From the 'There's An App For That' files:

Back in September, Novell launched MonoTouch which is way to build .NET applications for Apple's iPhone.

It's based on the Novell led  Mono project which is an effort to create an open source implementation of Microsoft's .NET. In the span of four months, Novell is iterating quickly and is now out with MonoTouch 1.4, which is all about speed.

"Startup times have been dramatically decreased," the MonoTouch 1.4 release notes state. "The time reduction is anywhere from 60 percent to 40 percent depending on your application."

That's a big deal, as opposed to PC users that are used to waiting, iPhone users don't have the same patience.

The other key item, also related to speed is that MonoTouch compiled releases are now also smaller.  According to Novell, MonoTouch 1.4 actually compiles apps that are 30 percent smaller than previous releases.

As the iPhone continues to gain in popularity, the need for enterprise .NET type apps no doubt will grow. That growth will likely also continue to fuel demand for MonoTouch.