Melanie Batley looks at the proliferation of political apps and how the smartphone is revolutionising communication with the electorate

An iPhone 4 may be this season's must-have gadget, but for the political candidate, being trendy means launching your own campaign app. With smartphones taking off, campaigns - particularly in the US - are using the technology as another opportunity to stay in touch with supporters. The idea is to offer an additional outlet for people to follow the candidate and make donations.

The age of political apps began in October 2008 when the Obama campaign released its free Obama08 app. This organised a person's iPhone contacts to enable supporters to call friends located in important electoral districts. The Obama app also had a donation interface, newsfeeds, local campaign events and a list of Obama's positions on major issues.

Figures are not available for the number of political apps now available, but there are about 225,000 apps in the Apple Store and the global apps market is estimated to be worth $2.2bn. The biggest player is Apple's iPhone, carrying around 80-90 per cent of the market, but the BlackBerry, Android, Palm Pre and other smartphones are beginning to play a growing role as well.

Campaigns, political parties and both the US and UK governments have all developed apps to communicate with the electorate. USA.gov, the portal for American federal government services, launched a mobile apps store, including apps for researching product recalls, flight information directly from the Transportation Security Administration and even an FBI ‘most wanted' app.

In the UK, the Lib-Con government announced it would cancel all funding of government apps developed under Labour (such as the DVLA Motoring Masterclass app and the Jobcentre Plus app), classifying them as nonessential spending. Nonetheless, there may still be an appetite to make use of them for campaigning purposes. In the general election in May, the Conservatives and Labour both launched apps, which included party news and policy information. The Tory app had an innovative ‘swing-ometer' and a call-a-friend feature using a volunteer's iPhone contacts. The Labour app was more geared toward campaigning with detailed information about local candidates and volunteer opportunities.

With the upcoming US mid-term elections in November, political apps are proliferating. In June, the Democratic National Committee launched the free ‘Organising for America' app with the hope of boosting congressional seats in the autumn elections. The app gives alerts about local events and volunteer opportunities, allowing supporters to RSVP directly and share event details with friends via email, Facebook and Twitter. It also includes local and national election news, photos, videos and special video messages from President Obama, donation capabilities, talking points on key issues and a ‘call Congress' feature for people to contact their representatives.

Other candidates in 2010 may not have the resources of the Democratic National Committee and some apps are more sophisticated than others. But many candidates just want an app that lets people follow their calendar, read press releases, get background information and make donations. Some have staff who can develop apps themselves, but for those who don't, hiring a designer costs between $5,000 and $10,000. Not extortionate.

There is already some evidence that the tool can deliver electoral results. During the election of Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts last year, the campaign's app enabled canvassers to access a database showing undecided voters and supporters, using geolocation tools and Google Maps to direct volunteers to each address. After canvassers made contact with a person, they could update the database in real-time.

Are campaign apps a bit of a gimmick? Partly, but they have useful capabilities for campaigns that need to be innovative about reaching voters with busy lifestyles and engaging volunteers that are also on the go. It is estimated that one in two Americans will have a smartphone by Christmas 2011. So while apps may have limited use now, the impact could increase dramatically as the smartphone market grows, potentially making apps a standard tool for campaigns, helping them to connect with supporters.

The big political app innovations may still be on the horizon. A Californiabased company is developing an app to enable users to sign a ballot initiative through iPhone, and one lobby campaign is already using it to gather signatures. The app itself is the first time anyone has used a touch-screen phone for gathering signatures.

And what about iPhone apps for online voting? With the push for electoral reform underway in the UK, perhaps apps could make their debut as a virtual polling booth.

Melanie Batley has worked as a US campaign adviser and a Conservative Party researcher

This article was first published in Total Politics magazine.