major blogging services, including Tumblr. Sadly, Posterous does not (yet?) support posting to FriendFeed and it can't save a copy of your links to more traditional boomarking services like delicious.

Taking on Tumblr

Sadly, Posterous still doesn't offer an API that would allow third-party developers to easily create applications on top of the service. Tumblr, on the other hand, has cultivated a rich ecosystem of third-party apps.

Posterous, however, has a dedicated fanbase and the simplicity of the service has served it well over the last six months. This new feature will surely help it to gain a lot of new users, as it massively expands the usefulness and functionality of Posterous.

Mugasha, a new service focused on the world of electronic music, hopes to improve that listening experience by taking those long sets and parsing them into something you can use.

Compared to how we're accessing DJ sets today, it's a leap from that linear radio format to the modern user-controlled listening experience to which we've all become accustomed. And it's provided in an interface that is intuitive and aesthetically pleasing.

Mugasha was originally conceived and prototyped during Portland Startup Weekend in May 2008. After several months of development and testing, it's been made available to a limited number of users.

If you're interested in more about the thinking behind the service, you can listen to co-founder Akshay Dodeja describe the service to Robert Scoble during an interview conducted last year.

For all the upside to Mugasha, however, there is still one drawback to the young service: a limited number of sets and genres. So, it's likely that some of your favorite artists aren't yet available on Mugasha. That said, the collection continues to grow. In fact, the service just added a new series of Trance sets. And there is the promise of new sets being added on a regular basis.

Even with the limited selection, there's still days and days worth of music available to test the service and get a feel for what Mugasha delivers. No matter what your preferred genre, we're sure you'll find the service a compelling addition to your available musical resources - especially if you've been among those listeners dealing with hours of cryptic sets.

But why take our word for it? If you're interested in listening to some of Mugasha's current sets, we've got some good news: ReadWriteWeb has been allocated 500 invites for the private beta that will get you behind the velvet rope.

The invites are first come, first served. When they're gone, they're gone. Simply enter the beta code "RWW" at sign up and start making some sense of the latest DJ sets.

Simply put, "jailbreaking" is a straightforward process that allows you to install unapproved third-party applications on your device. It is sometimes confused with "unlocking" - the process that makes the phone capable of working on other carriers besides AT&T (in the U.S., that is).

Although very different from each other, both processes are unapproved by Apple and will void your warranty. Still, a non-jailbroken phone is only half the phone it could be. The extra functionality it allows for makes it worth the risk. Besides, if you ever do need to return it for warranty repairs, you can always wipe it clean and reinstall the firmware. (Just call Apple tech support and have them walk you through the process, explaining that you're sending it in for repairs and are concerned about privacy. Ask them to help you reinstall it to its original, out-of-the-box state.)

Why Jailbreak?

Apple, in their infinite wisdom, locked down the iPhone in a number of ways, hampering its ability to do basic tasks like record video, zoom in when taking photos, or apply a theme to your homescreen. They may have been right to do so - many cell phone owners have had devices with this functionality for years, but could never understand how to access those functions. Those features made the phone "too confusing" to use, complained cell phones owners.

However, for the most part, those who were struggling with the technicalities of recording a video on their phone were from an older generation - ones who didn't grow up with cell phones and their "new-fangled" capabilities. For everyone else, these types of features are somewhat expected in modern devices, especially those as advanced as the iPhone. And the fact that Apple's smartphone doesn't include these options is something that's often surprising to new owners.

How To Jailbreak

To learn to how to jailbreak your phone, you can simply do a web search, but the sites indexed are sometimes either out-of-date or a bit confusing for the less technical users. However, I personally found the steps at iphone-hacks.com very easy to follow thanks to the screenshots that accompanied the step-by-step directions. The full instructions are too detailed for a post like this, but you can follow the steps yourself using these provided links: Steps for Windows users / Steps for Mac users.

The Best Jailbroken Apps

Obviously, a list of the best apps for jailbroken phones is one that is entirely subjective. However the apps listed here are the ones that add functionality to the phone that we wish had been included out of the box.

