Apple’s concept of online app store for iPhone and iPad made a revolution for mobile users and even more for app developers. On this app store, each application must be checked by Apple to meet the basic criteria of usability and security and then can be purchased and installed with one click. Now Apple has enabled the same concept for Mac. Will it be successful?

First of all, all this concepts for one place app installation are borrowed from the linux community. The concept is little improved with added Apple “Censure” and payment possibilities (most of the linux apps are free).

Old Mac users will say: “Hahah, they discovered hot water.. this is only a little better arranged Version Tracker with a direct link to buy …. ” Indeed, what was versiontracker.com for the early ’90s (now integrated in CNET download.com), will now become a Mac App Store. However, this is not a real innovation but has one huge advantage: shortening the purchase procedure because you only enter your credit card once, not as many times as you buy different Mac apps. Other advantages are: quality selected applications, unified views, organized classification, statistics for popular apps and maximum easy installation. All this strongly affects for ultimately customer satisfaction.

Although it is not possible to compare small and inexpensive mobile applications and often more expensive and complicated desktop applications, the App store idea will become reality even thought will probably be resistance from the start by big software companies that don’t want to give 30% of their profit to Apple becouse they have a quality product and marketing so their apps can be promoted without Mac App Store.

On the other hand, the App Store is very useful for a bunch of a developers and small software companies for general promotion and additional selling opportunities of their software. Apple itself takes a 30% of app price, but they take care of promotion, security and billing.

Can we expect the major players in the Mac App Store? Will we be able to buy Adobe Photoshop from App Store soon? At the beginning we think you cannot, but when App Store will be mass used, it cannot be ignored anymore, just like the Beatles on the end lands on the iTunes Music Store. So we think that this is another excellent Apple idea. Soon, we think Microsoft will follow the Apple steps for Windows software.

Tags | App Store, Apple, Application, store