When Apple brought out the iPod in 2001, it was far from the first portable digital music player. The iPhone was (very much) a latecomer to the mobile phone party. And the iPad was by no means the first tablet computer.

Yet each has become the leader by an overwhelming, almost embarrassing distance in its product category. Look at the portable gadgets in use in any plane, train or hotel lobby in the world, and – with the exception of computers, where PCs still just about dominate – I can guarantee that the vast majority will be iWhatevers.

This is immensely frustrating to those who don’t buy into the Apple dream. There are a dozen phones by Samsung, Sony Ericsson and others, operating the excellent Google Android operating system, which beat the iPhone. The almost forgotten Sony Walkman brand can still teach the iPod a thing or two. And tablets by Dell and, notably, Motorola have major advantages over the iPad. Yet across the world, people who aren’t even Apple computer users almost obsessively crave Apple and pay premium prices for the pleasure of its understated design and consistent, simple functionality.

So while dozens of cameras take better photos than the iPhone’s nice but not exceptional 5-Megapixel camera, it is iPhone photography (and lately iPhone video) that is rapidly taking over – no exaggeration, this – from the more traditional picture-taking, in which a standalone camera takes pride of place.

“The best camera,” photographers often say, “is the one you have with you when the picture appears.” So, since most of us have a phone with us at all times, and it’s more likely to be an iPhone than anything else, it’s no wonder that we find ourselves in the age of what is being called ‘iPhoneography’.

Just as Hoover is a near-synonym for any brand of vacuum cleaner, iPhoneography may soon be used as a blanket term for serious photography done with any phone. So what follows applies equally to owners of other smartphones – up to a point.

Now, did I say serious photography? I can’t be serious. The iPhone doesn’t have a proper zoom, it’s useless in low light and you can’t freeze fast action. But the apps can turn the iPhone into, perhaps not a great camera, but one which, by manipulating software, can make beautiful and striking photos. And there are nearly 7,000 on the iTunes Store – half of them free – to boost your iPhoneography. (There are 3,000 Android camera apps, too, so nobody need feel left out of the creative fun.) Which, then, are some of the best?

APPS FOR YOUR SNAPS

HIPSTAMATIC
Turns your iPhone camera into a 1960s Instamatic complete with slightly blurry, oversaturated images.

PHOTOSYNTH
A brilliant iPhone app from Apple’s arch- enemy Microsoft (bizarrely) which creates amazing panoramas. It can even capture the entire interior of a building.

PROCAMERA
Adds a range of features to make the camera more like a real – and quite sophisticated – professional device.

CAMERABAG
Converts photos into various veteran camera styles, from Polaroid to Speed Graphic press photos to fisheye.

QUICKPIX
Speeds up the cumbersome process of turning the iPhone camera on, so you don’t keep missing shots.

CAMERA+
Among other features, this puts an end to blurry shots by preventing you from taking a photo until you’re holding the phone still.

TILTSHIFT GENERATOR
Applies a weird effect that makes the world look like it’s full of miniature toys.

INFINICAM
Takes indecision out of your hands by making the creative choices for you and assigning random effects to your photos.

PHOTOSTUDIO
A darkroom in your pocket. Adjusts photos for brightness, contrast, colour balance and so on.

MOBILEMONET
Turns your photos into painting by numbers-style canvases you can then colour with finger swipes.

AUTOSTITCH PANORAMA
Analyses even roughly taken scenic shots and aligns them to form a panorama.

SLOW SHUTTER
Extends your shutter speed to as long as 30 seconds, enabling you to take night- time shots.

PRO HDR
Gets you into the world of psychedelic High Dynamic Range photos. Blows your mind, man.

TIMELAPSE
Helps you make videos of flowers blooming and so on – assuming you can secure your phone in one position for long enough, and no one calls you.

COLORSPLASH
Turns photos black and white, with the exception of any specific area you select to remain in colour, giving it the look of a 1970s album cover.