The Mac App Store is now up and running with more than 1,000 Macintosh applications. To view the Mac App Store you need to use Software Update to get Mac OS X 10.6.6. This adds a Mac App Store icon to the dock. You can also access the store form the Apple Menu.
The store looks similar to the iOS App Store in the iTunes application. You can browse and search for applications. The main page shows featured apps. Other pages show top charts and categories. You use your iTunes account to make purchases.
The launch features many familiar third-party applications like Evernote, BBEdit, Pixelmator, Stuffit Expander, and Transmit. The three iWork applications are also present, as well as iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand from iLife 11. You can buy each individually, which is a first for those applications. Prices for apps vary from $0.99 for some, to more standard software prices of $10, $20 or more. Some apps are available for free.
While 2010 was another record year for Apple in many ways, the company may have plans for 2011 to grow even larger. Apple news for the last week of any year is hard to find, but rumors always seem to appear to fill the void.
We’re about to enter into the fourth year of iPhone-on-Verizon rumors. This week we hear that Apple projects an unusually high number of iPhone shipments in the first quarter, which leads many to believe they must be launching on Verizon. There is even a specific rumor of a February 14 announcement date.
The other side to those rumors is that the increased numbers could simply be due to new sales initiatives in other countries like China. A more plausible rumor is that the next version of the iPad will have a model compatible with Verizon’s network. This makes sense since Verizon already sells iPads, and AT&T has no exclusivity over the iPad.
Rumors of the iPad 2 are also floating, including a March or April release date. The new version may include a front-facing camera, a USB port, wide-range speakers and a iPod Touch-like design according to some.
What is certain is that one week from today the Mac App Store launches, ushering in a new era for Mac software. This will be a game changer for Mac developers who may have to get into the store or face difficulties being found by Mac users.
Apple shook the Mac software development world this week by announcing that the birth of the Mac App Store also means the death of the downloads section of the Apple web site. In the Windows world developers often need to list their software at dozens or even hundreds of different web sites to be found. But in the Mac world being listed on the Apple downloads section was usually enough. Developers who decide not to move their applications to the Mac App store will now have to look for other ways to be discovered.
While the Mac App Store is destined to become the main way users find and download software, many applications will not be available there because they won’t be able to adhere to the rules. For instance, utilities that need to access system functions to work won’t be allowed. This leaves out many popular applications. Other developers may not wish to give Apple 30 percent of the sale price.
The Mac App Store will launch on January 6. There are rumors that a new version of iWork will be available for download in the store on launch day or soon thereafter.
Apple engineers continued to issue updates this week, including an update to iPhoto that adds back the ability to attach a photo to an email without a complex background.
Sales of the new Apple TV appear to be strong according to Apple as it may top one million units this year. They report that users are renting 150,000 movies and 400,000 TV shows per day.
The Mac version of the App Store will launch on January 6 according to an Apple press release today. The Mac App Store will operate like the iOS App Store, bringing an easy, centralized way to find, purchase and download applications for the Mac.
According to the release, it will feature categories just like the iOS store, plus featured apps, best selling lists, and so on. Developers will get 70 percent of the revenue from any sale, with Apple keeping the rest to pay for hosting and credit card fees.
Not all applications will find their way into the App Store. Restrictions mean that many utility applications that alter how your Mac works will be not be allowed in the store. These utilities will remain as they are now, sold by the developers directly or through other channels. Some developers may choose to remain independent of the store where they can get more than 70 percent of the sale price and not have to submit applications to Apple for approval. The Mac App Store will also feature free apps.
While no big new announcements are expected from Apple during the holiday shopping season, designers and engineers have been busy improving the online buying experience for Apple users.
One such change is the length of song previews in iTunes. Songs that are longer than 2.5 minutes now feature a 90-second preview. At least, in the U.S. iTunes store. But those outside the U.S. have something to cheer about as they can finally take advantage of App Store promo codes. These codes, given out by developers to get reviews and buzz for their new apps, are free coupons that were previously only available for people with U.S. iTunes accounts.
Last month Apple tried to make its iTunes gift card use a little clearer by offering iTunes gift cards with the iBooks icon on them. These are regular iTunes gift cards, but it shows clearly that these can be used for books. iTunes cards can be used to purchase music, apps or books. Apple also offers an Apple Store-specific gift card that can’t be using in iTunes, and a special card that can only be used to purchase an iPhone.
One of the major new features of iOS 4.2 is AirPrint, the ability to print directly from your iPhone or iPad. Unfortunately, this only works if you have one of the small group of HP printers that supports it. That makes it a non-feature for most people.
But in the future we hope that Apple allows you to print through your Mac. After all, you can print from one Mac to a printer connected to another Mac. So why not extend that functionality to AirPrint?
The long-anticipated update to the iPad version of iOS came out this week. The iPad has now caught up to the iPhone and iPod Touch with many new features.
