On Monday, Apple announced that they have already sold more than one million iPhone 3GS models. If you are scoring at home, that’s more than 333,333 iPhone 3GS models per day in the first three days after the launch.

Perhaps even more impressive, Apple says that approximately six million people have downloaded new software for the iPhone 3.0. Considering that has been on the market for only five days, that’s more than one million downloads per day.

Apple claims that this version of the iPhone is the most powerful and the fastest iPhone to date. Included in the improvements are a 3 megapixel camera, more battery life, no-hands voice control and simple video recording.

The iPhone 3GS sells for $199. If you want to upgrade from 16GB to 32GB, the cost increases another $100.

Once you have your iPhone, you can gain access to the over 50,000 applications available in the App Store. To date, Apple says that more than one billion applications have been downloaded.

iPhone 3GS (Image: Flickr)

The Palm Pre has been touted by many as the biggest competitor to the amazingly popular Apple iPhone. The Pre debuted on Saturday and though the launch was preceded with much hype, crowds were smaller than some expected.

Image: Palm.com

With the iPhone launch, people formed lines and camp outside of Apple and AT&T stores for days. However with the Palm Pre, most customers arrived just before Sprint stores opened on Saturday. The Pre was also being sold at Best Buy stores, where it received a bit more attention.

The device is priced at $299, plus customers can get $100 back with a mail-in rebate from Sprint. Best Buy offered the Palm Pre for $199 without the mail-in rebate, causing many Best Buy locations to sell out of the Pre almost immediately. But that’s not a shock — Best Buy’s inventory of the Pre was much smaller than the inventory at Sprint retailers.

To compete with the iPhone may be almost impossible for Palm. AT&T activated almost two and half million iPhone 3Gs in the first quarter the device was available. To reach those kind of numbers, the Palm Pre needs to meet and exceed the hype.

There are some truly awesome iPhone apps out there. My husband is fond of the app that makes a light saber noise when you wave the device around. I like playing Suduko. On a practical level, though, these types of applications are not very useful. They don’t offer you information that you can make use of everyday. When I saw that Prime Time Money found 10 iPhone apps that can help you keep track of your finances, I became excited. Finally! Something I can use.

Personal finance software

I use Quicken to keep track of my personal finances. I am on the verge of actually going online with my Quicken, connecting automatically to my accounts. In the event that I actually do make this leap, I will be sure to get the free app for iPhone, so that I can access my personal finance information from anywhere.

Of course, other personal finance software is available for iPhone as well, including apps from:

• Mint.com
• Wesabe
• Rudder

So, you should have pretty good access to what you need.

Handy money apps for the iPhone

In addition to personal finance and budget software, there are a number of other handy money apps for the iPhone. While I think that some of the are not quite for me, I do like the looks of these 3 apps:

1. Compare and Convert provides a way for you to compare deals when shopping. You can see whether that jumbo pack is really providing you the best price per unit. It allows you to convert between units as well. PT Money uses the 2 liter soda vs. six pack of soda comparison.
2. Pay Off Debt actually costs a little coin. But not much — only $2.99. You can put in your debts, how much you pay, and track your progress on the road to becoming debt free.
3. Balance lets you easily check where you are at in terms of one account. You can quickly see your current balance, and the last couple of payments. It’s easier to read than going through a register on your iPhone, so it’s ideal if you want a quick idea of your account balance.

Do you know of any other money-related iPhone apps?

image source: Quicken

Features vs. Benefits. You’ve probably heard that phrase plenty of times. When planning your marketing, you should always tell the customer how your product or service benefits them. And it’s true that people are more likely to buy something if they see how it will help them, how it applies to their life, their needs.

But some of us also like to research and compare. It’s a little harder to compare benefits of products than it is features. Benefits appeal to emotions. Features are more quantifiable. And for those of us who like numbers and comparisons and concrete info, we want to see some features after you tell us the benefits.

For instance, I’ll need to replace my cell phone soon. It’s starting to give me some trouble. A lot of my friends already have iPhones. I like how it could help me keep track of things, listen to music, and do a variety of stuff all in one little package. Convenience - that’s a benefit for me.

However, I also need to know the exact coverage areas for the service because my extended family lives in a rural area and we visit frequently. So I have to make sure my phone will work there. I already know that my current service works with little problem. What about the new service? It turns out that the coverage is spotty at best. But without that feature listing, that coverage map, I wouldn’t know. I don’t care how dependable their service is if it doesn’t cover the areas I need. To me, that’s more of a feature. And yet it’s something I need to know in order to make an informed purchase decision.

While you should always tell your potential customer how your product can benefit them, don’t forget to include a detailed feature list, too, for those of us that need information to compare. Start with benefits, then offer the features somewhere that’s easy to find, but not in the way of your main pitch. Usually, you already have that list of features written up anyway, so it shouldn’t be difficult to include.

Do you include both benefits and features in your sales pitch? Or do you stick with benefits? Have you tried both and if so, has it impacted your sales?

image: Zuma Press

Everyone who owns one tells me I should buy an iPhone. I can’t quite convince myself to spend so many dollars on what is still a phone.

Besides, there are times when I don’t want to access the Internet or check my e-mail. That stuff’s addicting enough as it is.

Then again … every day, it seems, I read about some new cool feature that the iPhone boasts. Here’s the latest: Trulia, one of the most visited house-hunting sites on the Internet, last month introduced a new tool that allows iPhone users to quickly locate all the real estate listings and open houses in a user’s area. You can read about this service in this story on BusinessWeek’s Web site.

The free software application uses navigation technology to locate home listings and open houses. Users can also simply touch their iPhone screen to call or send an e-mail to listing agents.

That is a neat tool, and a nice one for homebuyers.

Still, I’m not quite ready to join the ranks of iPhone zombies I see walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago, their souped-up phones either stuck to their ears or clutched tightly in their hands as the furiously text their buddies. I mean, what ever happened to enjoying the scenery as you walk?

Maybe I’m getting too old?