Record Video

The iPhone is capable of recording video, but there is no way to do so without an "un-jailbroken" device. One such application that allows you to record video is the Cycorder application. It records videos formatted as QuickTime (.mov) files which are stored in the iPhone at /var/mobile/Media/Videos. To get the videos off the device, you'll need another application as described here, such as the iPhoneBrowser for Windows.

Upload to YouTube

If you upload all your videos to YouTube anyway, you may want to forgo Cycorder in favor of iPhone Video Recorder. There is both a 2G and 3G version of this application. With this app, you can record video, select your video mode (orientation/size), choose your encoder (MPEG-4 or MOV), and share the videos. Videos can either be uploaded directly to YouTube or shared via email.

Record Video and Stream it Live

Another video recording option is to stream live video directly to the internet. Two applications are available for this: Qik and Flixwagon. We've covered both of these applications before, including this "how-to" guide to using Qik. My personal preference is Qik, since I was already a member of the service. Qik also offers a higher resolution and frame rate.

A Zoomable Camera

The camera on the iPhone only does one thing: it takes pictures. Even though the iPhone camera is not the best, a few more options would be nice for those of us who are regular cameraphone photographers. An app called Snapture is a much better camera application. The free version adds 12 advanced camera features like gesture zoom, color modes, and multi-shot. A Premium version ($7.99) removes ads and enables an advanced QuickView System which allows you to sort through, delete, and email photos easily. Premium users also get access to the beta features first.

Use A Modem

If you're used to tethering your smartphone to your computer as a backup or emergency internet connection, the iPhone leaves you without the option because, by default, tethering is not permitted. The iPhoneModem is an application that can help. With this app installed, you can share your iPhone's internet connection with either your Mac or PC. It can even run in the background while you run other apps. If you make heavy use of this application, you'll want to also download the helper app that automatically configures your computer and then reconfigures it back when you disconnect.

Add Themes

If you like making things your own, you may be disappointed that the only customizations you can make with your iPhone are changing the background and reorganizing your apps. Out of the box, the iPhone background only displays when your phone is locked - it does not show up behind your applications like desktop wallpaper would. To really customize your iPhone, you need an application like WinterBoard or SummerBoard.

We're not sure what's with the season-inspired names, but WinterBoard is definitely our favorite, as it replaces the apparently abandoned SummerBoard. With this app installed, you can change the entire theme for your iPhone including the homescreen's background, the icons themselves, and the status bar. There are tons of themes to choose from, from your favorite movie to a stylized bookshelf. (Hack that Phone shows some screenshots as does Apple iPhone School - also check their related links for more).

Customize More

An app called BossPrefs is a replacement for the preferences settings on the iPhone. One of the most useful settings the application provides is a quick way to shut off the iPhone's 3G service - a real battery drainer. With BossPrefs, it's only one tap away from the homescreen whereas the iPhone native Settings app has it buried several layers deep. The other key feature of BossPrefs is its ability to hide icons - even the ones that shipped with the phone. Not everyone wants "Stocks" for example, so it's nice to be able to clear some space for other apps you use instead. BossPrefs lets you configure a lot more, too, but we think those are the two best features it offers.

Enjoy!

We realize this guide is far from a comprehensive listing of apps, but these are just some of our personal favorites for making the iPhone more usable. Feel free to share your favorites with us, too.

Image credit: Jailbroekn iPhone screen, Phil Campbell

Of course there are far more than 100 great Web products out there, so there are some excellent ones not included in our megalist. Please leave a comment here and tell us what we've missed!

• Best LittleCo of 2008 & Most Promising for 2009
• Best BigCo of 2008: Apple
• Top 10 Semantic Web Products of 2008
• Top 10 International Products of 2008
• Top 10 Consumer Web Apps of 2008
• Top 10 RSS and Syndication Products of 2008
• Top 10 Mobile Web Products of 2008
• Top 10 Enterprise Web Products of 2008
• Top 10 Real World Web Apps of 2008
• Top 10 Digital Lifestyle Products of 2008
• Top 10 Alternative Search Engines of 2008
• Top 10 Web Platforms of 2008

Note that seven products made it to more than one of our top 10 lists, so we've noted when that is the case and added some new products that just missed the cut somewhere along the line.

ReadWriteWeb's Top 100 Products

This list is in alphabetical order, with category noted beside each item.

• Adobe AIR; Platforms
• Afrigator; International
• Amazon Web Services; Platforms & Enterprise *
• Android; Platforms & Digital Lifestyle *
• App Store (iPhone); Digital Lifestyle
• Basecamp; Enterprise
• BBC iPlayer; Digital Lifestyle
• BlueOrganizer (AdaptiveBlue); Semantic Web
• BooRah; Semantic Web
• Brightkite; Mobile Web; Most Promising for 2009
• ChaCha; Alternative Search Engines
• Chrome; runner-up Platforms
• Cooliris; Consumer & Alternative Search Engines
• Confluence (Atlassian); Enterprise
• Dapper; RSS/Syndication & MashupAds for Semantic Web *
• Digg; runner-up, Consumer
• DimDim; Enterprise
• Dopplr; International
• Facebook Platform; Platforms
• Faroo; Alternative Search Engines
• Feedburner; RSS/Syndication
• FFtoGo; Mobile Web
• Fire Eagle; Platforms
• Firefox; Consumer
• Flickr; runner-up Consumer
• Force.com (Salesforce); Enterprise
• FreshBooks; International
• FriendFeed; RSS/Syndication
• Fring; Mobile Web
• Gnip; RSS/Syndication
• Google Apps; Enterprise
• Google Maps; Mobile Web
• Google Reader; RSS/Syndication
• Google Reader RSS Subscriber Count Greasemonkey Script; RSS/Syndication
• Hakia; Semantic Web
• Hulu; Digital Lifestyle & Consumer *
• Imeem; runner-up Consumer
• IntenseDebate; Consumer
• iPhone SDK; Platforms
• i.TV; Mobile Web
• KallOut; Alternative Search Engines
• Kiva; Real World
• Kosmix; Alternative Search Engines
• Last.fm; Consumer
• LinkedIn; Enterprise
• Live Mesh; Platforms
• Maxthon; International
• Mednar; Alternative Search Engines
• Meebo; Consumer
• MindTouch Deki; Enterprise
• Mint; Real World
• Mixi; International
• Mogulus; Consumer
• Mozilla Weave; Platforms
• MySpace; runner-up Consumer
• Netbook; Digital Lifestyle
• Netflix; Digital Lifestyle
• Netvibes; International
• Ning; Consumer
• Nokia E71; Digital Lifestyle
• NYTimes iPhone App; Mobile Web
• OpenCongress; Real World
• OpenSocial; Platforms
• Open Calais; Semantic Web
• Opera Mini/Mobile; Mobile Web
• Pandora; Mobile Web
• PatientsLikeMe; Real World
• PlayStation 3; Digital Lifestyle
• PlanetEye; Real World
• Postrank (ex-AideRSS); RSS/Syndication
• Powerset; Semantic Web
• Qik; Consumer
• Quintura; Alternative Search Engines
• Remember The Milk; International
• Rudder; Real World
• SearchMonkey; Semantic Web
• SeeqPod; Alternative Search Engines
• Sermo; Real World
• Shazam; Mobile Web
• Snackr; RSS/Syndication
• Songbird; Digital Lifestyle
• Surf Canyon; Alternative Search Engines
• Taggalaxy.de; Alternative Search Engines
• TeachStreet; Real World
• Techmeme; runner-up RSS/Syndication
• TripIt; Semantic Web
• Twitter; Mobile Web & Consumer; Twitter API, Platforms *
• Twitterfeed; RSS/Syndication
• UpTake; Semantic Web
• UStream; runner-up Consumer
• Wii Fit; Digital Lifestyle
• Wild Apricot; Real World
• Wordpress; Enterprise
• Wuala; International
• Xing; International
• Yahoo! Pipes; RSS/Syndication
• Yapta; Real World
• YouTube; runner-up Consumer
• Zemanta; Semantic Web
• Zoho; Enterprise & International; Best LittleCo *