In particular, multitasking allows the iPad to run several apps at once. Double tapping the home button will bring up a list of currently running apps and allow you to switch between them. Some apps, like Pandora, will already run in the background. This means you can listen to music while you work on other apps.
Ever since the launch of iTunes, the absence of The Beatles has been the focus of much attention. Even as the songs have been remastered and re-released in traditional formats, the catalog has not appeared on any downloadable music service.
That changed this week as The Beatles catalog went on sale in iTunes, with much publicity from Apple and coverage by the press.
You can now buy all 13 original Beatles albums in iTunes. They are DRM-free and can be purchased per song or by album. Each album purchase includes a short video documentary.
In addition, the Past Masters collection of non-album tracks is available, as well as the greatest hits collections known as the Red Album and Blue Album. You can also buy The Beatles Box Set which includes everything plus some additional video.
Take a look at all of The Beatles content on iTunes. Also, see the blog post below if you are new to The Beatles.
Apple released the fifth major update to Snow Leopard yesterday, patching 131 security issues and adding a variety of stability fixes. The update is available through running Software Update on your Mac.
You can find a full list of what Apple has included in the update at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4250. The update weighs in at more than 500MB for most users. The exact size depends on your hardware and which version of OS X 10.6 you are upgrading from. You can also download a stand-alone installer that is 977MB at http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1324. This comes in handy if you have several Mac you need to update and want to download only once.
iOS 4.2 is nearing completion. Several sites report that the new operating system is at “gold master” status. This version will be for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but it will also be the first major update for the iPad. For the first time the iPad will have multitasking and other features that have been available in the iPhone for months. Apple originally promised the new iOS version for November.
A new release of Mac OS X, version 10.6.5, may also be near release. The new version is expected to only bring stability and bug fixes.
While new MacBook Airs fly off the virtual shelves at the Apple Store, the iPad is now being sold in a large variety of places throughout the U.S. Both Verizon and AT&T have begun selling iPads. Verizon bundles a Wifi-only iPad with their MiFi device. AT&T is selling the 3G iPad with AT&T network service. Recently, Apple also began selling iPads through stores like Walmart, Target and Best Buy.
While last quarter saw record Mac sales, the current quarter might easily top that with the addition of the new smaller MacBook Air. One firm is forecasting 700,000 units with a majority being the smaller size.
Apple started the week off with its quarterly earnings call, reporting a record $20 billion in revenue. Apple sold 3.89 million Macs, 4.19 million iPads and 14.1 million iPhones. Most numbers beat Wall Street expectations except the iPad sales numbers which were predicted to be slightly higher.
On Wednesday Apple held its Back to the Mac event, announcing Mac OS X Lion, new MacBook Air models and the iLife 11 suite.
Lion, which will be released in summer of 2011, will incorporate many user interface elements from the iPhone and iPad. One feature, a Mac App Store, will be released as an update to Snow Leopard in about three months. A Mac App Store would provide an alternative distribution model for software over the traditional web site download or in-store purchase. Not all software products will be found in the App Store, however, as programs like system utilities won’t meet Apple’s requirements.
Apple has announced a special event for next week entitled “Back to the Mac.” The invitation shows a lion behind a slightly cut-out Apple logo. Most believe this means the next version of Mac OS X will be called “Lion.” That would follow along with the previous names: Cheetah, Puma, Panther, Jaguar, Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard. It is likely than an announcement of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion would mean only an upcoming developer release and it could be more than a year before it is available for non-developers.
Rumors of a new MacBook Air have also been strong, and Apple has often mixed software announcements with some hardware news. Some speculate that the new Air would be even smaller and lighter than the current model.
Many have also noted that both the iLife and iWork suites are overdue for updates. A new version of both for 2011 could be announced or even released next week.
The timing for this press conference seems to be perfect as Apple now owns 10 percent of the U.S. computer market, just slightly behind third-place Acer. HP and Dell still dominate the market with a combined 50 percent.
Since there has been little or no Apple news this week, it is a good time to catch up on current Apple rumors. Since 2007 there have been rumors of the iPhone coming to America’s largest mobile network, Verizon. This week the Wall Street Journal claimed that Apple will be producing a CDMA version of the iPhone for Verizon in 2011.
While new versions of every Mac line have come out in the last year, the MacBook Air remains largely as it has been since its debut. It is hard to see its value over the less expensive, more capable and only slightly larger 13-inch MacBook Pro. But rumors of a smaller, lighter Air are growing stronger with reports that the current Air is out of stock. Rumors state that the new one will have an 11.6-inch screen and a special low-power processor.
There have also been more unlikely rumors of tests of a touch screen for future iMacs. While this innovation seems inevitable with the touch interfaces on iOS devices, most think that a touch-screen Mac may still be years away.
The new Apple TV began arrive on doorsteps this week as Apple shipped the product in September as promised. Reports from those who have examined the device show 8GB of internal flash memory and a very similar architecture to the iPad. The door definitely seems to be open for future Apple TV apps.
Apple also updated iTunes to version 10.0.1 with bug fixes and a new right-side sidebar listing recent activity on your Ping social network. It even lists relevant information based on which artist and song you have selected in your library, such as showing artist posts and profiles.
Apple rolled out updates to iPad and Mac OS X software this week. This started with a Tuesday release of a minor security update for OS X available from Software Update. The next day brought an update for Mac OS X users who have ordered the new 27-inch LED display, which started shipping. In addition, Apple released drivers for the Magic Trackpad for Windows users, which also allows it to work fully in Boot Camp.
On Wednesday, Apple released versions 1.2 of the three iWork apps for iPad. Pages has new features such as word counts, opening text files from Mail attachments, and object grouping. Keynote now supports exporting to PowerPoint format, object grouping, and new animations. Numbers now allows you to export in Excel format, object grouping, and opening CSV files from Mail attachments.
All iWork app updates also include a variety of compatibility and reliability improvements and all of them now support opening and saving documents to a user’s MobileMe iDisk or WebDAV service. You can get the updates through the App Store app on your iPad or through iTunes on your Mac.
Adobe entered the Mac consumer video editing market this week with Adobe Premiere Elements 9 for Mac. This simplified version of its professional video editing application has never been available on the Mac before. Priced at $99 it should compete directly with Final Cut Express.
In a surprise move Apple has once again changed iOS app development rules, this time to relax restrictions on functionality and development. Apple also published a detailed list of review guidelines used by their staff to determine whether apps are allowed to appear in Apple’s online store.
This move once again allows development of iOS apps with tools such as Adobe Flash, which disallowed by a previous change earlier this year. Adobe has responded by saying they will pick up development of the Flash Packager for iPhone tool that they stopped earlier this year.
In addition, it is possible that the new rules will allow previously-banned apps such as ones that access Google Voice and other telecommunications services.
Apple released version 4.1 of the iOS for the iPhone and iPod Touch yesterday. This new version of the operating system includes Game Center, HDR photography, HD video uploading and a variety of bug fixes.
Game Center appears as a new app on the home screen, and also as functionality inside any game that uses Game Center. It allows you to compare scores, keep track of achievements and challenge friends to games.
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and gives you better quality photos under mixed light conditions. It takes three photos, instead of one, and then combines them to get the best image from different parts of the photo.
iOS 4.1 is available as a free download through iTunes for the iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G, and the iPod Touch 2nd generation or later. iOS 4.2 for the iPad, which would be the first version of iOS 4 for the iPad, will be released in November.
The new iPod Nano and iPod Touch have appeared in Apple Stores and the first orders have arrived at homes. The new Nano features a small touch-screen for both controls and a display. The new iPod Touch brings it in line with the iPhone 4 in terms of processor power, screen resolution and other factors. It is also the first Touch to have video cameras: one in front and one in back.
Apple also released updates this week to Safari, iWeb, iMovie 1.1 for the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch.
And in late-breaking news, Apple has updated its iOS developer agreement to allow third-party tools for iPhone development. This could possibly allow developers to once again use Adobe Flash and other tools to create iOS aps.
Apple’s September 1 announcements brought us a whole new line of iPods. The new iPod Shuffle brings back buttons to the device, while taking on a smaller square shape. The new iPod Nano is also square, with a color touch screen replacing the controls. Video playback and the video camera have been removed, however.
The new iPod Touch updates the device to the A4 processor and retina display used in the iPhone 4. It also has a thinner body and includes both a front and back video camera and gyro sensors.
The new Apple TV is a much smaller device and also has a much smaller $99 price tag. Gone is hard drive storage and with it the ability to purchase movies and TV shows. But you can still rent videos, and many TV shows are going to be re-priced at $0.99. The new Apple TV also adds the ability for Netflix subscribers to view streaming movies from the service.
A new version of iTunes adds the Ping social network where you can share your music favorites and messages with your friends. The AirTunes system, which allowed you to stream audio from iTunes to other Macs and Apple devices on your network, has been updated to AirPlay which includes video.
Apple also announced iOS 4.1, which will be available for the iPhone and iPod Touch next week as a free download through iTunes. The iOS update includes being able to take pictures with HDR (high dynamic range) which will help bring more detail to photos taken on the iPhone. It will also include Game Center, a system used by some games to connect players and compare scores.
The next update, iOS 4.2, will be for the iPad as well, bringing features like multitasking and app folders to the iPad for the first time. Release is scheduled for November.
Apple will be holding a special event on Wednesday, September 1. The invitation for the event features a guitar which fits with Apple traditionally scheduling iPod and iTunes-related announcements at this time each year.
While there is no official indication of what will be annoucned, rumors are flying that it will be everything from a new Apple TV system to an iPod Touch with a camera. However, many are focusing on an update to iTunes, either bringing the store to the web or adding cloud-based features. Non-music-related rumors include a 7-inch iPad, iLife 11, a cheaper and smaller MacBook Air laptop, and a Verizon iPhone.
