 the real christine 

Mac App Store will be included in Mac OS X Lion. But it is opening its door for Snow Leopard users in 90 days. But what does this mean?

Face it - it’s great that you can develop a great app, but what does it all mean if you can’t get the people to use it? That’s the problem with some Mac apps currently out there - they’re great, but they are underexposed, and therefore, don’t garner as many users as they’d like.

Look at the current iOS App Store. Everyone with an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad go to it, and search, and find the next blockbuster hit (Angry Birds) or find some hidden gems. It’s a collection of great apps and crap in one convenient place.

This is what the Mac development scene is coming to. The App Store was a huge success - even bigger than Apple had originally thought it would be. All other mobile platforms are developing their own app stores now (albeit not as good maybe). Apps are all the rage.

Let’s bring the success of the App Store to the desktop with the Mac App Store. This means that small developers can gain more and more users, which will be great for them in the long run. More users = more exposure = more money. It can also leave some loyal users that become a fan of all your other apps.

The problem though, is that like the current iOS App Store, there is a 70/30 cut. The developer gets 70 percent of the profits, while giving up 30 percent to Apple for the exposure in the App Store. While you may gain more sales, keep in mind that you will also be losing 30 percent profit of each sale. 

But in the end, the exposure is the most important part, right?

Here’s another thing to think about: promo codes for Mac apps.

Isn’t that enticing? I know as an app reviewer, I love that.

But will it be as big of a gold rush as the iOS App Store when it first opened? I guess we’ll have to wait and see for that.