Sirius XM is putting into action the longstanding encouragement from fans to delve deeper into mobile territory and more comprehensively tend to satellite radio fans on the go. As a result, Sirius XM is introducing a new mobile application built for BlackBerry smartphones.

The app will provide access to better than 120 popular channels serving up music, talk, sports and comedy programming – without a single commercial to break up the pace. Although the app is poised to pacify a lot of satellite radio fans, the Blackberry incarnation of the Sirius XM app will not follow suit with the previous iPhone application, which included programming ranging from The Howard Stern Show to professional sports broadcasting.

For now, Blackberry says the new app provides premium Online subscribers (who own the Storm, Bold, Tour or Curve) with programming that includes Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo, Oprah Radio and Martha Stewart Living Radio, music channels like The Grateful Dead Channel, Eminem’s Shade 45 and – as you would expect – Jimmy Buffett’s classic “Radio Margaritaville.” In addition, BlackBerry users will be able to bookmark Sirius XM Internet channels for fast, easy access through a “Favorites” function.

According to Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, Sirius XM: “We are truly excited to launch the Sirius XM App for BlackBerry, giving millions of discerning mobile consumers the ability to take our superior Premium Online programming with them on the go.”

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2010 is off to a big year, at least in terms of prominent people, places, and things getting their very own iPhone applications. Shortly after the White House announced its own dedicated app, the Grammy awards will similarly now have a digital platform from which to hype the biggest night in music.

The new “Guess the Grammys” app for the iPhone and iPod touch has been unveiled ahead of the Grammy awards ceremony, marking the first major mobile marketing effort by producers of the Grammys to tap into the mobile realm with a dedicated application.

The free application serves up a stroll down memory lane and engages users in playful trivia about the Grammys, including an opportunity to predict winners from twenty-one nominated categories. In a calculated effort to build quite a stellar email database, the app enables users to and register their guesses so that they may later be notified about how accurate their predictions turned out to be.

The 52nd annual Grammy awards will air on Sunday, January 31st, at 8:00 pm on CBS.

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Elvis may be gone, but he certainly isn’t forgotten.

On the perennial list of top celebrity earners who just happen to be dead, Elvis Presley remains both a hot brand and lucrative industry – a veritable business of music, merchandise, and memorabilia that continues to drive revenue for the many employed by all things Elvis.

It’s no wonder then that Elvis has finally arrived in the world of mobile marketing.

To commemorate a series of events honoring the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth next month, Elvis Presley Enterprises is preparing to launch a free Elvis Mobile app for Apple’s iPhone and iTouch.

Featuring everything from Elvis music directly from XM’s Elvis Radio channel to exclusive photos and information, users will also be afforded access to the Graceland Livecam.

Naturally, fans can even document alleged Elvis sightings around the world.

Throughout 2010, Elvis Mobile will be updated daily and utilize no shortage of mobile marketing’s many attributes to attract Elvis fans both young and old.

Elvis may have left the building, but mobile marketing has just arrived.

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Although Mariah Carey has never had trouble turning a profit from a live concert, the mobile realm is now enabling the pop diva to cash in on both performances old and new.

Carey and Island Def Jam Group have teamed with digital media solutions provider Iviago for an innovative concert simulcast this weekend. But there really is no concert this weekend. But tomorrow, Mariah Carey’s “Live in Las Vegas” concert will be simulcast across mobile phones. The event was recorded September 11 and 12th. With a price tag of $9.99, the concert will become available this weekend in approximately 200 international markets through hundreds of mobile and digital media partners.

An interesting angle that may be repeated by future headlining acts dabbling in mobile marketing is that Mariah’s concert stream will be provided on October 10th only to those who buy a “virtual ticket.” But if you’re not available to watch the concert on October 10th, you can watch it whenever you’d like in the future. But only once.

According to myriad concert promoters now working closely with many top mobile marketers, “virtual tickets” could one day become far more profitable for recording artists than physical tickets for live concerts.

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Looking thin but strong, Steve Jobs took the stage this morning at Apple’s annual September media event to introduce a new lineup of exciting offerings from Apple.

“So today we’re introducing something really great,” said Jobs. “And that’s iTunes 9. The next major release of iTunes.”

In addition, Jobs unveiled pre-made ringtones that will now be available from four major record labels through iTunes.

The ringtones (which number over 30,000) will be priced at $1.29 each.

“Now today we have something new for iPhone and iPod touch users: Phone 3.1, with a bunch of new features and bug fixes,” Jobs next revealed.

iPhone OS 3.1 will be available later today.

Jobs also touched on the ever-expanding inventory of the App Store, which now boasts some 75,000 iPhone and iPod apps.

Please stay with Mobile Marketing Watch for more news and updates from Apple’s media event as they become available.

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RealNetworks is poised to launch an on-demand Rhapsody streaming music app tailored to the iPhone and, of course, the iPod Touch.

The app will make its way to Apple for review this week, according to multiple reports.

How does it all work?

In a nutshell, the Rhapsody app enables users to access an inventory of 8 million songs with similar functionality to that which is found on Rhapsody’s official website.

Initially, RealNetworks will offer a free trial of the service (you can use your current Rhapsody username and password to access the app’s features). Eventually, however, it will come with a price tag, but we don’t yet know how large or small it will be if and when the App Store puts it up for sale.

According to Rhapsody’s VP of Business Management Neil Smith in The New York Times, the app should make it through the review process without incident.

“The App Store is likely to be bigger than the music store some day, and not approving things for the App Store is giving people a reason to say, ‘I’m not going to buy an iPhone,’” he says.

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Beginning September 6th, AT&T will mandate subscribers who activate or upgrade to a smartphone to also pick up a data plan.

If your smartphone was purchased before September 6th, you will likely be grandfathered in and, consequently, not forced to upgrade your present plan.

“We want our customers to have the best possible experience with their smartphones,” an internal AT&T email reportedly reveals.

“A predictable bill is a key factor in customer satisfaction, so effective September 6, 2009 smartphone customers will need to subscribe to a data plan, as the vast majority of customers already do. Data plans let customers fully utilize their device, without the worry of bill shock.”

In case you’re thinking that this is just a rumor, InformationWeek claims to have secured official confirmation of the policy change at AT&T.

“The sales representative is the customer’s expert resource in helping select the right device for their needs,” the email adds. “When a customer does not want a data plan, we will position other devices in our industry leading portfolio for the customer to choose from, as many devices do not require a data plan.”

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