One issue many people had with the first-generation iPhone was that the applications bundled with the device out of the box were the only applications the smartphone would be able to run. Needless to say, that was a significant problem that Apple soon realized many consumers would not be willing to overlook.

That's no doubt why Apple recently put out the new Apple iPhone SDK, a software development kit that enabled savvy third-party developers to come up with their own programs for use on the iPhone. With that in motion, it was only a matter of time before Apple devised a delivery method for those applications akin to the way iTunes pioneered digital music delivery. Enter the iPhone App Store.

As Apple puts it themselves, the App Store is an effort to help iPhone customers leverage the device's "multi-touch interface, the accelerometer, GPS, real-time 3D graphics, and 3D positional audio".

Some of the premiere applications the iPhone App Store, set to launch next month (that's July 2008, if all goes according to plan), will feature include an eBay auction assistant, a super-responsive mobile gaming console, Loopt location-based social-networking, and innumerable other apps for news, business, finance, sports, chatting, and more.

Users will be able to access the iPhone App Store directly from their iPhone or iPod Touch, and download purchased programs directly to their device. And the App Store's interface will be completely familiar to anyone who uses iTunes.