Sprint intros green app bundle

Sprint has launched a new bundle of mobile apps aimed at luring the environmentally minded (or just guilt-ridden) to download a collection of earth-friendly content all at once for their Android devices.

The Green ID pack contains several similarly themed apps, including TreeHugger.com, Earth911.com, Green America and the National Audubon Society app. According to Sprint, the Green ID back is made for users who “want to live a more environmentally sustainable life and help others to do the same.” The app pack falls into the same category as the carrier’s Samsung Replenish, which is “approved” by Sprint according to the company’s Device Eco Criteria. (That device’s eco-credentials include the fact that it is built with materials deemed not harmful to the environment, is more energy efficient and features a casing and packing materials that are made from post-consumer recycled content.)

The introduction of Sprint’s new Green ID bundle also bundles together a number of trends that are of note in the mobile service provider sector and certainly to consumers, but are also important for mobile developers to note.

First, regardless of which side of the political spectrum one might stand, it’s hard to argue that the green theme isn’t king at the moment. Consumers want to feel eco-conscious, and as such they will consume anything and everything that makes them feel more green (even, at times, if it the consumable in question just has the word “green” in its name). To its credit, Sprint has a strong track record of environmental responsibility and, like many of the other major mobile service providers, is doing its part to adhere to sustainable operational practices and encourage the same in its customers. And in an interesting twist, the Green ID pack is available free to Sprint customers with the carrier’s Everything Data plan, which means the company isn’t trying to appeal to consumer green guilt to add ARPU.

Mobile developers, meanwhile, should take particular note of how Sprint itself is pushing the apps that make up the bundle to its customer base—tremendous exposure for the developers of those apps, all but guaranteeing that they will see more downloads and usage than they would through the usual channels. All of the promotion of the app bundle goes into specific detail about the content that comprises it—again, additional exposure for the developers and more opportunity for downloads.

Looking more broadly at the app-bundling trend, developers would be wise to study carrier behavior and causes (the push on Sprint’s part to be recognized as a sustainability leader, in this case) and develop in those directions. Content that aligns with broader initiatives of mobile service providers stands a better chance of being included in future bundles, again promising the potential of increased exposure and usage. And who knows—your app innovation just may spark the next concept for a bundle.