App designers look for Christmas cheer

Decking out your smartphone for Christmas has opened up another niche market for mobile app designers hoping to cash in on a Santa-style windfall.

There are more than 4,000 special festive games and intricate Yuletide-inspired screen wallpaper on Apple Inc's iOS app store and Google's Andriod system.

Most can be downloaded for free, with banner ads generating the revenue, but others you need to buy.