Apple to open Mac App Store

Apple will open the Mac App Store, its first for a computer as opposed to a mobile device, on January 6. 

 

Apple MacBook Air 

“The App Store revolutionized mobile apps," said Apple chief Steve, talking about the iPhone's app store that opened in 2008. "We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store." 

The store, which will be available to those users running the Snow Leopard operating system on their Macs, will be available in 90 countries from launch.

The app store will function in a similar way to a mobile app store, allowing users to browse for the latest or most popular apps and download them with them with just one click.

Mac developers will set the price of their own app and receive 70 per cent of sales revenues, just as they do on the iOS App store. They have until 31 December to submit their apps in time for the launch.

Angry Birds dominates apps of the year list

Apple has released details of the most popular apps, albums and movies sold through the iTunes store in 2010. 

 

Angry Birds was the most popular paid-for app, second most popular free app, and third highest-grossing app of 2010, according to Apple.

Angry Birds, the hugely popular game in which cartoon birds are catapulted towards pigs balancing on teetering structures, was the most downloaded paid-for app on the iTunes store this year.

The ‘Lite’ version of the game, which allows people to try out the game before spending 59p on the full version, was the second most popular free app in 2010. It was also the third highest-grossing app of the year, second only to two TomTom navigation applications that retailed for around £50. Apple has not released precise sales figures for the individual applications.

Other popular apps included Dropbox, which allows people to synchronise and share files across computers, via the internet, and access these files from their mobile phones, and Nigella Lawson’s cooking guide.

Saturday has been declared Angry Birds Day, in honour of the highly popular and addictive game. Fans of the game will be meeting up in cities around the world to slingshot cartoon birds at cartoon pigs.

"Angry Birds has this amazing cross-over appeal that makes it as popular with hardcore gamers as casual gamers," said Guy Cocker, editor of videogames website Gamespot. "It's a game that plays to the strengths of the iPhone and iPod touch – it's been designed specifically for that platform, and it just works incredibly well.

"Whenever I catch the bus, there's always someone on there playing Angry Birds. It's got a low barrier to entry, and you really feel like you're getting a lot of game for your money. It's no surprise that Angry Birds has been nominated for some of this year's most prestigious gaming awards."