I preface this by saying that I did what most of my friends did. I followed the direct link to Apple’s web site to download what was supposedly the final version of the iPhone 2.0 firmware and I did the manual install. I did NOT do it the sanctioned way of going through iTunes. I therefore may have either a corrupted or out-dated version.

What’s up with the downloaded apps not starting up? I downloaded about 6 free apps and installed them, and for the first couple of days they worked. But for the last two days, they don’t launch. None of them. They try to, but after no more than five seconds, it gracefully returns to my home screen with no error message. Strangely, all of the standard iPhone applications work as they should.

So I write this with two things in mind.

1. If I’m on 5A347, am I on the wrong version?

2. If 5A237 is the final version of iPhone 2.0, Apple – what’s up with these apps not starting anymore?