With all the buzz, hype, and accolades surrounding the new App Store that made its debut both on the new firmware upgrade dubbed iPhone 2.0 and on the new iPhone 3G hardware recently released, I wanted to see if Windows Mobile can compete with the rumored polish that Apple promises. As the first iPhone was lovingly called the JesusPhone, does the second coming of the JesusPhone really live up to the hype that is the App Store?

In my experience, the App Store, while a great interface and a great user experience to start off with, leaves a lot to be desired. Website iPhone Atlas is reporting that developers are complaining that there is no way to get trial versions on the App Store at this point; releases and updates to existing applications are slow because Apple must first approve the apps first; and finally, developers cannot market apps with sales and discounts at this point to really promote the app to new users. Those are the laments on the developers’ end. On my end–oh faithful consumer of Apple am I–the App Store is supposed to be well integrated, easy to use, and contain apps that are secure and that are supposed to work with the iPhone. For the most part, this is true, except my iPhone 3G has crashed more times than a drunken Windows Mobile device.

While Windows Mobile devices have the reputation for constant crashes, slow boot up, and lags, Microsoft didn’t promise that all applications needed to be signed to enhance device stability. On the other hand, Steve Jobs publicly took the position of praising Nokia of requiring apps to have digital signatures to ensure compatibility and enhanced stability with the device. I’ve downloaded a bunch of free and paid apps and numerous times, the apps either didn’t sync right with iTunes, didn’t install correctly, or created some conflict where iTunes and the iPhone wouldn’t sync. When this happens, I had to manually reboot the iPhone to a screen with an Apple logo. Now, there have been at least a dozen instances already when that boot screen didn’t go away and I had to format and do a “hard reset,” whereby taking countless hours to sync my corporate contacts, applications, photo library, music, and a movie.

With the synchronization woes of applications both on the iTunes and on the iPhone side, Handango looks like a piece of heaven right now. Apple, where is the polish that you promised and strive for? Moreover, there have been some great applications written that have not made it the App Store. In the Windows Mobile world, the community could fill voids created by Microsoft and its developer partners by releasing their own applications in easy .cab releases, distributed over various websites for free, donation, or as a paid software release. With Apple, those voids need to be addressed officially through Apple’s App Store. And even then, those apps may still risk bricking your phone.

As it stands, the second coming is a hoax. I am still waiting for the JesusPhone to come again. Perhaps, it is on the third try that the inevitable JesusPhone will rise again. Here’s to hoping that iPhone 2.0.1 will remedy the woes of iPhone 2.0.