Top iPhone and Technology related stories from across the web

Why can’t Apple’s App Store overlords exercise more discretion when it counts? A $2 Britney Spears app has just approved is available for the iPhone. I thought the app called “It’s Britney!” may have been some clever lip-syncing or karaoke app, but it’s not. The $2 Britney Spears iPhone App and 5 Other Ways to Waste Money

Winners so far include practical applications for getting around town and translating Chinese into English; games that let users mine gold for profit or fight the Soviets in an alternate-history Europe; and even software for finding soul mates. Seeking Fortunes in China’s Hands

As impressive as the iPhone has been since its debut two years ago, the device has never been without its flaws. Apple’s regular updates to the software have polished some of these rough edges, while other needs were addressed when Apple opened the platform up to third-party developers in 2008. What’s next for future iPhones?

Bit by bit (or byte by byte), carmakers are connecting their vehicles not only to Internet-based services but also to owners’ smartphones. Unlocking the Mercedes With Your Smartphone

What’s worse than a lost or stolen iPhone? Uh, hello? Nothing! That’s why Apple invented Find My iPhone–and charges $99 per year for it as part of the MobileMe service. Undercover helps recover lost, stolen iPhones

If I had a dollar for every instance of misguided Wall Street speculation, I might be richer than a trader, but let’s just imagine that Nokia will acquire Palm, as reported on Friday. What would happen to Palm’s WebOS, the mobile operating system that debuted last June with the Palm Pre? Would Nokia and Palm Merger Spell Doom for WebOS?

Apple’s iPhone has taken its motto, “there’s an app for everything,” to an entirely new level. It has released two new applications: iSurgeon and Dr. Shafer’s FAQs, that first allows people to virtually reshape their appearance and will then provide direct contact with a nationally renowned surgeon to answer any questions about various procedures. iNosejob: A New App? ?

Cell phones have increasingly become mobile labs and tech tools for researchers, and now NASA has gotten in on the act. A NASA scientist has developed a postage-stamp-sized chemical sensor that allows iPhones to sniff out low airborne concentrations of chemicals such as ammonia, chlorine gas and methane. NASA scientist converts iPhone into chemical sniffer

It is written in the book of the revelations of Steve Jobs that the world will be swamped in a sea of open sauce and people shall not heed the hallowed press releases from Cupertino any longer. Droid is a major threat to Apple

Apple today posted two new iPhone commercials to its ad gallery and also began airing them on prime-time television. The commercials each continue Apple’s recent theme of highlighting six App Store applications in quick succession and each touts that there are now over 100,000 applications available on the App Store. Apple releases Two New iPhone Ads: ‘Song’, ‘Gift‘