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Since Adobe can’t get Flash on the iPhone — yet — they figure the next best thing is to let Flash CS5 and ActionScript 3 compile native iPhone apps that can be submitted to the iTunes App Store and run on iPhones and iPod touches everywhere.

In fact, Chroma Circuit, Trading Stuff, Fickleblox, Just Letters, South Park, The Roach Game, and Red Hood — all already on the App Store — we also all already developed using Flash and converted to the iPhone.

Like the earlier announcement from Novell about MonoTouch letting .NET compile iPhone apps, Flash is using the same “ahead of time” compilation instead of “just-in-time” to build the native apps.

Some will say this lowers the barrier of entry for developers to gain access to the App Store. We just hope it doesn’t make it so low they trip over it on their way in.

Again, from our point of view, it’s ultimate not about making things easier for developers, it’s about making things better for end-users. It’s not about us getting more apps, it’s about us getting better ones.

If a bunch of brilliant Flash (or .Net or Java or whatever.runtime) developers suddenly cross over and decide to make brilliant apps for the iPhone, then, yay! However, in our experience the truly brilliant developers are the ones who care so deeply about their apps they edit them down to the last sub-pixel level, and tweak the code until it behaves like it was born to the metal. In other words, those developers likely already picked up Cocoa like it wasn’t no thing.

The other ones, the ones who just want to pump out as many $0.99 CrApps as possible — yeah, we’re worried they’re turning our direction, and we have enough of them already, thanks very much.

Are we overly pessimistic? (Though we’re hardly the only ones). Do you think a lot of great Flash games will suddenly make the jump to the iPhone now? If so, name us your favorites, and let us know!

Updated: It’s here! TapTap Revenge 3 [$0.99 - iTunes link]

One of the most popular games in iPhone (and iPod touch) history is about to raise the bar again as Tapulous has just announced Tap Tap Revenge 3. What’s new the third time around?

First, they’ll have 40 song bundles from major artists available to purchase in-app at launch, along with custom themes for each. Next, they’ll have an online mode with bombs, weapons, chat, PMs, and more. Customizable avatars are on tap, with achievements and levels, as well as an overall look refresh and performance enhancements.

There will be over 100 free tracks for download as well, along with new free and paid tracks released weekly.

Pricing is $0.99 for the app (Apple doesn’t allow in-app purchase for free apps), with $2.99 6-track bundle and $0.99 2-track bundle options. Availability, of course, depends on when exactly Apple sees fit to release it into the App Store.

We’re hoping for soon.

More screen shots and complete artist list after the break!

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Back in September we mentioned that a VOIP application, Vonage Mobile, received the green light of approval into the App Store. Today it has finally been made available as a free download with a monthly fee for service. [iTunes Link]

Today Vonage (NYSE: VG) launched Vonage Mobile, its first mobile calling application for smartphones. Vonage Mobile is a free downloadable application (app) that provides seamless, low-cost international calling while on Wi-Fi or cellular networks*. Once downloaded, the service saves customers more than 50% on calls to dozens of countries versus the rates charged by wireless carriers while providing far more convenience than calling cards. Vonage Mobile will be available for download on the iPhone(R), BlackBerry(R) and iPod touch(R) at www.vonage.com and the iTunes App Store later today.

While the release of this application is not all that shocking, the fact that you can use the networks 3G data to make your calls with Vonage Mobile is. That whole fiasco between Apple, Google, AT&T, and the FCC seems to have worked out in our favor yet again.

Ngmoco sent us word of new teasers for Eliminate, the first-person iPhone (and iPod touch) shooter they showed off on Apple’s Keynote stage for iPhone 3.0. Now, I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of the teaser concept. Rather than build interest, I find they just cause me to tune out after a while. Literally, too much of a good thing.

However, Eliminate really is looking to be a good thing, if not a great thing, so I’m posting the one video so far that makes us really, really want them to get this game out. See, to me the fun in Golden Eye and Halo was never the game. It was hunting down and picking off my friends. Now, if they can ever get live streaming audio to work in real time with the game, and I can hear my friends complain that “it’s not fair” their “controller doesn’t work” and “stop killing me the moment I re-spawn” (okay, those are all actually things I say to them. Shhh!) it would be perfect. But given that it will push challenges and let you play over 3G and WiFi, and using ngmoco’s plus+ network, it could just be dang near perfect.

