Riding the Blog Flume

Apple launched the OS X Mac App Store on 6 Jan 2011.  A standalone application that replicates the iTunes App Store (now featuring over 300,000 apps) used for buying Applications for the iPod Touch and the iPhone.  The Mac App Store uses an iTunes account (Apple ID) but does not require iTunes to run.  There are featured applications, Top Charts and Categories as well as Search to find applications you are looking for.

From a user perspective the applications seem to be reasonably priced and are a one-click install with no unzipping or mounting .dmg files as is usually the case on the Mac.  Once apps are purchased from the store an icon appears in the dock at the bottom of the screen and you are ready to use.  Upgrades are handled for the user also.  For developers they get the same deal as wih the iOS focus app store.  Apple take 30% with the developer getting 70%.  For this Apple provide the hosting and the developer avoids having to focus on promotion and distribution as would be the case on their own site.

Since Apple provides a level of quality control to all the Apps submitted to the Mac App Store (in the same way as is applied to the iTunes App Store) there is some assurance that the Apps work okay.  However, it also means that Apps written using non-standard or a custom API cannot get their App onto the store.  Apple have also removed their old software catalogue section from their website which used to showcase applications available from Apple and 3rd parties.

Having initially thought that the idea would not transfer well to a “proper computer”, I have been pleasantly surprised by the Mac App Store.  Although on a phone it is more or less essential to click your way round, rather than type URLs or command line instructions, I was not convinced that this reasoning would stand when a full size screen and keyboard were available.  Clearly there will be some that will rule out the Mac App Store as stifling their freedom or not allowing a certain piece of software to run.  Many will be on Linux already though.  I think they will be in the low single percentage points of Mac users who won’t be able to use the Mac App Store for the fast majority of their application purchases.  There is still a segment of the population that have yet to embrace computers at all and this kind of development is a step in the right direction to getting computers working more like consumer electronics.

If Apple could lower their prices slightly at the bottom end of their range and Windows doesn’t gain a near identical feature in Windows 8, Macs could see a growth in percentage share over the next year or two.