After today's reveal that RIM will launch an official app store in the near future, TechCrunch reports on BerryStore, which not only promises to provide apps for the Storm, but the rest of the Blackberry line as well, including the old phones. What makes this a legitimate challenger to the official app store is that BerryStore's content will be available to everyone, regardless of the carrier (the official app store will make different apps available to different carriers...apparently).

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Rather than making an iPhone app, Flickr has tweaked its mobile site to better fit the iPhone screen's dimensions--and to a pretty solid effect. All activities and controls you need to use are readily available, photos are automatically scaled to fit the screen and you can load pages without needing to refresh Safari. Since Adobe Flash-support is still a ways off, there's really no way to view slideshows or videos. Still, Flickr's got two thumbs up from here as one of the most useful non-apps you'll see.

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Hey social networking fans, Facebook 2.0 for the iPhone has been released and is now up for download at the iTunes app store. With the newest version, you can get notifications, friend requests, full news feeds, news feed comments, your entire inbox, and photo capabilities. Now you can check up on how all your Finance major friends are doing from on the road. Status Update: Not very well. [iPhone Savior]

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We first saw the Force Unleashed iPhone game back at E3, and since then not a whole lot has changed. You still control Darth Vader's apprentice by drawing shapes on the screen to correspond with force powers or actions, which is quite suitable for the iPhone, but not as satisfying as it would be to actually draw lightsaber strikes or even swing around the phone like an idiot. Nevertheless, it's really polished and has luscious 2D backgrounds that your PS1/Dreamcast-era guy runs across. Worth $US9.99 (AU: $12.99) if you're a fan of Star Wars, lightsabers, or drawing shapes with your finger. [iTunes]

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When the T-Mobile G1 was shown off in NYC last week, it didn't have the gusto of a Stevenote. There was no 'boom!'--no 'one more thing!' And as a result, many (including us) felt a bit underwhelmed, and were quick to interpret the device's inconsistent GUI as an indicator that the lack of attention to detail would doom it.

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Voice recognition is one if the iPhone gaping-est of holes, but it will soon be plugged by none other than Microsoft. But before you look forward to putting your multitouching fingers all over those glorious nine letters on your iPhone screen, know that MS is only indirectly involved via Tellme, a company they acquired in early 2007 which has a similar app for Blackberries already. But it's a start. And the app looks like it would be pretty useful.

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Unlike their usual tack lately, Apple is doing something at the App Store that actually helps developers. Before, you could review—and slam—any app you wanted willy-nilly, even if you didn't own it. That changed over the weekend—now you have to own an app before you can review it, preventing an onslaught of one-star reviews for Tetris simply because EA is charging eight bucks for it. Now if Apple could apply some of that logic and fairness on their end and stop jerking developers around. [Alley Insider]

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Here's a really cool application for the iPhone: Heart Monitor uses the iPhone microphone--especially the one built into your headphones--to record and track your heartbeat from your chest, wrist or neck. Watching the video, it looks like it will be a perfect application for both sports people and hypochondriacs, even while it comes with a couple of disclaimers:

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One of the most puzzling announcements to come out of the release of the T-Mobile G1 was the fact that there would be no desktop app to sync your data. While you will be able to sync you contacts and calendar info remotely (at no cost) out of the box, you must submit to storing all of the data on your Google account. Obviously, that means you must be cool with the idea of Google ruling over your personal info. It also means that the suits are not going to be happy without their Exchange support. Third party developers will undoubtedly solve this problem very quickly—maybe even by launch, but I have to ask—would you prefer the Google "cloud" approach to syncing or will you be waiting for a decent desktop app?

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HappyWakeUp is a new mobile phone alarm app developed for S60 (the other open platform) that only wakes you when it knows you're in a light sleep cycle. How does it know? Well, Computerworld says HappyWakeUp actually uses the microphone from your phone to statistically analyse your sleep habits based on noises you make, and when placed under your pillow, it determines what phase of sleep you're in.

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