According to 9to5mac, Apple is tapping T-Mobile's Sidekick developers to help it create and distribute third-party applications for the iPhone through the iTunes Music Store.

While this isn't quite the distribution model people were hoping for (like, you know, a free one), it at least tells us that Apple knows it needs to make third-party applications available for the iPhone at some point.

9to5mac is reporting that Apple is at work with its partners to develop games and applications that will work with the iPhone's touch interface. That Apple has hired a number of developers from Danger's Sidekick team shows that it might be interested in pursuing a development model similar to T-Mobile's Sidekick. Here is what it says:

In the T-Mobile model, developers (who can prove they are developers by submitting a working application) get a key that opens their Sidekicks for further testing. Once they feel they have a stable working application, they submit it to the Danger/T-Mobile team for compatibility testing. If T-Mobile/Danger feel the application is stable, won't interfere with other applications and would be of interest to their customers, they make it available for download and install through an integrated payment system. The cost of [the] application is added to the customer's monthly bill. The Danger team actively works with the developers to insure compatibility and stability in applications through SidekickOS updates.

This methodology could work for Apple. Apple can't develop everything on its own. It has to let third parties take a shot. This model will let developers create iPhone apps, let Apple give them the stamp of approval, and then allow them to be sold via its iTunes Music Store (where Apple will take a cut, of course). Whether that dissemination would occur over the air, or via downloading to a PC and syncing the iPhone, isn't known. Either could work, though there is always an extra appeal to OTA-capable downloads.

This is a glimmer of hope for the nonhacking community that is looking for more features on their $400 phones.

How soon any of this will become a reality is anyone's guess.