* products in more than one list. There were seven of these: Amazon Web Services, Android, Cooliris, Dapper, Hulu, Twitter, Zoho

We may be jumping the gun a bit in saying that there's the possibility of video upload to YouTube just around the corner for Android - the roadmap does not specify this. There's a vague reference to "video intent," but no mention of YouTube or any other video sharing web sites. Still, we can't help but hope for that feature, as it would make the Android OS an even more compelling choice for those of us who want a more open smartphone.

Upcoming Features

The "Cupcake" update does include some other features we can get excited about though, including:

• Copy and Paste will come to the web browser in addition to its new WebKit rendering engine
• Inline search will help you find text on the web page you're viewing
• A port of the "SquirrelFish"Javascript engine from Google's Chrome browser
• Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) profile support and  Bluetooth Remote Control (AVRCP) support
• Support for 3rd parties to make their own onscreen keyboards

With the Top 10 Consumer Web Apps of 2008, we've tried to select the apps that have burst onto the radar of the everyday user this year - or if not quite, then perhaps they will next year.

This is the third in a series of top products of 2008:

1. Top 10 Semantic Web Products of 2008
2. Top 10 International Products of 2008

Note: We attempted to order this list from most obvious to least obvious.

1. Twitter

Twitter is the de facto leader of the microblogging scene, a realm usually rife with witty repartee between leading social media consultants and Web 2.0 developers. But when household names like Lance Armstrong, Richard Branson, Al Gore, Shaquille O'Neal, Britney Spears, and politicians across the US started using it, this year, it was clear that our selection as the Best Web LittleCo for 2007 had grown up - and entered the public consciousness.

Twitter was a constant fixture on ReadWriteWeb this year from its use as a source of news to its growing use as a customer service channel. But it wasn't without its hiccups. Midway through the year, Twitter - and its more and more frequent showings of the Fail Whale - was rapidly becoming persona non grata. In June 2008, Amazon's Jeff Bezos poured more cash into the service. And with the US elections, Twitter proved its mettle, becoming a critical forum for debate on the issues at hand.

2. Firefox

November 2008 marked the fourth birthday for Firefox, arguably one of the most successful open source projects and clearly the most popular Web browser that users have to actually install. In 2008, more and more of the consumer population gravitated to the browser that strives to deliver the Web the right way.

Firefox has continued to grow in popularity throughout 2008, but it was the download day for Firefox 3 that began to truly turn heads. Site crushing traffic to download a Web browser? Believe it. So much traffic, in fact, that it set a world record. That, and a number of other factors, had Firefox reaching a 20% market share in October of this year.

3. IntenseDebate

IntenseDebate - dubbed by RWW as the "the sophisticated blog comment system with the silly name" - provides a commenting add-in for blogs and Web sites that allows users to better manage their profiles and comments across multiple conversations. It also supports OpenID.

In 2008, distributed commenting was still a very young space with no clear leader. But when IntenseDebate appeared as the comment system on US President-elect Barack Obama's change.gov, it stepped into the public eye. Now, thousands of people are using the commenting system. This makes Automattic - the company that manages the development of WordPress - look pretty insightful for acquiring IntenseDebate this year.

4. Hulu

If Hulu - a joint video content sharing venture between NBC Universal and News Corp. - is any indication, traditional mainstream media companies are beginning to get this whole "online thing."

And with good reason. In 2008, Hulu shed its ugly duckling image and came into its own and was projected to earn a staggering $90 million in its first year. How? Again, the true turning point was the US elections. Consumers turned to Hulu as much for the political content, as for the satire - like Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show. Now, consumers are hooked and that affinity for the service is showing no sign of slowing.

5. Ning

Ning is a service designed to help anyone build a social network about anything that interests them. And in 2008, consumers flocked to the site to do exactly that - to the tune of a new social network created every 30 seconds.

