Apple announces Mac App Store downloads top 1M in first 24 hours

"We’re amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said. "Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is."

The Mac App Store launched on Thursday with more than 1,000 free and paid applications available for Mac OS X. The storefront employs the same look and feel as the highly successful App Store for iOS devices, including the iPhone and iPad.

The Mac App Store is part of Mac OS X 10.6.6, the latest update for Apple's Snow Leopard operating system. After installing the update, users can find the App Store on their dock.

Like on the iOS App Store, users of the Mac App Store buy software with a credit card tied to their iTunes account. To buy, download and install is all accomplished in one step. The Mac App Store also keeps track of all your purchased apps and notifies you when free updates are available.

The Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews.

Mac developers set the price for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees.

For more, including screens and first impressions of the software download destination, see AppleInsider's first look at the Mac App Store