At this point, you're probably wondering what section of the Storm's UI you haven't seen. Enter a few new sneak peeks, this time showcasing the purported BlackBerry Application Center. Granted, these shots are from the Vodafone edition, but we don't suspect the Verizon version will look much different. Reportedly, the Application Center will be available on v4.7 Storm devices, and carriers themselves will be responsible for hosting the data and sending updates; additionally, the download / installation will be handled by the browser in the first release, meaning that the software cannot restart the app or download intelligently. Give the read link a look for a few more tidbits / pictures.

Apple's App Store, with its millions of downloads, is clearly a hit with consumers. But with developers? Not so much. Like a dashing hero to a scorned mistress, Google's Andy Rubin is pledging a different, more loving and respectful relationship with those who would fill his company's Android Market with selections -- and his pockets with royalties. He indicates that the Market will enable free downloadable trials, something that Apple is stubbornly refusing to add, and that those downloads would not be subject to any arbitrary bandwidth caps. Meanwhile, T-Mobile at least will be levying a $2/month fee on developers of free apps expected to use more than the (somewhat arbitrary) amount of 15MB of data per user per month, though how they'll be keeping track of that data outside of their own content stack is unclear -- our guess is that they can't.

Make no mistake about it, the iPhone (and the App Store in particular) has made the lives of many home owners much, much easier. As it stands, there are already a few apps out there that interface with Crestron gear, but to date, there's no official Crestron app to fiddle with. But give it 60 days or so and there will be -- at least, that's the good word over at the company's booth today at CEDIA. Said application will be 100% free to download, and as you can see in the gallery over at Engadget HD, it elegantly enables wired home owners to control lighting, temperature and all sorts of other things via WiFi or 3G, at home or anywhere else in the world. Users can even program in settings for multiple houses, enabling them to turn the AC on in Orlando while blasting the heat in Jackson Hole. So let's see, all you need now is an iPhone, a couple properties, a few dozen grand to blow on Crestron HA gear and a tiny bit of patience.

While Apple's App Store was far from being the first of its kind, we're now seeing a job posting over in the Redmond area that suggests that Microsoft is looking to produce something similar for its Windows Mobile platform. The news comes hot on the heels of Google's own Android Market announcement, and if the Product Manager position writeup is to be believed, said platform will be christened Skymarket. Described as a "marketplace service for Windows Mobile," Skymarket could seemingly be a critical part of WinMo 7. But don't take our word for it, the proof is the pudding -- or in the read link, in this instance.

[Via The Raw Feed]

For better or worse, it looks like the so-called iControlPad is edging closer to reality -- or at least something really similar. According to a new image (and our limited Spanish translation skills), Belkin is actually looking to produce an App Store gaming controller, though we're still not entirely convinced that what we're seeing is legitimate. Whatever the case, the JoyPod would somehow, someway provide users who purchased Super Monkey Ball to play it using a bona fide game pad, though we can't figure out if the iPod touch / iPhone slips in behind the controller or if it just morphs to fit the JoyPod's space constraints. Guess we'll see (or not) soon enough.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Belkin pinged us to say this is 100% fake. Ah well, at least you know the truth now.

It has taken its sweet, sweet time in arriving, but it seems the iPhone Nike+ running application is just... about... here. A slew of new screenshots of the application have emerged, and while there are no juicy tidbits to accompany 'em (release date, cost, etc.), we all know how many lines of text a single snapshot is worth. Hang tight runners, the app you've been waiting (and waiting) for can't be far from the finish line now.

[Via MacRumors]

According to iPhone Atlas and iPhone hacker-extraordinaire Jonathan Zdziarski, Apple has readied a blacklisting system which allows the company to remotely disable applications on your device. Apparently, the new 2.x firmware contains a URL which points to a page containing a list of "unauthorized" apps -- a move which suggests that the device makes occasional contact with Apple's servers to see if anything is amiss on your phone. In Jonathan's words:

"This suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. At the moment, no apps have been blacklisted, but by all appearances, this has been added to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down.

I discovered this doing a forensic examination of an iPhone 3G. It appears to be tucked away in a configuration file deep inside CoreLocation."

Now honestly, we don't expect the folks in Cupertino to suddenly start turning off apps that you've paid for and downloaded, but if Apple is indeed monitoring iPhones or touches (even passively) for applications it doesn't want or like, it signals a problem deeper than a company simply wanting to sign-off on software for the device. Even on platforms like Symbian -- which calls for apps to be signed and traceable -- the suggestion that a process of the OS would actively monitor, report on, and possibly deactivate your device's software is unreasonable, and clearly presents an issue that the company will have to deal with sooner or later. Oh, and Apple -- we're not going to buy the "for your security" angle, so don't even bother.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Read - iPhone can phone home and kill apps?
Read - Apple's URL with "unauthorized applications" string

Well, who knows what's going on here, but Nullriver's Netshare iPhone tethering app has made a reappearance for download by direct link only in the App Store, after getting unceremoniously yanked last night. It won't show up in searches, but you can still get it if you know the link -- that's a bit odd. Nullriver told Macrumors that it doesn't believe the SOCKS proxy violates any of the App Store SDK restrictions, and that while AT&T has tethering restrictions for its 3G network, other carriers around the world don't, making the app legit in its opinion. Looks like Apple's agreed -- for now. We did a quick hands-on video last night, check it out after the break.