As of October 2008, Ning was host to half of a million networks. And it will only continue to grow in the consumer space. Why? Much like Twitter, Ning has begun to attract celebrities who find the service a viable way of interacting with fans. Plus, with its integration of OpenSocial, Ning gains access to tech savvy consumers on a variety of social networks who already understand the dynamic.

6. Last.fm

Any app that incorporates consumer media and makes it easier to use is a winner. And that's why Last.fm, the socially driven music recommendation service, is a shoo-in for top consumer apps of 2008.

We at RWW spend a great deal of time focused on Last.fm - from the most popular songs to mashups created using its data to visualizing Last.fm friends networks - because we spend so much time on Last.fm. One thing is for sure with its redesigned site, the growing presence on mobile platforms, innovative programs, and interesting features, Last.fm is sure to continue gaining more and more fans.

7. Meebo

Meebo, always a favorite here at RWW, provides a centralized instant message platform that's accessible from any Web browser. While they've always been popular with the overly connected crowd, 2008 marks the year where Meebo has a growing opportunity to become a consumer favorite, as well.

In March 2008, we saw Meebo as having the opportunity to bring Web IM to the mainstream. Throughout the year, they continued to improve - including adding a revenue stream. And by October, Meebo had begun to roll out a partner program that will place its functionality on niche consumer sites throughout the Web. Even if consumers don't recognize Meebo yet, they will soon.

8. Mogulus

If YouTube taught people about online video and Ustream taught folks how to stream video, then Mogulus will be the service that teaches consumers how to broadcast online. And in a burgeoning HD market, where users are coming to expect crisp video and audio quality even online, Mogulus stands to become the streaming service of choice for serious videophiles.

In June 2008, we reported that Mogulus - which launched in May 2007 - was already reporting 4.5 million uniques. By September, that number had grown nearly 30% to 5.8 million. Clearly, the numbers are on the upswing.

9. Qik

Qik, the service that allows users to stream video to the Web from a mobile handset, may not be as prevalent on the consumer radar as some of these other apps. But it's safe to say it will be. While services like Mogulus have focused on the quality of the video stream, services like Qik have focused on the converse: the ability to stream content with devices that consumers are already carrying around. And that will be their key to success - the ability to deliver more content while hauling less gear.

At the beginning of the year, we wondered if Qik might be one of the breakout apps at SXSW 2008 given the number of tech types participating in its early testing. By the middle of 2008, Qik had opened its beta to more participants. And since that point, they've focused on making the service available on both mass market phones and some smart phones. No doubt, the ability to shoot video with that phone in your pocket will be as compelling to consumers as taking photos - if not moreso.

10. Cooliris

Cooliris may be the least obvious - and least recognized - of our consumer app selections, but it has that certain something that makes us sure its going to be popular with the less technically savvy. For those of you who haven't had the chance to try it, Cooliris is a browser extension that provides a 3D environment for thumbing through visual sites - like photo and video sites. What's more, it makes it fun. And that's why consumers will continue to be attracted to it.

We covered Cooliris - then called PicLens - in February 2008, finding it "a lot of fun to play with and makes searching and viewing images on the web very enjoyable." By June 2008, they had added Amazon items and YouTube videos. Even the iPhone got the Cooliris treatment with the Cooliris iPhone app. Most recently, Cooliris has unveiled features that allow users to personalize selections - and that allows Cooliris to sell more advertising. Visual browsing is still coming into its own, but Cooliris is leading the charge in a way that consumers will embrace.

Now, it's your turn. What's your opinion on these selections? Are we off? Did we miss something? Are you seeing consumer adoption elsewhere?

Well, a lot has changed in the Mobile Web application world since then. The Apple App Store launched in July '08, prompting a wave of new third party iPhone apps. And we've seen innovation from Apple's mobile phone competitors: Google's Android (which has multiple app stores), Nokia, and Blackberry, and others. So what are your favorite Mobile Web apps and sites circa November 2008? The ReadWriteWeb authors list their faves below, plus we polled our friends in Twitter (subscribe to our Twitter account @rww).

