In the biggest miscarriage of award show justice since Ghandi beat Tron in the 1983 Academy Awards, the winners of the 2008 Best App Ever Awards have been announced, and Smule’s Ocarina did not win Best App Ever. Oh, sure, it won Best 99 Cent App, Best Musical Instrument App, and Most Creative Use of iPhone Hardware, but it was denied the top aware, and we at Applelinks are thinking of holding a protest. If we do, you can bet it will be peaceful and musically pleasant. Anyway…

With the close of 2008 inching closer, and with 10,000 applications in its fold, Apple’s iTunes Store has released several lists containing the top 10 applications, both paid and free, in terms of download statistics. Aside from the overall top ten apps, the list also includes the top 10 applications per category based on the iTunes Store’s major categories: games, utilities, entertainment and more.

Interestingly, of the top 10 paid applications overall, six were game apps, three were music/entertainment app and only one paid application is used for business purposes. I don’t know about you, but I think this tell us something about how the iPhone (or iPod Touch) has become more of a gaming phone rather than a smart phone.

Check out a couple lists after the break.

Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal recently wrote in his column about ten iPhone apps, in the new app store, that he feels are worth checking out. I think it’s a really great “getting started” guide for those who are overwhelmed or otherwise confused about where to start with the app store.

See Walt’s video commentary after the break.