UK startups appear to be getting ready to take advantage of that big wide iPhone screen as the Jesus phone launches today. Local review social network Trusted Places is among the first to take the opportunity to roll out an optimised version of its site for the iPhone at trustedplaces.com/iphone. It makes sense as a strategy since people often want information about a bar or restaurant via the mobile, and assuming they can live with a slightly slower 2.5G iPhone, sites which offer a dedicated application should benefit. Of course it’s going to be a small market to being with, but if the iPhone does well in the UK we could be looking at a brand new market for web applications.
The TP iPhone application allows you to click on any phone number on a webpage to activate a call, while clicking on a place’s address details brings up its location on Google Maps. The user can ask for directions and if they’re planning a meet-up they can email all the details for a place using the iPhone’s in-built email app. The application uses the TrustedPlaces API – currently under closed beta and developed by Brighton-based software house Builtbydave. The API allows for two way sharing of all TrustedPlaces content – and they are looking for potential partners right now.
TP co-founder Walid Al Saqqaf was cannily promoting the site to the iPhone launch queue outside the London Apple store last night – and if you’re also a startup with some T-Shirts you might want to take a leaf out of his book, given the number of TV cameras that will be there…