The 2012 Presidential election is the first one where people are tethered to their smartphones, and this fact hasn’t gone unnoticed by scores of app makers.

A quick search of Google Play for the word “politics” brings up at least 1,000 apps -- most related to political news, election commentary and state-specific politics. The candidates themselves even have their own: Romney for President and Obama for America. Both apps, presumably, were developed by in-house engineers, though neither campaign returned requests for comments. (Romney also used an app to announce Paul Ryan as his running mate, though the rollout didn't go quite as promised.)

Some entrepreneurs are developing "disposable" apps that are germane for the 2012 election season but may have little relevance later on. Others have more broad-based political apps, not tied exclusively to the presidential race, and hope the upcoming season will boost sales, recognition or user counts.

To be sure, political-app-building is still somewhat of a new market, and business models vary. Some entrepreneurs are creating free apps, hoping to make money from ad revenue down the road. Others are charging fees to download their app or levying ongoing subscription fees to some users. And still other small businesses are profiting by helping politically minded, but less tech-savvy individuals build and publish their own apps for cheaper than they could on their own. (The expense of doing it solo can be prohibitive, with costs ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 or more.)

Read more at MSNBC