In the past the iPhone app store has come under a lot of fire for its bizarre application approval rules, which lets Apple reject certain applications and approve others at whim with little or no rhyme or reason.

Now, the big news on the town is about a new, supposedly legal 3rd party iPhone App Store that anyone can use, without jailbreaking their iPhone or, in fact, doing any hacking whatsoever (which is what they mean when they say it's "legal"). It's called YourAppShop, and it sounds too good to be true. That's because in all likelihood, it is too good to be true. Don't get too used to it, because it might not be around for very long.

YourAppShop was unveiled at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to immediately, widespread fanfare, including prominent articles in major news publications like the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on creator and practicing magician Steve Sheraton's efforts to make the iPhone App Store disappear back in April of 2008.

The YourAppShop system allows for anyone willing to pay the licensing fee to create their own, custom application store, bypassing Apple's App Store approval process and even the much-maligned iTunes, allowing users to install apps directly onto their mobile devices, from their mobile devices. So far, three such application stores have been created, two of which give users access to pornographic content (SexAppShop and X-RayStars). To date the SexAppStore application has been installed over two million times worldwide, and a quick look at the Twittersphere reveals that there's a lot of discussion about the YourAppShop system in many languages around the world.

It's unlikely, though, that the fledgling application platform is going to be able to last. Apple is a notorious control-freak when it comes to controlling users' access to applications it deems unsavory following a number of high-profile application approvals last year which gave users access to iPhone apps like "Baby Shaker," which drew a large amount of negative publicity for the company. Although the YourAppStore system purports to be "fully legal" because it doesn't require any jailbreaking (illegal hacking of the iPod or iPhone's firmware to allow greater access and control over the device), that's not likely to stop Apple from pursuing the makers of YourAppShop in any way that they can, including going after them on the grounds of copyright and trademark or trade secrets.

Although Apple has yet to respond formally to the YourAppShop system, we fully expect that their legal team has already been brought to bear against the system, and chances are that the first we'll hear of it will be when the makers land themselves in court over the application platform.

Until that point, of course, users will have free reign to install whatever apps are made available over the YourAppshop stores, and developers will have an alternative to Apple's murderously slow and picky application approval process. Apple would do well to take note of the demand for an alternative to the App Store and take a hard, close look at the deficits in their current system that are giving rise to such a large and vocal set of detractors. With Apple just celebrating its 3 billionth (yes, BILLIONTH) App Store download, it's going to be an uphill battle for users and developers seeking an alternative, but with demand as high as it is, it could well be worth the fight.

For now, check out this video from PremierAppShop.com: