Apple announced yesterday that it would be releasing its much-anticipated Mac App Store on Thursday, January 6th. The release date coincides with the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where Apple intends to unveil the Mac App Store as a new feature of their upcoming software update – Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.
On January 6th, the store will be available to Mac OS X Snow Leopard users as an upgrade before its official release for Mac OS X Lion. Launching in 90 countries, the Mac App Store, like its mobile sibling, will feature access to both free and paid apps in such categories as education, productivity, and games. When designing the Mac App Store, Apple made sure to bring the same sophistication in searching, installing and updating apps directly from the iOS App Store. Developers have until December 31st to submit their apps/software to feature during the launch of the Mac App Store.
The Mac App Store will offer the chance for developers to showcase upgrades and variable pricing through their own storefront. However, Steve Jobs also announced that Apple, maintaining its original policy for the iOS App Store, would take a 30% cut of all revenues in the Mac App Store. Developers, setting aside issues with constraining policies and app submission guidelines, have decided that developing apps for the Mac App Store remains beneficial and lucrative.
In a statement, Apple said they changed the release date of the Mac App Store in order to make the most of the Consumer Electronics Show. As Gregg Keizer from computerworld.com wrote, “Blogger Joe Wilcox pointed out on BetaNews earlier today, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer will open CES with a keynote the evening of Jan. 5. “You can be sure [Apple's] timing is deliberate,” Wilcox wrote.
According to reports in the New York Times and elsewhere, Ballmer will focus his CES keynote on Windows-based tablets that will compete with Apple’s iPad, and on Windows 8, the next iteration of Microsoft’s biggest money maker. Most analysts and pundits have pegged Windows 8′s release for 2012.”
What are you looking forward in the new Mac App Store?
This blog post was provided by Break Media Group. Follow all of our news at breakmediagroup.com/blog or on Twitter at twitter.com/BreakMediaGroup. You can also follow the author at twitter.com/EmileWard. BMG: “Where a promise is a promise.”
Related blog posts:
Apple slates Jan. 6 launch for Mac App Store – Computerworld http://ow.ly/3qt5I
Apple’s Mac App Store to launch January 6 | The Digital Home – CNET News http://ow.ly/3qt6x
Mac App Store Coming January 6 http://ow.ly/3qt72
