Just when the news app market seemed to be settling into competent mediocrity, along comes a new pay-to-play, commercial piece of software that puts the others to shame, reminding us once of the sage advice of the ancients — caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). But what sets the Cable News Network’s iPhone app apart from the rest?

It wasn’t long ago that pundits fervently believed that really simply syndication (RSS) would take over content delivery. Although that revolution failed to materialize, whether you’re just a news junkie or journalist, there’s still no better way to stay up-to-date.

On Tuesday, the rumor mill kicked into high gear as “sources” stated that troubles with the camera module in the iPod touch could prevent the mothership from immediately selling the device. With the event over and nary a camera equipped touch anywhere in sight, hardware analysts pour over guts of the device that Apple did ship for portents of devices that may yet come.

This dot-fix is 90 percent about making your iPhone or iPod touch play nicely with the changes with iTunes and the iTunes Store. Therein, the feature that makes me grin deviantly is the ability to manage apps on my Mac, which is simply sweet given the big Swedish hands I inherited (didn’t get the ears, though).

When it comes to getting the job done, the best tool isn’t always commercial and don’t be afraid to spend a little money on the right software — there are some truly awesome apps on Apple’s iTunes App Store. From iPhone games and entertainment apps to news and reference titles for your iPod touch, here’s our take on the best of the best.

The most popular app on the iPhone and iPod touch has gotten and major rewrite, and packs a large array of “new” features that bring it mostly up to par with the browser-based version. Come on inside for a snapshot overview of what’s hot and what’s not in this major update.

Perhaps the greatest source of lost productivity (that doesn’t also cause palm warts) is now available for Apple handhelds. Better still if you’re on a tight budget or consider yourself a mere hobbyist time waster, this classic title is available in free and pay-to-play versions.

Everything in this app is available someplace else. Actually, about a million someplace elses is more like it and that’s what makes this app, flawed though it be, such a great addition to your news junkie’s toolkit.

One of the most depressing prospects one can face out on the road it yet another merely inspired, corn sweetener-infused cookie cutter meal. Contrariwise, finding a little hole in the wall, mom n’ pop place with more authenticity than a thousand chain restaurant locations can be the wellspring for a lifetime of birthday, dating, anniversary and family memories.

Here’s a blast from the past, a product from MetaCreations and its idiosyncratic founder Kai Krouse remade for the new century. Of course, Kai’s gone off to live the pastoral life and MetaCreations has been little more than a name for the last 10 years.