Mac App Store, iPad 2 Updates

We finally know when Mac App Store will make its debut. Developers have known for some time that the time was near. The store will be officially launched on January 6, 2011, through a software update.

The App Store revolutionized mobile apps…  We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun.

While a few app developers have been somewhat skeptical about Mac App Store and its worth for them, many already have their apps ready to go ahead of the launch. The store is not expected to have a huge effect on Mac sales though:

Clearly Apple’s been seeing a lot of momentum in the Mac platform over the past few years without this… It certainly doesn’t seem to be anything that has been artificially depressing their share,

said Ross Rubin, an analyst with NPD Group. While it would be tough for Mac App Store to upstage iOS App Store, it should give Macs a boost and make it easier for people to jump to the Mac side from their Windows machines.

Apple iPad 2 is going to be a much more important product for Apple. Now that the company is leading the tablet market, it needs to keep its momentum going by adding an impressive set of features to iPad 2. While 7 inch iPads seem a bit unlikely at this point, Apple does seem to believe that iPad 2 will be an even bigger hit than its predecessor (as reported byDigitimes).

Apple’s orders of iPad 2 are expected to top six million units a month compared to a volume of four million units a quarter for the current version, pushing Apple to expand the number of touch panel suppliers, the sources noted.

iPad 1.0 is a tough act to improve upon for Apple. But the addition of 2 cameras, an improved software, and a slimmer design should do the job. The prices for iPads are expected to stay low at this point.

What’s in your iPad 2 wishlist?