Mobile Apps & Sites Favored by RWW Authors

Richard MacManus

iPhone apps:

• Last.fm - still my favorite music streaming app, and the iPhone version was upgraded in September
• YouNote - handy note-taking tool, multimedia
• Diamedic - iPhone app for diabetics that records my glucose levels and insulin shots
• Weight Tracker - enables me to keep track of my daily weight
• Groundwork - iPhone version of Basecamp, which works via 37Signals' API. Note there are another couple of third party Basecamp apps for iPhone: Minivan and Projects from appremix. Also see Jason Fried's comment here on RWW for suggestions for Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones.
• NYTimes - nice example of a native iPhone app for a media publication, although ironically it always seems to get stuck for me when I click to the Technology section!
• Gmail, via iPhone mail

Browser-based:

• ReadWriteWeb iPhone version (powered by MoFuse)
• Google Reader
• Mobile Twitter
• Mobile FriendFeed

Frederic Lardinois:

• Evernote - great for making a quick note of addresses or restaurant menus by just taking a pic of them
• Pandora - even better now that they added 'genre' stations
• Fring - having Skype on the iPhone has saved me a few times
• Google Reader
• FriendFeed mobile
• Google Earth - for the sheer beauty of it

Sarah Perez:

For iPod Touch:

• Twinkle
• Twitterifc
• mobile Facebook
• Byline for RSS (offline).
• mobile Google Reader
• mobile FriendFeed
• mobile Gmail

For Blackberry:

• mobile facebook
• mobile flickr app
• Live search
• twitterberry

Rick Turoczy:

• Shazam - "remains one of my favorites--and most often used. Admittedly, sometimes I simply use it to be mystified by the black magic of how it correctly identifies incredibly eclectic tunes."

Marshall Kirkpatrick:

• FFtoGo.com
• m.netvibes.com
• slandr.net
• Fring
• http://www.techmeme.com/mini

Nathan DiNiro, RWW Jobwire

• m.shizzow.com
• GMail for BB
• TwitterBerry
• Google Maps for BB
• Google Talk for BB
• Pocket Express for BB - Handmark, I think

Friends of RWW in Twitter

Rudy De Waele: facebook app, google maps, twitterrific, ocarina (all iphone) and QIK (Nokia N95)

Steve O'Hear, editor of last100: BBC iPlayer, Nokia Mail (push), Twitterific

Tom Tague, Calais: Remember the Milk (bbery & iphone), instapaper (let's me catch up on stuff I should read), twitterific

paulbradshaw: Shozu, JoikuSpot, Google Maps, Qik, ZoneTag

Chris Osborne: my top mob apps (symbian): fring, goog maps, shozu, nokia sports tracker, vodafone sat nav. in 'emerging' category: flyscreen

dekkerd: qik, brighkite, twinkle, ziibii apps, dropcard, friendfeed, greader. all iphone

Windows Observer: Tiny Twitter Google Maps

mobile jones: QIK, Google Maps, Sprint Backup Service, Mobile Gmail, Flyscreen - 5 is too short a list and these are not in order.

keithbohanna: NetnewsWire, Truphone, GMaps on iPhone, Twitterfon

Ginger Sorvari: Google Maps (#1 by far), WeightWatchers, Twitter, FB, SI.

David Owens: 1) Google Maps 2) Instapaper 3) Byline 4) GoConnect 5) London City #iphone

Pádraic Brady: Tweetie for iPhone is pretty good - splits up dm/replies/friends feeds separately and its performance is pretty good.

