Since Apple’s Mac App Store will have some restrictions like no in-app purchases, the Mac version of Cydia maybe the perfect store for many developers who like working without going through the painful Apple’s approval process.

At the 360 MacDev Conference yesterday, Jay “Saurik” Freeman said the new app store would be ready for the Mac “within weeks,” positioning it to go head to head with the Apple Mac App Store expected sometime in January.

Currently, Cydia Installer has been used by about 10% of all iPhone users, or about 10 million devices. There are well over 30,000 packages available for iOS, and a lot of open source material can be downloaded from Cydia. He refers to Cydia as a store for things that are not apps, but extensions of what iOS devices can do.

Freeman felt that the same type of store would be useful for Mac OS X devices; the result is a Mac Cydia, which will be available “within weeks.

Jay has been talking highly of the Cydia vision for some time now, with high-profile talks at TED and elsewhere. Rather than merely an alternative to the iTunes App Store, Cydia is positioned as a resource for users to customize their devices to work in the way their owners want them to work. In his talk at 360 MacDev, Jay talked about Cydia, detailed cycript and Cydia Substrate, and took Apple to task for their restrictive policies and the poor quality of developer documentation.

His description of the Cydia Store for Mac was general, but presumably would give users easy access to tools similar to the tweaks available on iOS Cydia as well as useful apps free from Apple restrictions. Jay encourages developers who are interested in using Cydia for the Mac to distribute their products to contact Patrick at SaurikIT dot com for details.

Cydia has been a great success for iOS devices. Can the same be said for Cydia for Mac OS X? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. And, as usual, stay tuned for more news and info on the upcoming Mac App Store, and the Mac version of Cydia by following us on Twitter and/or by subscribing to our RSS Feed.

[Sources: TUAW; MMI]

Authors: _GadgetNews

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