This is will be more interesting for greek readers (mainly because the app is in greek), but it is also an interesting that I'm sure others around the world will have already applied (and I'm just not aware of).

Public, a chain of digital equipment stores in Greece, have brought out an iPhone app that contains all major night-life events in Athens. The events are separated in the following categories:

Each event has complete contact details, how to book tickets, ticket prices, showing times, sharing options (so that you can link to it on your Facebook account, etc) and finally a map with the location of the venue where the event is being held. It also allows you to 'bookmark' events, for later retrieval, and also lists upcoming events.

The point of providing, and updating, all this information, for Public, is to promote its own brand name, as the app is clearly branded with the company logo, and also contains a Public Store Locator.

All the information is provided completely free of charge for the end user, and this is an interesting business model because it comes with a cost for the service provider -- in this case Public -- which is obviously considered reasonable to pay for the kind of exposure they get.

Having used the app, and benefited from it, it should be said, I have gained quite a bit of respect for the brand name (and I'm not one to fall into the loop easily) but I really did. It was free, well-built and provided a smooth overall experience, including all the information I needed.

I publicly thank Public (pun - though not great, I know - intended) for the app and congratulate them on an excellent choice for a mobile marketing campaign focused around the iPhone, and it would be great to see this sort of thing for a wider range mobile phone models too.