New cell phone software at OnHollywood

There will more new and newish products on display at the OnHollywood conference Thursday morning, including a few interesting cell phone utilities. One of the most important, I believe, is VoiceIndigo, a podcast client for cell phones. It enables your phone to download the podcasts of your choice overnight. Then you can listen to them during your workout or commute (preferably with headphones or an earpiece). I can't wait to try this, because I often forget to plug in my iPod each night and am left with day-old 'casts on my bus ride to work. There's a special bonus feature, too: Users will be able to place a one-button phone call to a number encoded in the podcast. This could be great for leaving feedback and for making podcasts even more like talk shows.

We'll also see Moonstorm, which places coupons on your cell phone. The idea is that if the cell phone knows where it is (either because you entered in your zip code or because it's GPS-enabled), it can display relevant promo coupons on the screen. So if you're walking past a Starbucks, your phone will know it and offer up a coupon for free extra foam with your latte, or something. It's the location-based service we've all been waiting for--or fearing, depending on your point of view. And the coupon business is very big. And I hate clipping coupons.

Finally, Soonr, a product that lets you access your PC and its files from a cell phone, will, according to TechCrunch, show a utility that will let you use your cell phone to connect to your PC to place phone calls via your PC's Skype client. Very neat trick. It will be great for heavy Skype users who don't want to leave their Skype buddies behind when they step away from their PC. (Alternatively, Pocket PC users can use Skype's own Skype for Pocket PC, which connects to the Skype network directly, not via an intermediate PC).