It's clear from the first day of CTIA WIRELESS that phones are not the focus of the event. It's all about what you can do with a phone, what you can download to it, and even how much you can store on it. In fact, even handset manufacturer booths are promoting apps, both self-made and third-party.

RIM's own new TwitterBerry app, set to come out on March 31, offers some compelling upgrades from the previous version. Most enticing is the ability to have Tweets appear just like e-mails so you don't need to enter the Twitter site in order to read them. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though you're able to select which Tweets appear, so be mindful of who you follow before using such a feature. Other upgrades include a small icon at the top of the main screen that indicates how many new Tweets have been posted; and the ability to search for people, subjects, keywords, or even hot topics. It will work with any BlackBerry with version 4.5 of the OS or later.

Another cool BlackBerry app is called Shoot It, and aims to turn photos captured on (or stored in) the device into postcards. Sign up for an account (it's free), than select any image to send to a friend, accompanied by up to 300 text characters. A postcard will be sent to the recipient via snail mail the following day, then arrive shortly thereafter. Post cards cost $1.24 each in Canada ($0.99 in the U.S.) The company says it does not yet have a print centre in Canada, which means postcards are shipped there from the U.S., and thus may take a bit longer to arrive. Still, it's a neat way to integrate technology with printed media. And the app can also come in handy for companies, who can allow clients to use it and send or receive postcards complete with company logo.

Nokia's new app called Point & Find, available at the Ovi Store, operates much like Google Googles, except that instead of snapping a photo of an item or place to get information about it, you simply point the phone at it. Once the item has been identified, the phone will direct you to a Google search of it, just as if you had typed in the word. The database of products and places is user-generated, which means specificity will depend on what information users have contributed. Today, for example, the service could identify the specific make and model of a Fuji digital camera, but only picked up on a Seiko watch as being a watch. Nokia says there are a "couple thousand" items in the database thus far. But much like Google Goggles, the mandate is to have people add things like landmarks, buildings, or even restaurants, to the database, allowing customers to gain instant access about these things instantly by just pointing a phone at them.

Kobo is the new Shortcovers from Canadian-based Chapters Indigo, and in addition to the book-reading apps for all the major mobile phone platforms, the company also revealed its own eBook reader at the show. The device will appeal to those who just want the simplest unit. Available in black and white, it can hold up to 1,000 books, and will come pre-loaded with 100 titles. It has an SD card slot for expanded memory, affords several font sizes and two types, and up to two weeks of continuous reading on a single battery charge. The unit will sell for US$149, and will launch in tandem with a new eBook online store, which Kobo says will offer two-million-plus books, hundreds of which are free.

Yahoo's Sketch & Search app for the iPhone lets you find spots within various areas, or along a specific route, by selecting the desired locale by drawing a circle or line on the map with your finger. Imagine, for example, you want to find restaurants within a particular pocket of the city: just swipe a circle in the spot, and results will pop up. Once there, you can sort these by more specific criteria, like types of restaurants, ratings, and so forth. The app itself is free.

SanDisk revealed what it deems to be the world's first commercially available 32GB microSD card, proving that what's inside a phone doesn't just count, but is clearly becoming more abundant. The card, which comes with an adapter, will sell for US$199.

While it's not yet available in Canada, SanDisk also revealed the slotradio plus, which consists of a 4 GB microSD card loaded with 1,000 songs: either top hits or decade hits. The songs will only play on compatible slotradio players, and cannot be copied from the card to a computer or any other device. The only mobile phones thus far that can accept the $50 cards are compatible BlackBerry devices through U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless.

As important as the inside is to a mobile phone, what's outside counts as well.

One accessory product that caught my eye was a 100% recyclable cell phone case from Trexta. Made of cardboard, the cases come in packs of three and include three coloured markers (black, red, and green) for designing them to your liking. Selling for US$29.99, cases are available for the iPhone and iPod touch. The company also has another neat line: cases designed with counry flags on the back; perfect fort the upcoming soccer season, or just those folks who tend to be overly patriotic.

Urapsol is offering a protective transparent skin for various devices that the company says is not only scratch-proof but, via its own proprietary technology, is also drop-proof. This means you can drop an iPhone outfitted with one of their skins from up to a height of six-feet and it won't get damaged. The skins, which are applied dry, are made of polyurethane, and include a layer of shock-absorbent material. Thus far, the US$29.99 skins are available for about 20 different devices, including the iPad.

While RIM isn't introducing any new phones (officially at least) the company is launching different colours for the 9700, including a cool lavender shade.

I haven't even walked the North Hall of the show yet, and it's likely that many of the accessory companies are exhibiting there. But thus far, app makers are ruling the show

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