That’s why the USPS is offering a 3% postage discount for marketers that use smartphone-friendly barcodes for First-Class and Standard mail letters, flats and cards.

Giving businesses a break for using two-dimensional bar codes is part of a bigger effort by USPS to convince advertisers using the mail can be worth their time.

A USPS spokesperson said they see it as more of a “get the word out” effort, to tell people about the long-term benefits of the postal system.

The promotion is scheduled for July and August. The promotion is open to marketers, including nonprofits, who submit qualifying First-Class or Standard mail letters, flats or cards electronically using a permit imprint payment method.

In order to be accepted, mail must have a mobile two-dimensional bar code as part of the mail piece. Also, all marketing information being relayed under the barcode has to match up to its actual contents.

This program is being run in addition to the USPS’ “postage back guarantee” effort. The USPS also plans a B2B campaign in September that’ll tout direct mail as an effective marketing medium.

Over the past five years, the number of cell phone users in America has nearly doubled, according to research cited in Chuck Martin’s book, The Third Screen.

Most experts predict that number will only increase over the next 2 to 3 years, which means the move from desk phone to mobile device will continue to accelerate as the marketplace shifts.

What’s more important? An overwhelming number of prospects now use their cell phone or mobile device as a primary means of communication. This, combined with caller ID, increased reliance on voice mail and the rise of email have made it much more difficult for sales organizations to rely solely on cold calling as a means of establishing contact.

Consider the following:

• Four out of five adults in the U.S. own a cell phone, and more than half of those adults will own a smartphone by the end of 2011.
• The majority of smartphone owners claim they’d be much more willing to view an add on their mobile device than any other medium, which creates a considerable disadvantage for companies that still rely on traditional marketing channels.
• More than half of cell phone users have an unlimited text plan, which means new trends like using mobile coupons and text discounts will become more popular in the next couple of years. (Note: To learn more about how to implement text marketing strategies like these, check out mobilecoupons.com and cellfire.com.)

As customers come to rely more on smartphones, mobile apps should eventually become as popular (if not more popular) than a lot of websites. As mobile devices become a one-stop-shop for people’s needs, salespeople will more than likely want to transition from trying to reach prospects at their desk to contacting them via cell phone.

Some strategies to consider:

• Look for lead sources that provide mobile numbers for high-probability prospects.
• Train salespeople to ask gatekeepers if they know the prospect’s cell phone number (Then change that to the primary or secondary contact number in your database).
• Make sure salespeople listen to voice mail messages to see if the prospect provides a mobile number he/she can also be reached at.
• Start monitoring how many appointments are scheduled by contacting prospects via cell phone versus contacting an office line — to see if there’s a discernible difference.

Based in part on the book The Third Screen by Chuck Martin.

Air carriers have long declined to be responsible for the mountains of junk left in seat back pockets, under seats, wedged in-between seats or in overhead bins.

That’s why the recent case of a USAirways passenger who was reimbursed $599 for her lost Droid phone got significant attention. You can read the saga here, but the gist of it was the phone fell between the seat and the wall, which made it unretrievable.

Multiple calls to USAirways for help weren’t, well, helpful. Even though the passenger knew exactly where the phone was, she couldn’t get it. But at one point, an airline employee told her it had been retrieved. It wasn’t.

Because she was misinformed, the airline decided to pony up the cost of a new phone.

But in most cases, that’s not going to happen. And once you’ve left the plane or gate area, getting back there to search for your misplaced item will likely become a security nightmare.

The other security problem is that today’s gadgets — smartphones and tablets especially — likely hold valuable business information that’ll be tough to replace and costly if it falls into the wrong hands.

The solution:

1. Do as you’re told. Check your seatback and the surrounding area for your belongings and secure them in your carry on when it’s time to land. Do a quick inventory of electronics, eyeglasses, wallets, organizers and books. If you’ve dropped something in an inaccessible place, do not deplane until someone from the airline has been summoned to assist you in retrieving it. If you’re asked to leave the plane without your belongings, get the name of the person who’s told you to do this and assurances your possessions will be returned to you as soon as possible.
2. Enable encryption on your devices. IT can help you with this. Encryption will make the data on your phone useless to anyone who finds it.
3. Use a location finder. It’s also a good idea to use one of the location-finder apps many gadgets come with (iPhones and iPads can use either MobileMe or a third-party app). This software uses your gadgets GPS capability find your device and tell you its location.
4. Learn about remote wipe. Many mobile devices can now be erased remotely. If you lose your phone or tablet, all its sensitive data will be gone in a flash.
5. Password protect your device. Needless to say, anyone who travels frequently needs to good password protection on their mobile devices. Don’t procrastinate and don’t write down the password. Anywhere.

An impressive number  — 68% — of moms are now at ease using a smartphone, and nearly three-quarters handle their own smartphone troubleshooting.

Over the past two years, 64% of moms have adopted smartphones — and 51% say they’re “hooked” to theirs.

Smartphones are now the primary means of connecting moms with the rest of their world.

It’s a constant companion that “makes her feel like a better mom,” said one parenting pro.

