Why are the apps I download from itunes .ipa files?

I understand that .ipa files are for jailbroken idevices, but when i download apps (all free so far), and i go to (eindows explorer) my music\itunes\itunes media\mobile apps, all the files are .ipa files.
Not me or anyone else in my family have had anything to do with jailbreaking or cydia. Is it the fact that they're all free apps?
thx

i am qwerty wrote:
I understand that .ipa files are for jailbroken idevices,
That's not correct. All Apps are .ipa files.
An App for a jailbroken device may well be in .ipa format, but that's not relevant to you if you haven't jailbroken your device.
Someone writes an App for Apple iDevices. By definition, it's an .ipa file.
The App is submitted to Apple who effectively vet it for behaviour unacceptable to Apple.
If the App passes Apple's vetting, it gets into the Store and you can purchase it, either for a cost or for free
If the App is not passed by Apple - or not even submitted to Apple because the author knows it will not be accepted, it isn't in the Store.
Jailbreaking allows people to install Apps that Apple have not accepted into the Store. It doesn't seem to dawn on many people that the reason Apple may not have accepted an App may be because it will harm the iPod, make the iPod unreliable or compromise their security.
You have no need to worry. My additional comments about jailbreaking are to serve as a warning to anyone else who reads your thread in order to deter them from jailbreaking. Further reading can be found here;
Unauthorized modification of iOS has been a major source of instability, disruption of services, and other issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3743

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Why are the apps I download from itunes .ipa files?

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