In the last day, Apple has begun to approve third-party web browsing apps for the iPhone. A slew of web browsing apps have hit the App Store, with original submission dates from as far back as October of last year.

Though Apple has made no official statement, there is some speculation that all this time the browser applications were actually awaiting approval.

There is specualtion that browser apps were blocked by Apple because they replicated features already available on the iPhone. They must have changed their minds. Regardless there are a variety of browser applications, including:

-    Edge Browser, a free app with address and navigation bars
-    Incognito, a $1.99 app that allows you to browse without a trace
-    WebMate:Tabbed Browser, a $0.99 app that queues the links you click on
-    Shaking Web, a $1.99 app for easier reading on the go

This could pave the way for mainstream browsers like Opera, Mozilla Firefox, or even Microsoft to create their own full-featured iPhone browsers. Maybe there’s some hope for Flash, after all.