Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

Game Apps

• Rolando - Tilting and touch gestures are seamlessly integrated in this highly rated side scroller.
• Super Monkey Ball- Seen in Apple's ads, delicate tilting of the device also tilts each level in this port of the Gamecube original.  Super Mario Galaxy-like vertigo potential!
• Labyrinth - With the device held horizontal, this game is an instantly recognizable digital version of those wooden maze boxes with silver balls.  I saw a three-year old quickly master this one and advance several levels.
• Trism - This sliding shape game has a patent-pending gameplay method and uses the acceleromter to fill left behind spaces.  The story of the developer's success is a fun read.
• iFighter - Fly a WWII fighter plane over the countryside.  This overhead shooter feels a little like Galaga.  
• Spore - Besides the fun creature customization and evolution aspect of this food chain/exploration game, the accelerometer here enables a very organic movement through 360 degrees.
• Motion X Poker - The dice casting in this game looks great.

Utility Apps

• Bump - Bumping two iPhones together transfers contact data - The app measures the accelerometer event of both devices at GPS/network coordinate to link the two users.  Nice UI as well.
• iMouse - Translates your hand motions into mouse movements on the screen.  Requires a Mac/PC download as well but looks interesting for presentations - and gaming?
• Accelaruler - I'm not sure I would trust this app alone to 'measure twice, cut once' but it is pretty interesting in that measures the distance the iPhone is moved in a straight line pretty well.
• Night Camera - Measuring the lack of movement (vs. motion), this app helps you take better low light pictures by waiting until the iPhone is still to trigger the photograph.  Looking forward to seeing the results of this and the iPhone 3.0 OS's upgraded imaging.
• Dynolicious - This track-tested accelerometer app is is great for sporty drivers who want to measure their vehicle's performance (0-60, .25/mile, HP, etc.).  At $13, hundreds less than pro systems!    
• iSyn and Pocket Drum Shaker - Just two of the many music apps out there, these apps make your device a physical musical instrument.
• Vinyl Record - As a bedroom DJ, I like how spinning the record in this app creates a vinyl rewind sound.  It's not precise but makes a great effect for parties.  What I'm really looking for is an app that changes and measures BPM with touch controls.

Homemade Apps and Research

• Step Counter - Like the Nike apps, someone created their own step counter.
• Biometric signatures via accelerometer - This is just research .
• Radio controlled car - This homemade app allows for tilting-based control of the speed and direction of an R/C vehicle - someone did something similar with R/C planes.

7 Branded Apps
That's a pretty good indication of the diversity of apps out there that rely on interaction via motion to enhance or totally maintain a user experience.  So how are brands taking advantage of accelerometers for new user experiences?  

• TicTacs - I was excited about this app because my screen is very close in size and shape to a TicTac box.  The idea is great and it looks good, but in the last release (an update was just put out) the sliding of the mints around the 'inside' could've used a little more motion finesse/fluidity.  Executed by Australian agency Weblings, this also features sharing and Facebook integration.
• Dockers - A very clever mobile media placement in existing iPhone sport games, shake three times to trigger kahki-clad breakdancer clips. This interstitial-style app isn't deep or complex but really fits the brand and is light fun.  Here's a video of it running.
• Target's Gift Globe - Target's since updated their iPhone app to allow more precise gift finding, but the holiday version of the app let users shake a snowglobe to generate gift selections from a backend database.
• Clif Bar's "Save Our Snow" - Besides providing resort conditions and raising awareness about the impact of global warming, shaking the iPhone lets users "break the ice" created when blowing in the microphone. 
• Coors' "iPint" - An app for the pubs, this drinking simulation is more of a novelty and was preceded by another developer effort.  Still, it's a good example of 'fluid dynamics' ;)
• BMW's "Z4 Expression of Joy" - This app is a really nice element in a larger integrated campaign which features BMWs as giant paintbrushes.  In this app your tilting controls the path of a vehicle to create an original 'artwork' that you can save and share.  Where I found overhead driving difficult in the Audi A4 Driving Challenge app, here the experience is much smoother (Audi's since come out with another driving app)
• VW's Polo Challenge 3D - This app looks and feels great with behind-the-vehicle gameplay.  The Polo looks realistic and tilt-to-steer- controls are also smooth.  One of my favorite racing apps! 

Things to Consider
After a couple of months of (casual) research, my feeling is that this is just the beginning of trend where accelerometers (and soon, magnetometers?) are a common feature in handheld devices.  On the iPhone and Touch it's not the 'secret ingredient' to a rich user experience, but is definitely part of a package of great features, including the touch interface and Wifi, that make these devices fun for gameplay, tasks and other activities.

Accelerometer-based interaction is still an emerging sandbox for developers - and users - some control systems could be more or less sensitive, and especially the first time, it can take some effort to figure out how much motion should be used.  This is bound to continue evolving along with other technologies in devices - especially magnetometers (confirmed for  the next-gen iPhone) that enable measurement of absolute positions.

As for brands - I didn't find as many using the accelerometer as I thought I would.  But I think we'll continue to find more soon, with improvements (Audi recently released a more usable racing game).  It would be great to see more consumer brands try unique or novel user experiences using this technology.  Of course, a user experience of any kind should be appropriate to the brand and relevant to the user's needs.

I'll wrap this up with one more novelty from Japanese developer Michio Yokomizo, the Happy Birthday Spanking Paddle app.  Despite being fun and cute in a Japanese context, I'm not sure Apple will see fit to approve this here in the U.S.  What do you think? If you have any comments on my examples or have seen other great uses of accelerometers, please post your comments here - thanks!

Jay Bain