Something's changing in the iTunes App Store

I, for one, would like to see one simple update to the App Store: the ability to copy/paste text from the App's descriptions. Having to take a screenshot, or manually transcribe the text, is very unwieldy.

Both of my Apps, BusCounter and BusCounter Lite are displayed using the new method. Both of them also have complete descriptions.

Yep Ghosts Attack has been update and the screenshots look great.

It's just done so badly, so not thought through, so un-Apple...

- The app icon is much too big, which is completely unnecessary since it's even smaller on the actual device (iPhone / iPod touch).
- All screenshots are visible at once, that is, if you care to scroll. Why ? Just clicking through them, as it was before, is perfect and space-saving. Not everyone has 2560 pixels horizontally...
- The apps description is only visible after clicking "...more" which in addition is to the very far right of the window. This is very inconvenient for quickly scanning what the app really is about.

This isn't merely a 'new look', it appears Apple has transitioned most of the iTunes App Store (save for the category pages) from proprietary XML to WebKit.

The switch potentially opens up possibilities that weren't possible under the previous system.

Like what? Well, we just saw an example the other day: the immediate and seamless inclusion of a Preview All button into the Music Store. With the old XML, this would have required users to download an update.

I have seen the new layout as well.

I stumbled on the changes this morning. It looks much better. The bigger icons are nice. The white background is refreshing.

The screen shots are HUGE and take up too much screen real estate, even on my 1920 x 1200 monitor! They could scale them down by 1/3 and lose nothing.

The new truncated to non-existant app descriptions are disappointing. Being forced to look for the obscure AND miniscule "More…" button is certainly not much help. This is part is a serious DOWNgrade!

I'd also like to see simple stats, like how many copies sold and the star ratings in list views of apps.

Apple STILL needs a decent, 'expert' level search function in the App Store. There's so much stuff now, it's insane trying to find something if you don't know it's there.

Also, there need to be more App categories or sub-categories. "Books"? Wow, that really narrows it down, eh?

I love that app descriptions are now only 5-6 words. If you can't describe your app in a sentence, it's better off not being in the store (my opinion)

I noticed something similar on my iPhone version of the app store. I was browsing apps last night and the screenshots scrolled sideways in a new way.

Jason
http://www.gravityswitch.com

Love / hate the new look of iTunes! I'd rather see information about the app rather than very large images. Apple must be gearing up for the holiday rush! Women will purchase a lot of apps based on images, whereas men tend to read more...Interesting change. I do see a lot of refunds in their future because people did not read or know that they could read about the application.

I do like the feel of it, and I know I will get use to it...After all, I have to right? LOL