For a better idea of how to format and focus your media efforts, check out these stats from the Babycenter’s 21st Century Mobile Mom Report:

• 68% of moms use smartphones while shopping
• 46% say the best time to receive information or deals is while they’re in a store, and
• 46% of shopping moms said they were moved to action after seeing an ad on a mobile device.

the inevitable “top” lists that come out this time of year rank gadgets like this, and over at TechRepublic, editor-in-chief Jason Hiner bestowed the honors himself.

You can read his commentary and view a slideshow of Hiner’s picks here, but the rundown is:

1. Apple’s iPhone 4
2. HTC EVO 4G
3. Google Nexus One
4. Samsung Galaxy S
5. HTC Desire
6. Motorola Droid X
7. Samsung Focus
8. HTC Incredible
9. Motorola Droid 2
10. BlackBerry Torch

Of course there were the usual taunts of “fanboy” from the ever-anti-Apple geek crowd. But despite the problematic service often provided by AT&T and some overblown antenna problems (this according to Hiner, who says the difficulties were underplayed by Apple and overplayed by the media) the iPhone was the hands-down winner.

Writes Hiner of the phone: “Top-quality hardware and a software experience that still outpaces all of its rivals in terms of ease of use, responsiveness, polish, and third-party software. … the iPhone 4 remains the gold standard of the smartphone market.”

Yeah, what he said.

And folks who are distracted can also come off as rude and dismissive. That kind of behavior can have a lousy impact on office morale and drive a wedge between people you want to work as a team.

A recent survey of workers found that more than half — 59% — feel that smartphones damage workplace etiquette.

According to a recent ComScore study, over 45 million people in the U.S. own smart phones, the largest-growing segment of the 234 million-strong U.S. mobile phone market. So it’s likely things will get worse. But business leaders can help make them better.

Senior managers can get ahead of the problem now by establishing reasonable guidelines about smartphone use in the office. Among them:

• Whether or not smartphones should be silenced during meetings — or left behind in a desk drawer
• Guidelines for accessing company data on the phone
• Retention of business-related text messages
• The use of ringtones in the office (some can be distracting or offensive to co-workers), and
• Management’s responsibility to set a good example of proper smartphone etiquette.

It’s a good idea to consult with your management team before putting any guidelines in place. You wouldn’t want to impact productivity or create a parent-child relationship with your employees in the process.

As they say in the ads, there’s an app for that.

TSAwait is a nifty little application that lets you calculate how much time you’ll spend at security.

The app pulls stats from TSA and shows the average and maximum wait time — though the averages do change depending on holidays, weather and local events.

Still, the software should give travelers a basic idea about the good and bad times to try to go through security.

Unlike the information available online directly from the TSA, the app doesn’t limit you to looking up individual time intervals.  It also does not require a live internet connection, because its information is stored locally (yes, it even works in Airplane Mode).

There’s a “lite” free version of the app and a “full” one that costs a whopping 99 cents from Apple’s App Store.

Or will it make its way into the business world with legitimate time and money-saving uses? Here’s what we’ve gleaned from the expert chat:

For nearly a decade, there have been rumors that “tablet” computers are the wave of the future, the cutting edge of where users want to be. But none of those prognositcations or premonitions have been realized. The iPad will carry some of that baggage.
But workers who now turn to their smartphones for many routine business tasks understand the limitations of a small, pocket-held device have become apparent.
So when analysts say the iPad is the intermediate device between the laptop and the smartphone, they’re actually saying it fixes some of the problems with both.

Other potential business uses:
•    Conference room tool for notetaking and collaboration
•    Repository for reference books, tables and charts by engineers, lawyers and accountants
•    Tool for acquiring and using business and audiobooks
•    Portable unit for IT managers to access servers and computers remotely using apps already developed for the iPhone, but this time with a much bigger screen for their work
•    Health care workers ability to chart patient information, access references or testing schedules without the kiosks or stations necessary with a laptop computer
•    Dynamic collaboration on documents using newly designed iWorks suite docs app
•    Built-in drawing tools that allow workers to create sketches of proposed plans or processes
•    “Show and Tell” features allow small scale presentations in meetings with co-workers or clients
•    As a tool for workers in the field who need to enter data easily and quickly without having to open and power up a laptop, and
•    Project management could be made more efficient and dynamic, especially if SaaS project management tools that use Web 2.0 technologies are used.

Among the most intriguing were the flood of solid state storage devices. This new technology for data storage is becoming very popular with data managers, and the trend in devices is toward those that are easy to use and tough as nails.

In fact, among the most discussed events at this year’s show were the demos of just how rugged these drives are being made these days. One demo blasted a drive with fire, soaked it with a firehose and then dropped it 40 feet to a parking lot pavement. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the drive was then run over by a bulldozer.

It survived.

Most of these devices come with simple-to-use software that makes backing up to them a cinch for even the least tech-savvy execs who have important data that need archiving.

Smartphones got their share of attention at the show as well, but the big news during the week was Google’s introduction of its Android-based phone, Nexus One, which Google hopes will challenge the popularity of Apple’s iPhone.

