Application developers see iPhone as way to get noticed

— -- Phanfare co-founder and CEO Andrew Erlichson has seen his future, and it's on the iPhone.

"The iPhone represents the beginning of what we believe will be a convergence between smartphones and point-and-shoot cameras," Erlichson told customers in an e-mail that also encouraged them to buy an iPhone.

Savvy software developers such as Erlichson are trying to stake a claim for early prominence in the mobile economy, where it's still a bit easier to get noticed than on the Web. The size of the market (about 1 billion phones sold annually) and the cool factor of the iPhone, makes it a desirable place to make a splash.

"The iPhone has the largest install base with the highest level of functionality," says Steven Echtman, CEO of HearPlanet, a free travel audio tour service that launched in early January. Other platforms have larger numbers of subscribers, such as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, but users aren't as likely to add lots of new applications, he says, because Apple makes it easier via its App Store.

HearPlanet has been downloaded more than 50,000 times.

Where the action is

The iPhone is "the platform of the moment," says Mike McGuire, an analyst at Gartner. "Apple has sucked all the oxygen out of the room, and developers want to be where the action is."

Google's Android was envisioned as a similar platform with thousands of potential applications, but it hasn't yet caught on, says McGuire, and Palm is looking for a comeback with its new Pre phone and operating system in late spring. "For now, it's the iPhone," he says.

Apple's App Store has about 15,000 applications available — up from just over 500 when it launched in July. Apps are available for a fee, or free. Downloads have surpassed 500 million.

The best-selling applications have been games. Also in the mix are utilities (dictionaries, restaurant guides) and time-wasters (games that simulate the sounds of bodily functions or drinking beer).