Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones during the fourth quarter, proof positive that the App Store is a place where savvy marketers must have a presence.

Apple?s fourth-quarter profits totaled $1.67 billion?a 47 percent gain in quarterly profit?and the company achieved a 24 percent gain in revenue, sending its stock price to new highs. Whether they be branded, ad-supported, subscription-based, pay-per-download or monetized via micropayments, there are many ways to cash in on iPhone applications? continued popularity.

?With Apple continuing to gain in the desktop as well as the mobile space, the biggest impact is, of course, to the sheer number of consumers you reach with an application," said Scott Michaels, vice president at Atimi Software, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ?However, this is a double-edged sword as producing a mediocre application will no longer reach the end user.

?Brands wanting to reach into this market need to be serious about the engagement, and not just throw some dollars at a campaign-as-app,? he said. ?Being a category-winner even for a very brief time on the App Store can make or break such an endeavor.

?In terms of where to spend those dollars, it?s still Apple as the main force, as the other platforms simply don't have as effective delivery mechanism yet.?

The significance of these impressive fourth-quarter figures is that even more brands need to consider the Apple ecosystem?be it desktop or iPhone/iPod touch?to reach the people they are targeting, according to Atimi.

?These consumers present a real opportunity that was not there before, as campaigns such as SMS marketing to older devices pale in comparison to the kind of interaction you get from an app,? Mr. Michaels said.

?With this kind of growth, and the ability to measure the effectiveness of these campaigns so easily, and modify them if necessary, the whole idea of not being in this space means your competitors will be taking away brand loyalty from you,? he said.

 While the iPhone demographic has changed over time, there is no doubt that it is a lucrative one for marketers to target.

?The iPhone is seen as a high-end item, much like the consumer behavior we see in the desktop space,? Mr. Michaels said. ?Apple's pricing to have an iPhone in the lower end of the smartphone bracket at $99 has those users who are switching plans, providers or phones looking at the suite of smartphones that are available to them.

?The iPhone is still the device at that price point that does more of what the average consumer wants,? he said. ?The current price points do not represent a significant barrier to choosing iPhone versus other phones in the same category, even if they are offered at subsidized cost by the provider.?

Many developers and marketers believe that the iPhone will continue to be a desirable platform for brands to engage with consumers going forward.

?The proof of this is our pipeline of projects, which is very heavy on brand extensions,? Mr. Michaels said. ?One thing that I see most people missing right now when it comes to this opportunity is the very real ability to combine staff training with consumer-facing product.

?If you consider the creation of the application cost to be a 'wash' with creating printed or Web-based training material, but the end product is also on the App Store with calls-to-action to engage the consumer of the product as well, an iPhone spend not only makes sense for the brand, it contributes to the bottom line,? he said.

Apps opportunity knocks
Opening up the platform to third-party applications developers has been a coup for Apple.

That model has worked elsewhere. Facebook had 30 million members when it opened up its platform to developers, and now there are 325 million.

?As a direct sales team or representative for app developers, we?ve seen it all, from the Wild West of Facebook apps to the Darwinism of the App Store, where it?s survival of the fittest,? said Chris Cunningham, founder/CEO of appssavvy, New York. ?In the case of Facebook, apps that are nonutilitarian have been wiped out, which has left a few key players that serve a purpose based on functionality and utility.

?In the mobile space, marketers want their shiny new toy and this year it is iPhone apps, and as a result, Apple pulled the same card as Facebook did, providing the interstate and infrastructure for developers to be successful,? he said. ?Apple endorsed the developer community, because they recognized they could never build the amount of apps iPhone users want, so they opened it up to third parties.

?The impact has been tremendous, and from advertisers? and marketers? perspective, the iPhone platform allowed for the first time ever real, true mobile offerings that make sense.?

So how much of a threat are other smartphone platforms to challenge Apple?s current domination of the U.S. market?

?I?m not surprised about these [Q4] numbers, because it?s really about being first to market, and they?ve invested heavily,? Mr. Cunningham said. ?Luckily for Apple, they already had an infrastructure built out with iTunes and they mirrored that experience with the iPhone, which has been perfect.

?I don?t see a close second or third any time in the future, because Apple has too much of a lead,? he said. ?Developers have a built-in way to create a business, either through paid or unpaid ad-supported apps.

?I?ve heard positive things about Google?s Android OS, and BlackBerry has its supporters, but I don?t think we?ll see the level of traction, the level of success that Apple has already laid out, and while Android and BlackBerry will have developers, the number will be relatively small compared to iPhone.?