But for many exhibitors at the show, introducing applications and add-ons to the iPhone was Job 1 at this year’s gathering. In fact, IDC analyst Frank Gens predicts that by the end of 2010, Apple’s smartphone will be the focus of 300,000 apps — triple the number there are now.

Ford, it seems, is leading the auto-making pack when it comes to integrating technology in their vehicles. The auto company was at the show touting an F-350 pickup truck with Windows Embedded XP running on a computer integrated into the truck’s dashboard.

All standard office productivity tools were running on the computer, along with special software designed to let a contractor keep track of tools and materials on the go.

The show was also the site for the unveiling of a number of netbooks, some of them with dazzlingly long battery life and super low pricetags.

Of course, once again, Apple’s plans dominated the chatter about portable computers. The company, ever secretive about plans and products, is expected to introduce a tablet computer within the next several weeks that will offer stiff competition to the folks at HP, Toshiba, Dell and Leonovo, all of which showed off new portable tablet units at CES.

And finally, some mesmerizing tiny projectors — pico projectors — were introduced at the show. These little devices let you make mobile presentations just about anywhere without having to lug along a big unit that will display your PowerPoint presentation.

Sort of a projector in the pocket that would dazzle many customers and clients with its capability and size.

Now that smartphones are the tech tool du jour for both business and personal use, telemarketing spammers have begun to prey on their owners in much the way they did landlines only a few years ago.

That doesn’t mean you have to burn precious cell phone minutes answering their calls or reading their texts.

As the Apple commercial likes to remind us: There’s an app for that.

The two most popular smartphones by far — the BlackBerry and the iPhone — both have software that will attempt to block most of the known spammers operating these days.

For the BlackBerry, you can get Call Control Pro from the folks at EveryCall. There’s a free version that blocks the top 100 spammers; the upgrade ($7.99) gets you protection from the company’s entire database of spammers.

Over at the iPhone’s App Store, there’s software called “Call Block” that’s only $1.99 (there’s no free version) and the software gets pretty lousy reviews from buyers. But for $1.99, it could be worth a try.

The trouble with all of this software is that it relies on known spammers. Any app of this sort would necessarily need almost constant updating as spammers change numbers  almost hourly.

Most of us rely heavily on the caller ID built that’s part of all phones to screen unwanted or anonymous calls. Letting unrecognized numbers to go to voicemail is one answer; few spammers leave a message. But it’s also a surefire way of missing some important phone calls just because the number’s unfamiliar.

You can also register you mobile number with the National Do Not Call Registry. It takes just a few minutes, is totally free and only requires that you provide a confirming e-mail address.

Once you register your number, the registry sends you a confirming e-mail that you have to respond to in order to complete the process. Then telemarketers get 31 days to purge your number from their lists.

Of course, signing up with the registry won’t block spam from the folks who bank with or have a credit card from.

Anyone out there with better suggestions for keeping spam off your mobile phone?

And that annoys the heck out of most cell phone users — which, increasingly, is all of us.

With the rise in demand for the smartphone, this frustration has become even more, well, frustrating.

That frustration has led to an extraordinary event. The U.S. Congress noticed. Not only did it notice, but elected representatives really went out on a limb in the face of a consumer uprising: They decided to look like they care.

How does Congress look like it cares? Why, they hold hearings of course.

What remains to be seen is if those hearings will lead to a change in the status quo.

The issue of carrier restrictions came to a head with the hyper popularity of Apple’s iPhone, introduced two years ago to overwhelming demand and approval. The one thing the iPhone’s owners routinely lamented, however, was the phone’s tie-in to AT&T.

The problem isn’t peculiar to the iPhone. The nation’s Big Four cellphone companies — the others are Verizon  Wireless, Sprint  Nextel Corp., and T-Mobile USA — all offer sophisticated smartphones available from no other carrier. And their policies limit what consumers can do with them.

Smaller carriers say these exclusive deals and service limits cut them out of the competition. They’re claiming these arrangements amount to an unfair trade practice that should be eliminated.

As you might imagine, the major carriers see it differently. They insist that the exclusivity deals have promoted phone innovation and are similar in nature to the deals signed by brands like Martha Stewart or Michael Kors to sell their designs only through selected retail outlets.

While Congress ponders the question and takes the temperature of consumers — who may turn up the heat for more choice — there’s also word that the Justice Department may enter the fray.

The Wall Street Journal reported the department has launched a review to determine whether The Big Four prevent smaller companies from offering advanced phones to their customers.

If they find that current practices violate federal trade laws, their decision could upend the hot mobile phone market for years to come.

The problems involved in making all phones available to all carriers would include overcoming the hurdle of making phone sets that operate on both the GSM and CDMA technology standards.

As things are now, AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM, which is used by all European carriers. Sprint/Nextel and Verizon Wireless use CDMA.

If the feds step in, either phone makers may have to produce two versions of their units, or all carriers may have to agree to operate on the same platform.

Then again, phone developers might decide to create a hybrid that operates on both systems.

What do you think would be best for these businesses and the consumers they serve? Is it possible to satisfy everyone involved?