Since the App Store showed how new applications sell phones, the market for applications has been expanding quickly. Palm, BlackBerry (Research in Motion), Nokia, Android (Google), Verizon and Microsoft are all building stores to work with cell phones running their operating systems.

Market researchers even predict that there’ll going to be a lot more interest in iPhone applications –with a new focus on business apps – after the launch of the iPhone 3.0 software earlier this summer. The increased interest is being driven by companies that are seeking to build mobile phone applications for their products and services. They see it as a way to reach beyond the Web for customers.

The iPhone shows the way how consumers and companies will shift from their PCs to smartphones. But in a world crowded with iPhones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones, success is going to take a lot more than a well-designed device. These days, it is all about the apps.

Clearly most of the action is still in applications for the iPhone, which is what makes the first iPhone Challenge Europe Conference in Amsterdam (November 26/27) of great interest to companies, developers, consultants, marketeers and potential investors alike.

But the iPhone Challenge Europe is also about transforming organization and business models. With a number of awards, developers, marketing leaders and business people will be challenged.