The latest round of iPhone rumors on the internet is not so interesting; as usual it will probably be an annual hardware refresh with the updated iPhone 3.0 firmware. However, the interesting stuff comes from AT&T, where the carrier has announced that it will create apps to integrate its offerings on the iPhone according to Engadget Mobile.

Thus far, the iPhone has shipped with only Apple apps and no “crapware”–additional applications loaded that carriers can make future revenue from. Examples include Cellular Video (previously Cingular Video), Music ID (a program on Windows Mobile phones that “listens” to and identifies song titles, which the carrier charges a subscription for but is offered direct from Shazam for free on the iPhone), AT&T Navigator, and trial-wares.

Whether future iPhones will be carrier-specific is uncertain, but it looks like if AT&T has its way, Apple is flexing less muscles at the carriers and caving into their demands. HTC, Samsung, Motorola, and other Windows Mobile (soon to be Windows Phone) devices launched with carrier branding–like the Touch Pro as the Fuze on AT&T–has been subjected to the same “crapware” that the iPhone may inherit if Internet rumors are to be believed at this time.

The application mentioned by AT&T in the Engadget Mobile read is a U-verse application to tie the carrier’s phone, TV, and internet offerings together.