Now I just have to make sure Chad and Jeremy never get my gamer code…

Adobe is working on Flash 10.1, which is a version that’s finally supposed to suck less — battery power and cpu cycles, that is. Meaning, it might just be a contender to finally bring acceptable performance to mobile clients like the iPhone sometime in 2010, even if everyone BUT Apple has signed on at this point.

Back up: since the iPhone debuted with the first mobile web client that actually rendered “just the internet”, some users have clamored for Flash. And why now? They were used to that also being on “just the internet”. However, the iPhone was still a mobile device and Flash is still notorious for bloat, bugs, and otherwise non-Mobile friendly behavior (and no, we won’t mention the increased attack vectors runtimes bring to the table, nor the privacy concerns over Flash-cookies, again, okay?)

Steve Jobs himself famously blamed Adobe for having a desktop version that was too big, and a Lite version that didn’t really work, and said Adobe was missing a middle version that would be “just right”.

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The PSPgo is Sony’s answer to the iPhone in a post-App Store world, but unfortunately it looks like charging more for poorly ported games is the question. Gizmodo explains the obvious — to everyone but Sony — problem:

You see, PSP Minis can’t have any network or online features. Nor can they support camera peripherals (a major focus of DSiWare innovation) or DLC. Kotaku just reviewed iPhone port Hero of Sparta. On the PSP it costs triple what you’ll pay at the App Store. Their review? “Simplistic controls, muddled graphics and abysmal sounds turn what was a fantastic iPhone game into a oddly disjointed Playstation Portable experience.” Kotaku’s review of Tetris was much better. But you know what? Tetris costs twice as much on the PSP as it does the iPhone.

Just like ATRAC and rootkits (ouch, we know), we’re beginning to wonder if anyone at Sony will ever get this brave, new, post-iPhone world?

(Goviko Navigator for iPhone Forum Review by cjvitek For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum Review Index!)

Gokivo [$4.99 - iTunes link] is the next GPS application in the increasingly long list of iPhone GPS turn-by-turn apps. First off, when I started the app, I got a little confused because it looks almost exactly like Google Maps (in fact, it may literally be the same). But the interface expands beyond Google Maps. When you put in a term for searching, you get an expanded list of options – including using local Yahoo lists, categories, your contact list, etc.

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Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they’re fair game.

So who’s on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

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For those of you who have patiently been waiting to jailbreak your iPhone 3GS with the 3.1 software, your patience is about to pay off. According to MuscleNerd all of the testing is complete and the new PwnageTool is almost ready to be released to the public.

Regarding the iPhone 3GS 3.1 software unlock, if you have already updated to the official 3.1, there still is no known way to unlock your device. In order to unlock the 3.1 software on a iPhone 3GS, this next version of the PwnageTool will be needed to make a custom IPSW file to preserve the 04.26.08 baseband firmware. Again — that older baseband is needed if you plan on unlocking your device successfully.

Stay tuned as we will bring you the news when the latest PwnageTool drops.

[Thanks to mysterio for the tip!]

PushMail [$2.99 - iTunes link] has just gone 2.0. For those unfamiliar with PushMail, its a middleapp that creates an account for you to forward email, and when it’s alerted to that new email, it sends out a push notification to your iPhone. New features this time around include:

• 25 sound options
• Set silent periods (e.g. during the time you typically sleep)
• History, to view past notifications
• Customize notifications (choose what info you want to display, and what you want to keep private).
• View button to open message in PushMail, Mail, or Safari
• Configuration help and trouble-shooting
• Profiles to let you override certain settings based on specific criteria. (e.g. don’t push any email from the mother-in-law!)

Both the history and the profiles options sound terrific. For those who want GoogleSync-style push Gmail but are already using their only ActiveSync slot for Exchange, this is another option.

If you try it out, let us know what you think!