Apple revealed on Monday that they have achieved 100 million downloads on the Mac App Store in less than one year of operation.

“In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world.”

Combined App Stores for iOS and Mac have more than 500,000 applications available for download and have seen more than 18 billion downloads total.

Source: AppleInsider

Last week, Apple issued the first beta of iOS5.1 to developers to counter battery issues.

Reports show that Apple has not yet been able to resolve battery life issues for users. ABI Research proposes that a software fix is the most likely solution, as the problem does not appear to be hardware based.

“We tore down the 4S and tested some of the major components, including the new A5 processor,” Michael Morgan of ABI stated. “Nothing that we tested was significantly different from the iPhone 4, and power draw was right where we expected it to be.”

Source: AppleInsider

Starting in early 2012, passengers aboard Royal Caribbean’s Splendor of the Seas will now be able to vacation with all the technological luxuries of home.

Passengers will soon have access to iPads in their cabin rooms. The iPads will not be permanently affixed in the cabins. Passengers will actually have the freedom to take the tablet with them around the ship.

“Royal Caribbean says the iPads will be programmed to let passengers access the ship’s daily listing of events and activities and to see a personal daily itinerary including shore excursions,” Gene Sloan of USA Today reports. The onboard system will also offer access to the Internet, movies, room service and restaurant menus.

What do you think of Royal Caribbean’s recent initiative? What type of apps do you think would be beneficial for cruise passengers?

Source: USA Today

Research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reports that the introduction of the iPhone 4S gave Apple the top spot in the UK mobile market. The British mobile market has formerly been dominated by Android smartphones for over a year.

“Apple took a whopping 42.8 percent share of all smartphone sales, giving it a significant lead over Android — a feat many thought was impossible,” said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at the firm.

AppleInsider reports that, about 75 percent of British customers who purchased an iPhone 4S in October already own a previous version of the device, with 14 percent upgrading from last year’s iPhone 4.

Source: AppleInsider