This week Apple opened up the Mac App Store, so now you can peruse the various categories and download what you like.  The Mac App Store is essentially the App Store (for iPhone & iPad, as found within iTunes), the only difference being this new store is a separate application outside iTunes and the available apps within it are made specifically for the desktop.  It’s set up similarly to the App Store; the new store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories and you can browse the top free, paid, and grossing apps.  User ratings and reviews are also there to help you make purchases.  Currently there are over 1,000 first and third party apps to choose from.  Apple is offering the iLife suite in individual chunks; iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand apps cost $14.99 each.  The same applies to iWork; Pages, Keynote, and Numbers apps can be downloaded locally for $19.99 each.  Also Aperture 3 is there if you need it for $79.99.  Third party app developers are jumping on the Mac App Store bandwagon too; Twitter for Mac is free and for $4.99 you can kiss your workload goodbye and play a full-screen, high-res version of the highly addicting #1 game Angry Birds.

To access the Mac App Store you must download it; it comes bundled in the 10.6.6 software update, so Snow Leopard is required.  When you download an app it goes straight to your Applications folder and you can manage its location from there.  App purchases get charged to the credit card attached to your iTunes account.  When an app is due for an update you will be alerted and you can apply updates to your entire app collection with one click.  Again, to reiterate the point made earlier, the Mac App Store bares little difference from the App Store found in iTunes; you’ll feel right at home.

For now the app selection isn’t wildly abundant.  In due time, developers will flock to it and before you know it apps for OS X will explode just like they did on Apple’s mobile iOS devices.  Why I am so confident about this? Well that’s because news recently came out of Cupertino boasting that over one million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store in the first day of its existence.  Mac users have flocked to it, so developers will too.  Get ready for the next app revolution.  Full PR after the break.

[Via Apple]

Apple’s Mac App Store Open for Business

CUPERTINO, California—January 6, 2011—Apple® today announced that the Mac® App Store℠ is now open for business with more than 1,000 free and paid apps. The Mac App Store brings the revolutionary App Store experience to the Mac, so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes® account, download and install them in just one step. The Mac App Store is available for Snow Leopard® users through Software Update as part of Mac OS® X v10.6.6.

“With more than 1,000 apps, the Mac App Store is off to a great start,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think users are going to love this innovative new way to discover and buy their favorite apps.”

The Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews.

Entirely new apps, as well as current Mac favorites, are available from developers such as Autodesk, Ancestry.com and Boinx. iPhoto®, iMovie® and GarageBand® apps from Apple’s popular iLife® ‘11 suite are available individually in the Mac App Store for $14.99 each, and Pages®, Keynote® and Numbers® apps from iWork® are available for $19.99 each. Aperture® 3, Apple’s powerful photo editing and management software, is available for $79.99.

“We’re delighted to bring our professional-grade paint and drawing app, Autodesk SketchBook Pro, to the Mac App Store on its first day of launch,” said Carl Bass, Autodesk’s CEO. “We’ve seen tremendous success on the Mac, iPhone and iPad with multiple apps. We’re excited to offer SketchBook Pro on the Mac App Store so artists can easily create everything from quick sketches to high-quality artwork right on their Macs.”

“By offering the Ancestry.com Family Tree Maker app on the Mac App Store, we’re making it even easier for people to discover and access their family history,” said Tim Sullivan, Ancestry.com’s CEO. “The Mac App Store will drive a new generation of innovation on the Mac platform.”

“We’re thrilled to have our award-winning animation, video production and photography software available on the new Mac App Store,” said Oliver Breidenbach, Boinx Software’s CEO. “The Mac App Store makes it easier than ever for consumers to access all the innovative software designed for the Mac.”

To get the Mac App Store, download the Mac OS X v10.6.6 Software Update or visit www.apple.com/mac/app-store. To find out more about developing for the Mac App Store visit developer.apple.com/programs/mac.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Mac App Store Downloads Top One Million in First Day

CUPERTINO, California-January 7, 2011-Apple® today announced that over one million apps have been downloaded from the Mac® App Store℠ in the first day. With more than 1,000 free and paid apps, the Mac App Store brings the revolutionary App Store experience to the Mac, so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes® account, download and install them in just one step.

“We’re amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is.”

The Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews. The Mac App Store is available for Snow Leopard® users through Software Update as part of Mac OS® X v10.6.6.

Mac developers set the price for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees. To find out more about developing for the Mac App Store visit developer.apple.com/programs/mac.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.