The iPhone app released recently by Footballguys.com enjoyed a strong debut and has engendered a pretty positive response so far. Developing such a product must have taken a decent chunk of time, right?

“The app went from a thought to fully developed in about 6 weeks,” Footballguys co-owner David Dodds told FSB.com, saying that the thought was first mentioned in March at his company’s retreat to Tennessee. “At that time our guys had no idea how to develop an iPhone app. We discussed a simple news app there and went home and ordered Bruce (Our C++ Windows coder) a Mac and the Apple programming books. He started with the basic examples and caught on quickly.”

The app has a fairly large amount of fantasy functionality, which Dodds said basically serves as a smaller version of what visitors can do on the Footballguys website.

“We obviously had to change some things because of the tiny space, but most of the time we were able to just create a slightly different mini version that displayed the data,” Dodds said.

Although users don’t get access to Footballguys articles, the app does connect you with items such as player news, the daily e-mail newsletter, podcasts and team depth charts. So what does giving that info away to iPhone users do for Footballguys from a business standpoint?

“We think it’s a great marketing tool,” Dodds said. “On our first day as a download over 1,900 people downloaded this app. It shows the capabilities of what we have real well.

“Our eventual plan will be to release a premium version (with slightly more functionality) for a small fee (likely 99 cents).”

A roundup of items recently posted on the FSB News page.

- Picklive has announced a free public launch of its immediate, short-term fantasy model to run alongside the World Cup. For those who like the increasing prevalence of daily and weekly fantasy games but can’t stand that unbearable wait for the day to actually end will be able to play “7.5-minute” fantasy matchups during soccer matches and change their lineups as play goes on.

- After selling FFChamps.com in 2006, cousins Ian and Jon Millman recently teamed up with Andrew Miller to buy the content-and-services provider back.

- Yahoo! is rolling out a global sports campaign to accompany the World Cup, including a pick-em style game called World Soccer 2010.

- ESPN.com’s regional sites have garnered plenty of play — particularly during ESPN broadcasts — and drawn many noteworthy writers from newspapers and websites in the areas they serve. The company has now rolled out locally focused iPhone apps to extend the targeted style of coverage.

- This London-based outfit is looking for a similarly British developer for a “fantasy football” site. We can only guess by the location that by “football” they mean “soccer.”

- The guys in charge of Fantasy Knuckleheads have put together a widget that pulls content from a number of fantasy sites. We don’t know exactly which sites are included, but it seems a fair assumption that the Knuckleheads would draw from their own list of recommended outlets.

- The “OCD Chick” is the latest addition to Fantasy Sports Ventures’ Fantasy Players Network.

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