The iPad applications continue to come fast and furious. We've now seen a hotel chain and a trend forecaster incorporate the device into their offerings, and now it looks like UK-based Bluebox Avionics could be first to include the iPad in an in-flight entertainment system.

Bluebox's namesake system already offers wireless in-flight entertainment that's accessible via handheld devices, seatback technology and overhead cabin broadcasting. Now the London company has announced that it will soon include the iPad among those delivery vehicles through its Bluebox Ai offering, which will be fully integrated with the other parts of the Bluebox system. Specifically, Bluebox has ported its PC-based operating and security software to the Apple platform, enabling a full range of iTunes App Store games and eBooks, a full selection of consumer magazines via Zinio, and a selection of some 200,000 commercial apps already available for the device. Airlines can add their own custom apps as well. Bluebox Ai will launch on an international carrier in July, the company says, with availability to other airlines shortly thereafter. In the meantime, it's now on display at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.

With more than a million iPads now in the wild, it stands to reason that consumers will increasingly expect to see the device put to work by tech-savvy brands as well. If consumer-facing technology is at the core of your brand's offering, that should probably include you...

Website: www.blueboxavionics.com
Contact: info@blueboxavionics.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Music bands can tap an increasing number of technology tools these days, from services like Mobile Roadie for help creating a customised iPhone application to internet-enabled crowdfunding options like Sellaband and Kisskissbankbank. For generalized band management, there have been software packages like Indie Band Manager and online services like ReverbNation, but newly launched Bandize aims to offer the best of both words with a one-stop web application that gives bands, band managers and record labels a wide array of tools to help operate a band successfully.

California-based Bandize helps bands take control of their careers by giving them an intuitive, simple way to get organized. The application offers a broad suite of band-specific DIY tools, including accounting, tour booking, contact management, merchandising, task assignments, social-network syncing, calendar, messaging and more. For managing shows and tours, for example, Bandize lets bands keep track of every date along the way, including earnings and accommodation. Printable day sheets and tour books, meanwhile, make sure everyone is on schedule. Its product management tool, on the other hand, helps bands track the merchandise they have and how much they've sold so far; it even alerts them when inventory in a particular product begins to run low. Every band member gets their own Bandize login, making it easy for bands to collaborate and access the tools with maximum flexibility. Pricing for Bandize is USD 15 per month per band, with discounts available for managers of multiple bands.

Similar in many ways to the UK's Band Central, Bandize recently announced a mobile version for the iPhone. Next, who will be first to integrate such tools with the crowdfunding capabilities, the iPhone app creators, the fan-recruitment tools and all the many other tech enablers that bands can use to set themselves apart...? (Related: Web developer focuses on farms — A custom, branded iPhone app for every restaurant.)

Website: www.bandize.com
Contact: help@bandize.com

Spotted by: John Greene

A recording project from the Netherlands has introduced a novel way to record music showcasing collaborations between new artists from different parts of the world. Every two months, In A Cabin With invites one or more Dutch musicians to travel to an inspiring location somewhere in the world—a farmhouse in Sweden, a wooden house in northern Thailand or a church in Ottawa, for example—to write, produce and record an album in collaboration with some of the area's own musicians. The recorded material is mixed and mastered in an Amsterdam studio, and an upcoming artist and/or graphic designer is invited to design the album artwork.

Several of the artists involved in the sessions have subsequently been offered their own record deals. The CDs are distributed by V2 music and can also be ordered through the In A Cabin With website. Best of all, the concept comes with a generous side of free love: all the In A Cabin With albums are also available as free downloads. One to emulate outside the Netherlands, harnessing the talent of upcoming musicians or other artists? (Related: Free accommodation for visiting creatives.)

Website: www.inacabinwith.com
Contact: maarten@inacabinwith.com

Spotted by: Marc Frencken

It's no secret that brands can inspire love, and sites such as Hollrr and Thinglink are built on that fact. Now, starting with a concept much like Saatchi & Saatchi's Lovemarks, MyBrandz has built a virtual stock investment portfolio based on the top 20 “most lovable” brands.

Now in beta, MyBrandz provides an online community to unite fans of the best-loved consumer brands. Aiming to test the correlation between brand love and success on the financial markets, the Brands Love Portfolio is based on the top 20 most loved brands on the web. Those brands were chosen using MyBrandz's proprietary algorithm, which takes into consideration 28 different parameters including the number of positive mentions on Twitter and the number of Facebook fans. Apple is the No. 1 best-loved brand, according to these measures, followed by Starbucks, Google, Playboy and Disney; Nike, Sony and Blackberry are also on the list. Taken together, the Brands Love Portfolio has shown much higher results than the Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P 500 indices, MyBrandz says, with an annual return of about 64 percent.

Currently, the Brands Love Portfolio functions only as a virtual one, but anyone can follow, test and compare it with other indices. MyBrandz plans to continue developing it, however, possibly eventually releasing it to the market as a new investment product. In the meantime, the Israeli company recently launched its “Own Your Brand” contest whereby members can win real shares of their favourite brands by submitting related content and winning “hearts” from fellow users.

It stands to reason that consumer love should be a predictor of a brand's financial success, and what better way to gauge that love than through the buzz generated by the online masses? Of course, whereas MyBrandz focuses on the top consumer brands globally, the same model is crying out for application to specific industries or regions. One to emulate on a localized or niche basis!

Website: www.mybrandz.com
Contact: info@mybrandz.com

Most dedicated music fans have their favourite genres and playlists, but finding new music can be a challenge. Aiming to keep aficionados up on the latest tracks and trends comes 22tracks, a Dutch site that offers constantly updated playlists in 22 different genres.

22tracks is essentially a jukebox consisting of 22 playlists in as many different genres, each filled with 22 tracks specially selected by DJs from Amsterdam. Upon selecting a genre, users can listen to the current 22 tracks on the site; those they like they can purchase via iTunes or promote via Twitter. Each week those tracks are updated with roughly five new ones, however, giving fans a constantly updated selection. People can also create their own, personal lists of favourites, and a 22tracks iPhone app is slated for release in January/February 2010.

By packaging music in bite-size nuggets for week-long munching whenever the desire strikes—and of course offering instant gratification for those motivated to buy—22tracks provides a lovely example of the "see-hear-buy" model that's part of what our sister site would call today's snack culture. Keep it short, sweet, simple and fleeting—but make it easy for consumers to make it their own—and you'll have them hooked in no time! ;-) (Related: An online music store of one's own.)

Website: www.22tracks.nl
Contact: info@22tracks.com

Spotted by: Stephan Hoberg