One of the coolest additions to last year’s Macworld Expo was the addition of the Mobile Applications Showcase, a section of the show floor dedicated to iOS developers and their wares, which returns for Macworld Expo 2011.

MacLife.com hit the show floor at Macworld Expo 2011 to find out what iOS developers are up to with their current and forthcoming products, as well as what trends we might see in the near-term. The expo floor was quite busy on the second of three days, with one of the more popular areas being the Mobile Applications Showcase.

One of the more popular trends this year is for apps dedicated to relaxation and better sleep -- no surprise given the hustle and bustle of our technology-driven world. Holographic Audio Theater LLC is taking the lead with their free, universal Naturespace app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad which promises to help you “Relax, Meditate, Escape and Sleep.”

We got a show floor demo of the app from company spokesman John Buehler, who touted the exceptional audio quality offered by the Naturescape product, including an exclusive earbud optimization mode for the best quality regardless of what kind of headphones you’re listening with.

“We focused on the headphones,” Buehler reveals, “so that’s why it lends itself to the app.” That’s no idle claim, because even with a high level of background noise from the show floor, the Naturescape demo audio produced a full, rich sound with deep bass and plenty of 3D audio, even with stereo headphones.

“We’ve spent the last eight years running around the world recording nature, finding the quietest spots and really providing the brain with accurate outdoor sound,” Buehler adds. He likens the Naturescape experience to the aural version of seeing an impressive expanse such as the Grand Canyon with your eyes.

Naturescape has been previously been available on the iPhone and iPod touch, but the app added universal iPad compatibility with an update in late 2010, providing an elegant user interface on the more expansive screen. The core app is a free download which includes six ad-free soundscapes, with a vast array of others available for in-app purchase, complete with reviews from a vibrant community of users. The app fully supports multitasking under iOS 4 as well.

If soundscapes alone don’t improve your sleep, Pointer Software Systems, Ltd. may have just the thing for you. CEO Ilan Aisic traveled all the way from Israel to attend Macworld 2011 and show off four apps dedicated to better sleep, anchored by the company’s flagship $5.99 universal app, Snoring U (a free lite version is also available which limits sleep session recordings to two hours at a time).

Developed under the guidance of Dr. Naveh Tov, MD, PhD, a specialist in internal pulmonary and sleep medicine, Snoring U is a sophisticated sleep monitor that records and analyzes your entire sleep session. When the app detects you snoring, it can vibrate or play a sound clip of your choice to politely “nudge” you into shifting to another sleep position -- before your spouse does.

Pointer also offers Baby M, a free app to help your young child have a better night’s sleep (not to mention for you, as parents), as well as the $1.99 Sleeping U, which features much of the sleep monitoring of Snoring U, without the ability to nudge you into a better snore-free position.

Another iOS developer from abroad is Readdle, who has made a name for themselves in the productivity genre with Readdle Docs, PDF Expert and most recently Calendars. Readdle CEO Igor Zhadanov is on hand for Macworld 2011 with a few colleagues from Odessa, Ukraine and we had a brief chat with him on where the company’s products are heading.

“The feedback we receive daily from our customers is that there is more demand for apps on the iPad,” Zhadanov says. “The bigger screen on the iPad allows people to use the device as a replacement for a laptop.” Military personnel, salespeople, insurance and medical professionals are among Readdle’s customer base, as well as  other “niche markets where people are more comfortable using the iPad instead of a laptop.

“Especially for our clients who are in sales, it’s much easier for them to sell something using the iPad -- it’s a more flexible environment and it’s easier for them to talk to the customers instead of staring above a laptop screen,” Zhadanov concludes.

Readdle has no plans to abandon the iPhone/iPod touch market, but sees more opportunity for future applications on the iPad, including new products being developed for release this summer. The company is also aiming to keep their iPhone/iPod touch products separate from the iPad versions, explaining that universal apps are ultimately a compromise, while dedicated apps can better take advantage of each form factor.

Entertainment apps also feature heavily into this year’s Mobile Applications Showcase mix, including a gaggle of impressive titles from MotionPortrait, Inc. out of Tokyo, Japan. Company spokeswoman Daichi Sasaki gave us a demo of their best-selling ZombieBooth: 3D Zombifier, which transformed a quick show floor snapshot of a colleague into an animated 3D zombie that moans and groans in its search for human flesh.

The company also offers a number of variations on the same type of app, such as their new SumoBooth, which transforms any photo into Sumo wrestlers that react to your taps on the screen, complete with facial expressions. MotionPortrait’s apps are on sale during Macworld 2011 for only 99 cents each (a big savings over the normal price of $2.99 each).

60 different vendors participate in this year’s Mobile Applications Showcase, ranging from GPS navigation vendors such as CoPilot Live, educational apps from Tap to Learn Software (including Spell With Friends, a comprehensive app to help students prep for the spelling bee) and remote access apps such as Splashtop Remote Desktop and HLW’s iTap Mobile VNC. One category that was barely represented at this year’s show: iOS games, whose developers appeared content to stay home and let the App Store do the work for them.

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Charles Zimmerman also contributed to this article.