Even those of us who have yet to plug into the world of androids or join the universe according to iStuff can see the emerging and remarkable potential of mobile smart devices. While the smart phone and digital pad revolution is still in the early stages, marketing researchers and business analysts are predicting that the next tsunami of Internet and social network users - potentially billions of people in developing countries - will predominantly use smart phones instead of PCs.

Multi-functional, highly mobile, and cheaper than computers, smart phones are already considered, particularly by many young adults, a social lifeline and key source for information. It is this sense of connectivity -practically wherever and whenever we need, using just a few keystrokes -that could have a profound effect on people's ability to make better, healthier and more sustainable lifestyle choices. In a recent post on the website My Life Scoop, freelance writer and blogger Kristen Seymour described her smart phone as probably the most effective tool in her green arsenal.

"I think it's an even better resource than my laptop," she wrote. "Not only do I always have it with me, but with many apps, it automatically takes my current location into consideration, which makes finding the nearest vegetarian café or fairtrade shop simple in any city."

Ron Williams, president of 3rdwhale, a green app developer, said in a recent interview on treehugger.com that while people are better informed and increasingly motivated to make decisions that can make a difference, most still want or need their options to be easy and convenient in order for them to act consistently day after day. Williams talked about how mobile applications -or apps -are not just mini websites. When you add the location element into the mix, he argues, hand-held computing can become far more compelling for the user.

"You are delivering information to the right person, at the right time, at the right place," he said. "Those small, but really consequential, everyday decisions are made when you are in motion, and mobile phones are always along for the ride."

. Apps Happy

When Apple launched its App Store in 2008, it offered around 500 applications. By April 2010, just two years later, the store was hosting more than 185,000 apps and had hit three billion application downloads.

By October 2010, there were 300,000 apps and on Jan. 22 of this year, the 10-billionth app was downloaded from the store.

Though the App Store has yet to make them easy to find, the store has hundreds of "green" apps from among its thousands of offerings. They range from serious programs that help you track your carbon footprint and monitor your energy consumption to altruistic entertainment that allows you to contribute to the planting of real trees when planting virtual ones on your device. A few of the top picks from those in the know (and applicable to a Canada-based audience) include:

. Ecorio

Developed by a group of Canadian engineering students who won a $275,000 US prize from Internet search giant Google for their efforts, Ecorio uses your phone's GPS to track your carbon footprint. It calculates what kind of impact you are making, depending on your mode of transportation, and what kind of footprint you may make annually if your habits stay consistent. The application also offers ideas on how to reduce your impact through greener options or by purchasing carbon offsets through Google Checkout.

. 3rdwhale

A free iPhone app, 3rdWhale allows you to search for the greenest businesses near you so that you know which stores to patronize. Over 20,000 business listings for over 30 major cities in Canada and the U.S. are already hooked in to the app, with more listed every day. All the businesses listed have been reviewed by 3rdWhale to ensure they meet the company's green criteria. The 3rd Whale app also relies on users to visit and review the businesses to make sure they're up to snuff.

. Good Guide

A free iPhone app that can also be accessed via text messages through any mobile phone, Good Guide is a growing database of detailed product information that helps users make informed decisions about what they're buying by ranking products them according to their greenness.

Other apps -including the Mappiness app that pings users at various times throughout the day with a quick survey to detail their happiness levels and locations, and the experimental Visibility app, which offers feedback on how polluted the air is at a location by using an image taken with your phone's camera -are helping to expand researchers' ability to gather information (which for these apps is kept anonymous and secure) on different phenomena. George MacKerron of the London School of Economics, the lead researcher for the Mappiness app, noted in an article posted on Planet Green that the happiness feedback will help his study illustrate how natural beauty and environmental problems impact the happiness levels of people.

That includes how factors like noise, air pollution, green spaces impact a person's feeling of joy, relaxation, and wellbeing. While it is still too early to tell how and to what degree green apps can and will make a difference in affecting people's behaviour, Williams and others are optimistic.

"We founded 3rdwhale because we think that the mobile platform can be a powerful tool in helping to build the green economy and galvanize collective action," Williams said.

Judging by a recent study by Swedish telecom giant Ericsson, there will be no shortage of potential participants.

As of July 2010, there were reportedly an estimated five billion cellphones in use worldwide, and the number of mobile subscriptions was increasing by nearly two million a day.