According to Engadget (via MacRumors), a number of iOS users who are operating devices running iOS version 4.0 (or earlier), are tonight experiencing issues with the on-device App Store. Preventing users who own these devices from purchasing or downloading applications from the store, the issues are reported to have started over this past weekend after a change in how Apple serves up content on its iTunes App Store.

The many issues, (documented in this growing Apple support thread), are described as follows:

Whenever I go into a specific app in the app store, none of the buttons work properly.

1) clicking on the price no longer downloads the app,
2) the ratings button does nothing,
3) the ‘tell a friend’ and ‘git this app’ buttons jump back to the top of the app window,
4) pictures usually don’t show up. They usually appear as five gray rectangular boxes with white borders (though in one app one too-large-for-the-window picture shows up (see pic),
5) the ‘app support’ button still goes to the developer’s website.
6) the ‘top in-app purchases’ banner is just text now.

Apple support is reportedly also having a hard time believing the issue is related to Apple, with representatives of the company said to have offered up a variety of potential end-user solutions for the problems, none of which have yet appeared to have resolved the variety of issues being reported.

Are you experiencing similar issues yourself? – Leave a comment and let us know.