by reading http://www.weston-fl.com/blog/?p=840, I noticed that on the required list of icons, there is one for settings as well, is it really needed?
Icon-settings.png 29 x 29 Universial application icon for settings area. Alternative name: Icon-Small.png
EDIT: found the article that details about the settings icon and setting bundle http://useyourloaf.com/blog/2010/5/18/adding-a-settings-bundle-to-an-iphone-app.html
On
I think that 29x29 icon is used in search results, if your app matches the search. But in the absence of the "right" sized icon, the 57x57 (or other available icon) will be used instead. By providing all the icons of the various sizes you have the opportunity to make sure that the icon shown with your app, in all possible scenarios, is exactly how you want it to look. Compare that to how your 57x57 icon looks at 29x29 when simply scaled down. But still, there is no hard requirement to include the 29x29 size.
If your app doesn't have an entry in Settings, there's no need for the icon.