In the two years since it appeared the iPhone has transformed the mobile phone industry and now its effect is being felt in the media world. But it is not the device's successful introduction of the touchscreen into daily life, nor its stylish looks that have the media world in a spin. It is the fact that iPhone users are personalising their phones with applications – 2bn so far – and amid all the downloadable games, maps, pint-glass emulators and fart generators, some of the "apps" that are proving particularly popular are news.

Crucially, in a world where commercial media organisations are desperate to wring a return from the millions of pounds they have poured into digital content, a sizeable chunk of iPhone users are proving willing to pay for news apps.