With the January 6^th launch of Apple’s Mac App Store just days away, it’s not so surprising that some alternatives are starting to pop up. However, one not so new alternative that is definitely one of the best is the recently updated Bodega, version 1.3.

The process of finding and purchasing apps with Bodega is quite easy with hundreds of free and paid apps ranging from games to development tools and everything in between. After finding an app you want to purchase you can double-click it’s icon to reveal an app descriptions and reviews. Simply click Buy Now to pop up a unobtrusive in-app window and purchase directly from the developers website without leaving Bodega. Free apps can be downloaded directly. You can also keep all apps up to date from within Bodega’s application pane. Unfortunately that’s where the smooth iOS App Store-like experience stops…

The Mac app discovery and marketplace certainly has some downfalls when compared to what we are expecting with the Mac App Store and already have with the iOS App Store. For example, downloads are not automatically installed. Once downloaded, you can reveal your downloaded .dmg or .zip in the Finder and install it from there. It would make the experience much smoother if downloads were automatically installed and ready to launch from the app.

Bodega is basically what most people expect the Mac App Store to be, however there are a few key differences for developers. There is no approval process for apps, although they cannot contain illegal or offensive content. Developers also receive 93% percent of profits, opposed to the Apple’s offering of 70%. Apps do not need to be created using special development kits, with no restrictions on APIs and technologies. The sign up process for Bodega developers goes as follows:

1. Create your account, and confirm it via email. (3-5 minutes)
2. Login, and start adding your applications. (5-10 minutes per app)
3. Follow the steps to setup your online store for Bodega. (15-30 minutes)
4. Use the button in the portal to have us verify your store. We may choose to run a test transaction at our discretion.

[Bodega]