Edible Apple

A new iPhone app called Cydia allows users to download iPhone applications that weren’t approved for sale on iTunes by Apple.  SmokingApples has an interesting review of the Cydia shopping experience over here.  Their conclusion?

Will the Cydia Store be a success? Surely. There are many who have a jailbroken iPhone, and the relatively easy way (if you can get past the horrible UI designs) of purchasing hacked apps will certainly make some people rich. Besides, the Cydia Store will have far fewer apps which means it will be easier to have a glance at them all. This will result in a higher number of purchases-per-app. Will the Cydia Store pose a threat to Apple? Not in any measurable way, no. If the App Store already has an app, there’s no chance of anyone purchasing that same functionality using the Cydia Store.

That makes sense.  As time goes on, the number of apps that don’t make it into the iTunes App Store continue to dwindle.  It used to make sense to jailbreak your iPhone before the app store arrived, but now, unless you’re stuck on T-mobile, it seems like more trouble than its worth.

InformationWeek has more on Apple’s new un-official competition over here.