Update: Yeah, it's offline again. This has really got to be drumming up sales, though. Well done, Nullriver. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

We're not sure how this one got past Apple's App Store censors, but the clever kids at Nullriver have released what appears to be the first tethering solution for the iPhone. The $10 NetShare app is just a SOCKS proxy that links an ad-hoc WiFi network to the iPhone's 3G or EDGE connection -- and if we could get it to work, we'd probably think it was a fine, if hacky, solution to a major limitation of Steve's baby. As it stands, though, the instructions are pretty sparse, and while we can get the app to recognize a connection, we're not able to actually load anything. We're not sure how long this one's going to last -- anyone else willing to give it a shot before it gets yanked?

[Thanks, Zoli; Warning, link opens iTunes]

Update: Aaaaand it's offline. Shocking.

Update 2: We've added our own video hands-on after the break.

What's the sound of a tree falling when no one's around to hear it? What's the sound of one hand clapping? And perhaps most importantly, what's the purpose of a clipboard when only one app can use it? Development shop Proximi is making a pretty big stink about its MagicPad app for the iPhone, touting its homegrown copy / paste functionality as part of a rich text-editing package to help shore up the handset's weak sauce (read: non-existent) office app suite. That's all well and good -- the app looks well-executed and provides a core function that should've been present across the entire iPhone to start -- but without buy-in from Apple, the clipboard's stuck in the MagicPad sandbox. Cool? Yes. Should Apple be paying attention? Yes. Useful? At this point, barely.

[Via MacRumors]

Seeing as Apple's FairPlay DRM has already been cracked for music and movies, it's not at all surprising that people are starting to poke holes in the FairPlay-based iPhone App Store. The first loophole is pretty simple, since it doesn't appear that FairPlay links the iPhone hardware to specific Apple IDs: just log into iTunes from any of the machines authorized to use your account, and every app you've purchased will be available for free re-downloading to any attached phone. Since music and movies wrapped in FairPlay can be transferred to unlimited iPods and iPhones, we're guessing this little trick will work indefinitely, but we wouldn't depend on it.

Continue reading over on Engadget!

Just because you're scooping up a free app or three on Apple's App Store doesn't mean that the developers behind them need to starve. Medialets, a nascent start-up specifically targeting iPhone devs, offers cookie-cutter code that can be inserted into apps to add an advertisement here and there -- mildly annoying, possibly, but if it means we get charged a big ol' goose egg when we download the goods, it might just be worth the tradeoff. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the enterprise is that Apple's apparently cool with it; the App Store distributes free apps without charging the developer a dime, after all, presumably under the assumption that the entire ordeal is not-for-profit, but that assumption gets turned on its head when Medialets comes into play and cuts Apple clean out of the revenue share. Ultimately, we wouldn't mind seeing two versions of each app offered: one at full price, and a second ad-supported version at a reduced price or free. How's that for thinking outside the box?

Handhelds (and handsets, in particular) have long since been used as tools for home automation, but the forthcoming App Store is likely to bring a niche concept to the masses... or some of them, at least. Beginning on July 11th (that's the iPhone 3G launch day, you know), a Crestron interface titled iLoveControl will be available for download; during the first 30 days of launch, said app will "offer a one-room Crestron solution free of charge, configured for the control of lights, drapes, HVAC, audio and video." If you're looking to control more than that, it'll cost you $250 per configuration. This is just one example of what's likely to fill the App Store, and quite frankly, we're pretty excited about the possibilities.

Update: The New York Times reports that 1/3 of all first-wave applications will be games. We also corrected the Bajarin misquote above.

[Thanks, Matt and Chris Z.]

Who would've thought that rumored iControl app would not only turn out to be real, but survive the inevitable internal politics, delays, and feature cutbacks to make it all the way through to a summer release? Sure enough, iTunes 7.7 has been pushed out to developers in the past several hours, and the installer encourages iPhone and iPod touch owners to "use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home -- a free download from the App Store." No further details are given -- and it's not clear whether the "iControl" name seen earlier has been scrapped altogether -- but we can guess that it'll use WiFi to hook up with your mainframe, which really makes the idea of an AirPort Express appealing all over again.

On another note, Apple has released Beta 8 of the iPhone SDK and is using the occasion to kick off acceptances of applications to the real, live App Store in preparation for its July 11 launch. It appears that Beta 8 is actually required to complete the process, so don't go jumping the gun now -- goodness knows the rest of the iPhone-toting world doesn't want your half-baked apps in a couple weeks, you shady developer, you.

Read - iPhone / iTunes Remote app
Read - Applications to App Store now being accepted