With more than 13 million iPhones in the world and the most comprehensive developer strategy ever for a mobile device, Apple has enabled many developers to quit their jobs and turn to iPhone app development full-time. In addition to an easy-to-use developer toolkit that makes it easy to make the apps, Apple extended the concept of the iTunes store to distribute the applications wirelessly to iPhone users. Since its so easy to get your app in your pocket, popular apps quickly sell into the millions. Prices for apps vary from free to somewhere around $20, but most are priced around $1 or $2, making even goofy apps a no brainer for users. Its not hard to justify the entertainment value of a fun app that costs less than a cup of coffee.

While some developers look to get funding to take their projects farther, many are content to write and distribute apps on their own. Pangea software has created Mac games for more than two decades. According to founder Brian Greenstone, “It’s crazy. It’s like lottery money. In the last four and a half months we’ve made as much money off the retail sales of iPhone apps as we’ve made with retail sales of all of the apps that we’ve made in the past 21 years — combined.”

There are useful apps and frivolous apps. The point is that Apple has created a mobile device and platform that are limited by little more than a developer’s imagination. Some of my favorites are Ocarina, Evernote, Twittelator, SnapTell, Shazam, BeatMaker, and CTA Tracker.

Comments(2) - Join the Conversation

Andy Swindler Categories: Entrepreneurship, Fun, Gadget, Marketing, Technology, Web