It’s not “officially” here just yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get it. And a day early no less. While digging through the Apple XML files just like any other true Apple fan with some extra time on their hands, MacRumors has dredged up the URL location for the iPhone 2.0 firmware upgrade. The download comes in the form of a .ipsw file, which you can install on your phone by holding down the “Option” key (shift on PCs) and clicking the “Check For Update” button on the iTunes iPhone menu.

Along with the new firmware comes the really big news of the day. The emergence of the Apple App Store, which has also proven to be live. I had a chance to dabble around with some of the apps, and let me tell you, it was well worth the wait.

For starters, the Apple Remote is insanely awesome. Let me stress that again. INSANELY awesome. Basically it allows you to control iTunes on your computer via WiFi on your iPhone. You can scroll through tracks, go forward, backwards, pause, play, and pretty much control the listening experience right from your phone’s touch screen. And it’s free. AWESOME!

I spent a few minutes playing around with the headlining game, Super Monkey Ball as well. For $9.99 you get a fully immersed 3D gaming environment, complete with over 100 stages, accelerometer led control, and a very pretty graphical experience as well. Not to mention that the game itself is strangely addictive.

You need this upgrade. Even for just the App Store. It’s well worth the effort. Sadly, this early upgrade is not available for the iPod Touch. That upgrade will be released soon for $9.95, with the iPhone 2.0 firmware probably launching tomorrow morning.

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