iPhone devices sell like the proverbial hot cakes, and young people wouldn't consider leaving their homes without iPhone.

Mobile application development has changed the focus of many IT companies. Less than a decade ago, software development was the only source of income for most companies; however, the popularity and proliferation of smartphones, coupled with increased number of people using smartphones to surf the internet and check their mails has changed the way IT firms function.

With millions of users and billions of downloads, iPhone application development field is buzzing with activity. A lot of people enjoy different types of iPhone apps; it fulfills their entertainment, business, utility and various other needs.

At the initial stage iPhone application development was seen as an extension of computer software development; however, over time companies learned to utilize the unique features and uses of iPhones to come up with applications tailor-made for the smartphone. The result was development of a number of iPhone applications did exactly what computer software development did, but which fitted the smartphone features.

So, you had a number of browser applications, shopping cart applications, ticket &travel applications, social networking applications, and games applications developed especially for iPhones. A number of IT companies used their expertise in software development for PCs and laptops, and built iPhone development teams for iPhone application development. Their development teams focused on what can be termed as ‘conventional iPhone development—the development of iPhone applications that are similar in size, scope and functionality to software development for PCs or laptops.

But now, an increasingly large number of people are making it a habit of asking the question, ‘Do you have an app for it?'  So now, iPhone application development is not limited to developing elaborate apps that provide enhanced functionality, or offering complex services. For instance, there are restaurants that give out their menus in form of iPhone apps. They do not want any elaborate or interactive software: all they need is an app they can give to their customers. So they get an app developed which lists their food items and helps the user locate their nearest outlet using their iPhones.

The popularity of these kinds of apps has opened up a new door for smaller IT firms that desire to enter the iPhone application development market. Software development firms at entry-level, whose key area of expertise is development for computers, are the ones who stand to gain the most from this trend.

Big corporations are usually not interested in developing small apps as they do not pay much, and such IT companies prefer to go for larger projects. But for software development companies trying to get a foothold in the iPhone application development market, developing small apps is a very good option.

It's not easy for smaller IT companies to compete with their bigger counterparts on their own turf: they find it too difficult to bag big projects without substantially curtailing their profits. But the demand simple and small apps for iPhone (apps that can be realistically developed with a week) have given a great opportunity for startups and smaller IT firms to gain experience and revenue through iPhone application development.