Flurry (http://www.flurry.com), a cross-platform mobile application analytics provider, says that developers integrating Flurry analytics into iPhone OS applications in January increased by nearly three times over December thanks to the iPad announcement.

This represents the single largest spike in Flurry history, with over 1,600 new iPhone OS application starts for January. Historically, Flurry has measured surges in new application starts within its system in anticipation of new the company hypothesizes that excitement generated by Apple’s iPad event in January is driving this growth.

For developers who get a jump on customizing their applications for the iPad, there may be an opportunity to stand out early on, and earn more downloads. The iPad is due to ship in late March and late April for the WiFi and 3G versions, respectively.