iPhone owners hoping to upgrade to the new iPhone 3.0 firmware will notice a change in DRM policies. This comes at a time when Microsoft just announced its DRM plans for the Marketplace for Mobile to be released with Windows Mobile 6.5.

Apple, which has been generous and lenient about applications re-download, may be pulling a Scrooge as the Spirit of Christmas future has shown the Cupertino-based firm what its rival is dishing up in Redmond. Apple will no longer offer users the ability to re-download applications on the iPhone without users shelling out more money to re-purchase the applications. While you can still re-download the applications on a PC or Mac and synchronize it over to the phone, the convenience is no longer there. Apple is rumored to be making this switch to tighten down on applications being downloaded to multiple devices–devices that the user doesn’t own nor control–so that users cannot “share” applications with others using the same iTunes account DRM on the phone.

Microsoft’s Live ID authentication system for DRM seems more generous at this time, allowing users to share applications on up to five devices that they own, control, and use. This system is meant for users who own and use more than one device, and the ability to quickly download, erase applications to conserve memory and storage space, and re-download those same applications on the go will be a convenient and valuable feature for mobile users who own a lot of applications and use multiple devices.

(via: Thanks to Scott who tipped us on a MobileCrunch story)