Airs, the newly-unveiled plans suggest the company is readying a new approach to PC sales that’s modeled on its successful reinventions of the tablet and smartphone markets.

“Apple is taking some of the things that have worked well for it in the mobile space and applying it back to the Mac,” said Avi Greengart, an analyst with research firm Current Analysis. “Where that is most obvious is the software — with the app store and gestures.”

Apple previewed Mac OS X Lion, which blends elements of Apple’s mobile operating system iOS into the Mac. Lion is scheduled for release in early 2011.

Like the iOS-powered iPhone and iPad, Macs running Lion will gain access to an app store for third-party Mac software and new multitouch gestures.

That marks a significant shift in the way PC software is sold, said Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps.

“Software doesn’t come in boxes anymore,” Rotman Epps said.

Citing the company’s years of multitouch research, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the desktop multitouch gestures will center on the trackpad, not the display screen.

“Touch surfaces want to be horizontal, hence pads,” said Jobs.

The Mac App Store, which will incorporate automatic installs and updates like those in iOS, will be getting a head start: the store will open on the current Mac OS (Snow Leopard) in 90 days.

Citing the company’s success in selling mobile apps (over 7 billion downloads to date, including both free and paid apps), Jobs said the same basic guidelines would apply to its Mac App Store. Customers will be able to buy and download apps with a single click, installation will happen automatically, and upgrades will be made available regularly just as they are in the iTunes App Store.

The company will also split revenues with developers the same way it currently does, taking a 30 percent commission and paying the remaining 70 percent to the apps’ publishers.

“It’s going to be the best place to discover apps,” Jobs said.

Greengart suspects the move could lead to downward price pressures for new software — a good thing for consumers, but maybe not so much for developers.

“Consumers who buy packaged good expect to pay a certain price for it,” he said. “With virtual goods sold through an app store that price may be a lot lower.”

The new App Store, which is being separated from iTunes for the first time, won’t exclude the possibility of installing other software, either from shrinkwrapped DVDs or via traditional downloads. But it will give developers an attractive new channel for distributing their work — one that potentially has far fewer headaches.

Lion will also include a feature Apple is calling Launchpad, which is essentially a homescreen for your apps, much like what currently appears on the iPad.

Apple also introduced a Mac version of FaceTime, a videoconferencing app that debuted on the fourth-generation iPhone. That means iPhone 4 owners and Mac users will be able to video chat with each other, whereas before the feature was limited to only iPhone 4 users. A beta release of FaceTime for Mac will be available today.

Apple also released an upgrade for its Mac software suite, iLife 2011, which includes new versions of iPhoto, Garage Band, iMovie and other apps. iPhoto now includes features such as Facebook integration and new slideshow modes; iMovie has gained new audio-editing features and themes to automatically create movie trailers, among other tools; and Garage Band includes a new feature called Groove Matching that automatically adjusts different instrument tracks to be in perfect rhythm.

Additional reporting by Priya Ganapati.

See Also:

• What to Expect From Apple's Mac Event
• App Store Review Guidelines – App Store Resource Center
• Apple's App Store Director Sells His Own Fart Apps
• Apple App Store Bans Pulitzer-Winning Satirist for Satire
• A Call for Transparency in Apple's App Store

Photo credit: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com

Authors: Brian X. Chen

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