As most of you may know, the long-awaited iPhone 3G was released today, with much fanfare, long lines, and a painful activation process. Once mine was fully operational, I headed straight for the App Store, which is where iPhone owners can [finally!] download and install programs, both free and commercial. The thing that surprised me the most when looking at the list of available applications was the amount of new media integration — and the amount of large companies that are finally getting aboard the new media train.

Most of the iPhone apps come as absolutely no surprise. Applications such as Twitterific, AIM, and Facebook have all been givens since day one. But when The New York Times rolled out a gorgeous news application on the first day of iPhone availability, that was a sign that the big boys are indeed watching.

Oh, and did I mention that their news application is completely free and ad-supported?

MLB.com is also on board with an application that gives you real-time stats and scores for all major league baseball games. They are selling this application for $4.99, which I originally thought was a bad idea, but apparently I was wrong — at the time of this writing, it is the second most purchased iPhone application.

Other iPhone applications by companies and organizations generally a little late to the new media game include those done by Disney, NYC Transit, AOL, Bank of America, Bloomberg, and eBay, to name a few. I’m sure hundreds more are in the works.

One thing we can say for sure about the iPhone is that its popularity encourages companies large and small to support its platform. And once companies start being able to measure the success and popularity of their applications, this trend will spearhead a wave of new media innovation that encompasses all sorts of markets. I can’t wait.