A few months ago, StyleTap indicated it was working on an "experimental version" of its Palm OS emulator, called StyleTap CrossPlatform, for the iPhone. Already available for Windows Mobile - and soon Symbian - the software allows users to run the more than 20,000 available Palm OS applications on the their PDAs and smartphones. While the experiment was successful, StyleTap's run into a significant hurdle in getting its software into the hands iPhone owners: Apple.

You see, the legal agreement that accompanies the iPhone Software Development Kit prohibits the entire class of applications StyleTap falls under. These include emulators, virtual machines, scripting languages, and interpreters that enable any type of non-native applications to be run on an iPhone. In other words, Apple doesn't want folks loading software onto their iPhone it hasn't approved.

As a result, StyleTap cannot deliver its Palm OS emulator directly through the App Store to iPhone users.

According to StyleTap, while it is still working with Apple to find a solution, "until Apple removes the legal roadblocks, we will not be able to provide a product that can be installed through the App Store onto a standard "off the shelf" iPhone."

StyleTap is encouraging people to let Apple know they would like to see its Palm OS emulator made available through the App Store as an official, sanctioned iPhone application. It wants you to explain to Apple that Style would allow you to run "critical applications" you otherwise couldn't.

Meanwhile, StyleTap is continuing to develop a version of StyleTap CrossPlatform for the iPhone and iPod touch. When it comes out in beta, however, you'll only be able to load it on devices that have been jail-broken to run unofficial native applications. That is, unless Apple relents and allows StyleTape to offer the software through the App Store.

StyleTap says it is "not recommending, requesting or encouraging you to make any unauthorized modifications to your device," however. As "there are warranty, upgrade and usability issues with 'jailbroken' devices that you need to understand before you choose that approach."

Keep in mind, thousands, perhaps millions, of iPhone users have already jail=broken their iPhones to little or no ill effect. Before Apple set up the App Store with the release of the iPhone 2.0 firmware, it was the only way to get software running natively on the iPhone.

In February, Styletap released a video showing off StyleTap's Palm-platform emulator running on an iPod touch. It has been viewed more than a million and the company received many e-mails from both end-users and application developers expressing great interest in having such a product available.

Here's the video: