Apple tweaked the look and feel of its App Store over the
weekend of Dec. 12, cosmetic changes that nonetheless emphasized how the company
is attempting to readjust certain aspects of its online storefront in light of
its explosive growth.
Logos for the App Store’s mobile applications have been
enlarged, with a more prominent purchase button beneath each, and the App Store
itself now features a white background. Descriptions of each app are now
shorter, but placed in a more prominent position to the right of the logo.
As opposed to the older version of the App Store, which
included a single screenshot (which could be changed by clicking a tiny circle
above the image), the new App Store layout is more graphics-intensive, with a
number of screenshots tiled beneath the top description.
In sum, the App Store has been redesigned to integrate more
fully with iTunes; now, the aesthetic differences between where you buy
your apps, and where you buy your music or movies, has been minimized.
The end-user tweaking to the App Store follows the launch of
new features for app creators. On Dec. 8, Apple
announced an RSS feed for iPhone developers, creating a new communication
channel dedicated to news and announcements surrounding App Store submissions
and reviews.
"You can now subscribe to a new RSS feed that will allow you
to instantly receive updates to the iPhone Developer News and announcements,"
read the posting on Apple's Developer Connection site. "Get the latest
information on a wide range of topics including tips on submitting apps to the
App Store, current turnaround time for app review, program updates, development
and testing techniques, and much more."
A link was also provided
for subscribing to the RSS feed.
Also on Dec. 8, Apple announced that iTunes Connect, a tool
for managing applications and accessing reports, would be unavailable from Dec.
23 to Dec. 28, with service resuming on Dec. 29.
Apple has enjoyed considerable success with the App Store,
which by November had grown to more than 100,000 applications, but that growth
has also come with some issues. Apple has begun weeding out developers of
useless or fraudulent apps, including some
1,100 mobile applications from developer Molinker that were pulled on Dec. 7
after complaints of fake positive reviews.
Apple has pulled mobile applications in the past, notably in
response to outcry over a particular program’s content. In April, for example, the
company removed a "Baby Shaker" app after groups complained that shaking a
virtual infant to death on an iPhone was not exactly a socially redeemable
activity.
Whether Apple will follow calls by outsiders for a tighter
and more structured regulatory system remains to be seen, but nonetheless the
App Store’s growth is expected to accelerate throughout 2010: research firm IDC
predicted in a Dec. 3 research note that the storefront will expand to around
300,000 apps by the end of 2010.
However, the note from IDC
also predicted that Google Android’s apps could expand "by a factor of five
or more," raising the prospect of increased competition in the
mobile-application space over the next 12 months and beyond.
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Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
