According to The Register, IBM is creating a Lotus Notes client for Apple’s iPhone. Both Apple and IBM are collaborating closely to develop a native application that will be useful for businesspeople who use the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Relationships between Apple and IBM soured in 2005 with Apple switching to Intel chips for their computers. That has changed since both companies are hardly competitors in any of their product lines.

According to IBM, worldwide about 135 million people use Lotus. This makes getting a Lotus client for the iPhone very transformational. From a consumer device, the iPhone will become even more business friendly. It might even become a Blackberry competitor. However there will need to be improvements on the soft keyboard.

Email checking is already possible for iPhone users on Lotus systems by using the web interface. A native client would however make for a better user experience. Push email will now be possible.

The official iPhone SDK will be launched in February. The application is to be ready in around one month. Steve Jobs might announce a range of applications with the launch of the SDK.