The 2010 Winter Olympics are here, a fact that hasn’t escaped iPhone app developers. The past few months have seen a flurry of Olympic-related releases, and now it’s your job as a consumer to buy.

First things first: You need to get a grasp on what’s going on when, which can be done with Vancouver 2010 Full Calendar. It’s a 99-cent app that gives you access to the dates and times of each event occurring during the upcoming games. The producer of that iPhone app, Introweb, also has a $2.99 app called Sports Calendar 2010 that provides that information for the other sports, as well as the Winter Olympics.

After you’ve got that down, it’s time get the latest news and greatest past moments on your iPhone. If you plan on attending the Olympics in person, there are also quite a few recently-released iPhone apps to guide you around Vancouver.

The games are about to begin, but don’t worry. With the right collection of iPhone apps, you won’t be left out in the cold.

iPhone apps for Winter Olympics news

The bad news is that Olympic Grub is one of those dreaded iPhone apps its developer copies for every imaginable sport, but the good news is that it’s free. The iPhone app also has a good deal of information that you can sort by athlete, blog, country and event, so you could do a lot worse.

The iPhone app devoted to the 2010 games from the Canadian television giant CTV, CTVOlympics, is also a free iPhone app. It’s a much flashier product that Olympic Grub, though it’s devoted to the Canadian teams, meaning fans of other countries may want to look elsewhere. But regardless of your allegiance, you will appreciate the iPhone app’s live blogging and play-by-play features.

Pocket News – Olympics is very comparable to Olympic Grub, but with a more pleasant presentation. Unfortunately, it also costs $1.99, and whether it’s $2 better than the competition is very much a matter for debate.

If you just want Olympic hockey news, then The Hockey News may be your iPhone app. The free download focuses heavily on the NHL, though there are occasional Olympics-related columns, headlines and blog posts that will surely increase when the games begin.

iPhone apps for Winter Olympics of the past

If you’re looking to re-live Winter Olympics of the past, Winter Games History brings you information from the event since its 1924 inception. This reference iPhone app has things such as medal results and country information, all for the price of $1.99

Those looking for more flash can turn to Great Sporting Moments (99 cents), a collection of 250-plus sports videos dating back to the 1930s. Winter Olympic fans will notice the inclusion of the 2002 Canadian figure skating gold medal controversy as well as videos from tons of other sports.

iPhone apps for those in attendance

A good place to start for the iPhone users who will be at the 2010 Winter Olympics is with ohCanada. The 99-cent app has schedules and medal counts, but more importantly it provides directions the different venues.

VAN2010 is a similar iPhone app, but unfortunately without the snazzy presentation. It basically amounts to a collection of links, and even though it’s a pretty good collection you’re still paying 99 cents for links. That being said, some will find use with the iPhone app.

See Vancouver is a travel iPhone app that isn’t specific to the Olympics, so only those who are looking for something non-sports related need to check it out. The free app includes 15 videos from around the city, and the only downside is that you need a Wi-Fi connection to view them.

Probably the most complete of any of these apps is Vancouver 2010 City Walks. Not only does it have all the schedules and venue information for the games, but the iPhone app also acts as your tour guide and gives information on restaurants and shopping. The negative is that with all this information comes a heftier price tag than the others -- $3.99.