Numerous reports are stating that Apple will have control over which third-party iPhone applications will be allowed to run on the phone. Apps will be offered through the iTunes online store, allowing Apple to pick and choose which ones users can get their hands on.

It’s a sneaky move on Apple’s part, and one that we are not too fond of. The iPhone has a lot of potential, especially with the upcoming release of the SDK this Thursday. However, Apple is not willing to unlock that potential by keeping certain applications away from the phone.

On top of that, Apple’s strategy behind the move may be to drive more traffic to the iTunes store. Any time an iPhone user wants to get a new application, iTunes will be the way to go. And imagine all of those shiny music and movie ads on there. This could all be a gimmick just to increase sales through iTunes.

Hopefully Apple will surprise us in the future with a decision to allow all applications on the iPhone. However, we don’t really see that happening. We expect to see many applications from big names like Google on the iTunes store, but not as many from open-source efforts.

What do you get when you cross an iPhone with an iPod shuffle? An iStick, of course! Designer Alexei Mikhailov has dreamed up this gadget to show what he thinks that hybrid should look like.

The iStick is modeled after a tube of lipstick. However, all four sides have a touchscreen providing for a slick interface.

While the device isn’t for movie or photo viewing, it would be perfect for listening to music. It’s small, light, and has the same great interface as an iPhone. The iStick would also have Coverflow to let you scroll through album covers for an added effect. WiFi is also built in to browse iTunes.

The pictures also show some tiny wireless headphones. We’d really like to see some of those.

The concept is great, but it would be pretty hard to fit all that technology into a device as compact as the iStick. We’re also wondering what the gray end cap is for. Maybe you can twist it around as another way to interact with the gadget. Hopefully we’ll see a similar device from Apple sometime in the future. More pictures after the jump. Read more »

It looks like those official third-party iPhone applications may be making their way to our phones via iTunes. A slip-up by Tiny Code revealed the following:

“Tiny Code no longer produces fixes or applications for firmware 1.1.3. We can’t say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn’t be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes.”

The message has since been taken down from the site.

Maybe Apple is giving developers and easy way to sell their apps, and maybe Jobs wants to make some money from the iPhone SDK (rumored to be announced soon) for himself. Either way, it looks like this rumor may have some truth behind it.

We’ll post more info on the iPhone SDK when it’s announced, so stay tuned!

Netflix has announced plans to offer a Mac version of their Watch Instantly streaming service sometime this year. Netflix executive Reed Hastings dismissed Apple’s new iTunes rental service:

“You only have 24 hours in which to complete watching the movie [on iTunes], so if you watch over two nights, you pay twice. DVD rentals advantages over VoD are ubiquity of content, ubiquity of DVD players, an early window for new releases, and lower prices.”

Watch Instantly is a Video on Demand service that, for $5 a month, allows subscribers to watch as many movies as they’d like with no other charges or fees. The system is currently heavily dependent on Windows Media copy protection mechanisms, which aren’t available on the Mac.

I think this is fantastic news, seeing as Netflix has a very comprehensive library of films (although only 6,000 are currently available through Watch Instantly, that number is bound to go up as the service really takes off) and being able to access them on a Mac allows a wider audience of people to take advantage of the program. Thank you Netflix!

Photo: http://gizmodo.com