In covering the opening of the Apple iPhone App Store, we came across a niche of iPhone applications called Web Apps that are as prodigious as the many virtues of the iPhone themselves.

A Web App, short for Web Application, blends the power and versatility of the internet with the functionality and ease-of-use of multi-touch technology. And the Apple website has more than 1,700 of them.

 

You can download web apps that allow you to check on movie times, public transportation routes, fares, and schedules, the latest sports results, lottery numbers, stock moves, gas prices, find recipes, manage your home budget, seek and land employment, hear the latest and greatest ringtones, and help you stay on top of what your favorite bloggers have to say today.

 

Play familiar games like Bejeweled, Sudoku, Chess, Tic-Tac-Toe, Mancala, and many of modern video gaming’s more innovative inventions. Connect with your peeps on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, and social bookmarking sites like Digg, Fav.or.ite, and StumbleUpon.

 

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Entertainment, calculators, news, productivity tools, search tools, sports, travel, weather, utilities – you can find web apps to fulfill nearly every need imaginable, allowing to further customize your iPhone to serve you in the most ways possible.

 

Everyone who’s anyone has a web app now – YouTube, ESPN, Reuters, AOL, Bravo, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, NASA, and of course, the inimitable online giant Google.

 

To make it even more convenient, you can select your favorite web apps and add them to your iPhone Home Screen with its very own Web Clip (those icon-based buttons) for quick and easy access.

 

Now, Apple didn’t invent the concept of the web app, mind you, though they might very well have perfected it. People have been designing Java web apps, Python web apps, and other web applications in practically every web 2.0 friendly programming language in existence. But you couldn’t find very many compatible with your iPhone, until now.

 

Apple-savvy developers can even design their own web apps for distribution on the Apple site. Just sign up for a free online membership to Apple Developer Connection (ADC) and submit your best programs for the world of iPhone users to enjoy. Apple even offers clear and extensive guidelines and instructions on how to produce web apps worthy of the iPhone so that you really can put out your best work. Web app developers can even find in-depth information online on promoting and marketing their web apps so that they wind up on the most iPhone’s home screens possible.