Here are three killer political applications for the iPhone. You will notice they are mostly American - and if you know me; you know that I love to feature Canadian innovation. This isn’t to say that there isn’t Canadian innovation in the mobile space (on the contrary, we have some great start ups) most justa ren;t political. (And for the record: no consumer based political application comes close to the 2008 Obama app.)

1) Congress (free), Congress+ ($4.99) and Congress Pro ($24.99): the first person to the Canadian market with an application like this suite of research products from Washington DC will not regret it!  Simply the most comprehensive, elegantly designed application for anyone needing to regularly call US politicians offices in DC. This three-tier pay structure allows the consulting firm who created it to sell more data to users who need it (ie: the most expensive version has full staff lists, integration with your address book and most recent financial returns, with historical analysis).

2) HRC; Buying for Equality 2010 (free): a digital boycott application from the GLBTQ advocacy group the Human RIghts Council. I like this application because you can update it year to year without having to download a new addition. This little application allows its users to quick see if a brand they are about to purchase is - or is not - supportive of their community. I see clear potential for Canadian unions to use a mobile application like this.

3) Purple Forge ($8000+): an Ottawa based company currently selling a customizable political application is a start-up to watch. Their VP of sales visited me before the holidays and while I love their application - their politics are decidedly more right-wing than mine (they have contracts with California Republicans and UK Independence Party). As the Citizen article says; they charge about $8000 per application. Making it nearly unattainable for anyone but a political party or its leader in Canada. Download their Chuck Devore application to test out their service (but, if you live in California; I’d be way happier if you supported Democrat Barbra Boxer).

4) And an extra: the Brownback for Governor (R-Kansas) application is one of the more basic political apps on the market. But, it doesn't pretend to be something it's not. I like this. It's also a good example of a lower cost application.

Bonus: two cute political games

Canadian Politics by Quizical : an addictive little game for as long as the 182 questions on political history last.

Trouble Crossing: a clever little strategy game loosely based on UK politics and the age-old riddle about crocodiles and foxes crossing a river together