Nickelodeon have announced they are releasing a string of iPhone apps based on popular characters like SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora and iCarly. If you’re anything like me, I know what you’re thinking – how many kids own iPhones? Cue wavy dream sequence of an eight year old boy carrying a man bag, with white headphones dangling from the top of his designer T-shirt from Threadless… eek!

Wake up, it’s just a dream – for now. There may not be too many iPhone’s appearing in schoolyards yet, but many parents are certain to use these casual games to occupy their little ones on road trips and such like. Case in point, if you pull up behind any kind of car, van or tank with television screens in the back of it, nine times out of ten, SpongeBob is the cartoon that’s being watched. iPhone games are surely a natural progression of this trend.

Competition is set to be expectedly fierce. Disney Interactive have so far launched a couple of iPhone games, with mixed reviews, however there are some cool third party apps available that allow visitors to Disney parks to find their way around and get the most of their visit. As far as gaming is concerned, the iPhone has a lot of functional similarities with the Nintendo DS, so even though direct ports might not be possible, lessons could definitely be learned in terms of playability and user interaction. I’m looking forward to see what comes next.