TheFind, a technology-heavy shopping search engine, is introducing an iPhone application for the site that it says should launch on August 4. The application allows users to search for stores in a region that are selling a particular product (the site claims a database of over 200,000 retail locations).

Because the app hasn’t been accepted to the Apple App Store yet, TheFind is going to hold a beta using Apple’s Ad Hoc application distribution program. If it works well, we hope to be able to offer similar beta programs in the future for other App Store developers.

The first 100 users to go here will be able to sign up for the beta. After submitting their iPhone’s unique device identifier (UDID), users will be able to download the application from the site itself. Typically Apple requires users to download applications through the App Store, but this Ad-Hoc distribution system allows developers to distribute their apps before they’ve been approved to a maximum of 100 users.

TheFind launched in its current format in 2006 (it was previously known as FatLens, a ticketing and shopping site). The new site is a shopping discovery engine, geared more towards finding new products than locating a price for a particular item. In 2007 the site acquired Glimpse, a womens’ shopping destination.