Gamertell

According to an article in the New York Times, the now open Apple App Store for iPhone software offers more than 500 software applications, games, educational programs, mobile commerce and business productivity.

In the article, writers John Markoff and Laura M. Holson interviewed Steven P. Jobs, the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc., who explained the quality and sophistication of the applications for the iPhone placing the product in a class of its own.

“The reaction we have gotten so far has been really strong,” Jobs told the New York Times. “The quality and the sophistication of the applications you can write for the iPhone is in a different class.”

In the article Job went on to explain how Apple will attract developers to write software for the iPhone and compete with other products such as Palm, Microsoft, R.I.M, Nokia and Symbian with an example of how many active software developers currently work at two of their competitors.

“Palm, for example, says that it has 30,000 active software developers, and Microsoft said last month that it had more than 18,000 applications available for its Windows Mobile operating system, which is available from 160 cellular carriers around the world,” the article read and asked Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray of Minneapolis, his opinion of the enthusiasm towards iPhone.

“Everybody wants to build an iPhone app,” said Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. “It’s pretty rare you hear things like this. The enthusiasm is surprising.”

But soon Apple will be facing fierce competition with other companies who offer applications that can compete directly with iTunes, such as Mywaves who offers free mobile video services to Nokia and BlackBerry smartphone users.

According to Jobs, he told the New York Times that 25 percent of the first 500 applications at the store are free and the other 90 percent of applications are offered for $9.99 or less.

The article also posed an interesting question: How will Jobs manage his companies relationship with software developers after past experiences with music executives who praised Apple’s iPod at first, then later complained about not being paid enough to release their music for the product? Even Hollywood studio executives were a little distant about allowing full-length movies to be viewed on iTunes.

But for now, developers are invited to apply to create iPhone apps. Developers interested in creating apps for the iPhone can apply and download the tools needed to create their products for the iPhone.

Currently there are several apps available for download on the iPhone Apps Web site. The top apps available now are:

• eBay allow users to keep track of and bid on items on eBay wherever they go.
• Twitterrific Allows users to post tweets, links and locations on their iPhone.
• Super Monkey Ball allows players use the iPhone to tap, tilt and play the game to navigate their monkey through various puzzles.
• Loopt lets iPhone users keep track of their friends.

Read [New York Times] Site [iPhone] Developer’s site [iPhone Developers site]  Site [Appletell]