It’s said that history repeats itself, and that’s certainly no truer than when one looks back at the history of the mobile data communications as compared to the Internet. Yet, despite having such clarity of retrospective review of mistakes and successes in response to the rapid evolution of the Internet, too many brands are missing the boat, yet again, with mobile. These brands are missing out on highly engaging opportunities with their fan base that lead to further sales… and in these economic times, that’s just plain stupid. But, worse yet, is that certain brands are allowing individuals and other companies to run away with these interactive opportunities.

Consider, if you will, just a sampling of many utilitainment applications available for the iPhone that could have and should have been brought to life by brands…

• ColorSplash & Juxtaposer, amazing photo editing tools both created by an individual, Hendrik Kueck… why not by Kodak, who almost went extinct once by not foreseeing the migration to digital photography (note Kodak does have an iPhone app for accessing your online Kodak Gallery…whoopie)?
• Libris, an ebook reader created by Hillbilly Interactive… why not Barnes & Noble or Borders, especially as a way to compete with Amazon’s Kindle?
• i.TV, a TV & entertainment guide overflowing with capabilities and developed by a new company of the same name… why not TV Guide, are they not looking for renewed relevancy as their readership falls?
• Gas Cubby, a MPG & vehicle service log & reminder app by new company, App Cubby… where’s Firestone, Jiffy Lube, Advance, Pep Boys or any other national car maintenance brand to take advantage of the many opportunities available?

It’s not all bad, there are some brands that don’t have their heads in the sand…

• iFood Assistant by KRAFT …amazingly, this brand even gets away with charging for their app, and for good reason…it’s a great app
• Target …the only branded gift finder that I’m aware of, but still with major faults being no promotion of it, not even a mention, on the Target web site, and no comparison shopping capabilties in an attempt to capture market share from competitors
• LIVESTRONG.COM Calorie Tracker …while there are plenty of diet & fitness related apps, unlike Weight Watchers & Jenny Craig, the Lance Armstrong Foundation recognizes an opportunity to provide mobile brand engagement

Despite there already being over 15,000 applications in the Apple AppStore, there are still plenty of opportunities for brands to become the premiere utilitainment providers in certain categories; and besides, the Android, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Blackberry application outlets have just recently launched.

There’s no time to continue waiting and it’s obviously quite inexcusable to repeat the same mistake that many brands made by not being the premiere provider of utilitainment online. The mobile application ship’s about to leave port and brands better get on board, or even better yet, captain their respective vertical’s journey.