Aaron Grabein: Photoshop.com Mobile, http://is.gd/8ZC9, is great for photo uploads (Win Mo) and TwitterBerry, Facebook, Google Maps

Susan Puccinelli: My two faves are Google Maps for Mobile and CalTrain+ (though of course its only relevant to those of us in the Bay Area who use it)

janetleejohnson: Smub - http://smub.it (any smartphone), twitterrific, Google Maps (iPhone)

Matt Wiseley, EditMe: (Android) dgMoney http://is.gd/8ZzD/ BlueBrush http://is.gd/8ZA4/ QuickList http://is.gd/8ZAI

Conor O'Neill: Nokia Maps, Gmail Mobile, Twibble, Qik, eBuddy, Truphone, Shozu

Jajah: @twidroid (Android)/@twitterfon (iPhone), Facebook, @my6sense (iPhone), @strands, @jajah http://iphone.jajah.com

Sherry Main: for iphone: facebook, twitterific, wordpress, scribeshare, google maps

egrommet: still like shozu and sportstracker (nokia)

Duncan Heal: 1st gen iPod Touch 2.2: Twitteriffic, Facebook, Safari, iChalky, AIM

Jorge Escobar: Gmail (IMAP) and Google Maps on Windows Mobile 6

localinsurance: facebook app, blackbird, twitpic

Susan Beebe: 5 Favorite Mobile apps (iPhone): BeejiveIM, Evernote, Shazam, fftogo.com, RTM (remember the milk), YouNote, koi pond, camera bag

Stephane Delbecque: BlogIt for iPhone is very cool. TypePad web app for iPhone is not bad either. :-)

ChadHusseinCapellman: what about LEAST FAVORITE mobile web apps? I'd be speaking about the mandatory Verizon Wireless start screen instead of my favorites.

Sean Power: i would be considerably less productive without the Google mobile suite (reader, talk and mail)

davefleet: Google Maps; Google Talk; Jott

geoffmcqueen: I like Brightkite, but wish they'd use Gears GeoLoc info in PocketIE. Also, m.Facebook.com, Skype & SPB's Traffic Monitor app for WM6.

Tell Us Your Faves!

We hope that you spotted a few interesting sounding apps in the above list that you'd like to try out! Please list your favorites in the comments below, as well as your opinions about the state of Mobile Web applications and sites.

Top image credit: MichaelMarlatt

12seconds.tv is branching out of the little leagues and partnering with mobile livestreaming heavy hitters Qik and Flixwagon. The videos on Qik and Flixwagon can be pretty long, which means longer loading times for viewers. Now users won't have to worry about wasting time loading videos that they could've skipped. If you're a user of either service, the first 12 seconds of any video you record will be posted to your 12seconds.tv account. This move makes 12seconds.tv somewhat of a video aggregator. The service would be a great way to provide your network of friends with previews of your latest interview or wacky stunts that you record via Qik and Flixwagon.

More Mobile Options

The new partnerships also pushes 12seconds.tv into a wider mobile arena and expands the services current recording options, which was previously limited to a user's webcam or emailing a video to the service from your mobile phone if your device supported video messaging. Now you can do it all with a push of a button from the Qik and Flixwagon mobile apps.

Earlier this month, Qik announced that it had added support for consumer-focused phones - generally falling outside the "smart phone" category - like the Nokia and Sony handsets. Now, Qik is making its way on to the handset that most business users carry: the BlackBerry. Well, some of them, at least.

This makes Qik available on the most popular handsets in the world - leaving it even more conspicuously absent from the Apple iPhone. (iPhone owners interested in using Qik are currently forced to jailbreak their iPhones to use the service.) The new Android phone, the G1, is also currently missing out on Qik support.

But today, a few lucky BlackBerry users get to test Qik functionality for themselves. Those BlackBerry who carry the supported handsets and are interested in testing the alpha software can visit Qik to download the application.

Live Streaming Goes Mainstream

The real news here is that mobile live streaming will now be available to a far wider audience than ever before. Qik is clearly positioning as a mass market product as well, while some of its competitors like Kyte have specifically shied away from going after this market and, so far, only support high-end Nokia S60 phones.

Now that Qik is becoming available to a larger and more diverse audience, it will be interesting to see if we will also see new ways of using it, as well as new controversies around the privacy and copyright implications of live streaming. Hopefully, Qik's competitors, including Kyte and Flixwagon will soon follow suit and release their software for mainstream phones as well.

If you are wondering about the video quality of these live streams, here is a demo from Qik: