Apple Updates Online Store With Touch-Friendly Navigation and Search Result TweaksApple today rolled out a few minor tweaks to its online store (via Macotakara), making it easier to navigate the store on touchscreen devices such as the iPhone and iPad. One change involves a new sliding navigation bar for product categories. From the main store page, once users select one of the four main shopping categories (Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod), the navigation bar at the top of category page showing various products and other topics within that category can now be slid back and forth with the touch of a finger. Users on non-touch devices can slide the bar by clicking on arrows at each end. A second change involves product search results, which had previously been presented as lists of items. Results are now presented in a grid formatted to allow easy tapping on touch-enabled devices. Users on non-touch devices will also see arrows appearing on either side of each product image allowing them to view all associated product images without having to click through to the product pages. Apple's change should notably improve the user experience on the iPad, where the large screen can take full advantage of the grid-based search results and where Apple does not have a dedicated app for shopping the store. The company's Apple Store app has been iPhone-only since its July 2010 launch, with Apple believed to be refraining from making it a universal app with a native iPad interface under the view that the iPad allows for a full web experience. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Microsoft to End Support for Office 2008 for Mac on April 9 • Best Buy Cuts Prices on iPad 3 Models by 30 Percent, U.S. In-Store Pickup Only • Apple Highlights Age Ratings in iOS App Store With New Icons • Sonnet Announces Thunderbolt Dock With Internal Drive Bay and Blu-Ray Drive • Walmart Offering 16GB Wi-Fi iPad Mini for $299 • Rdio Launches Video Streaming Service and App Vdio • EVGA Announces GeForce GTX 680 Mac Edition Graphics Card for Mac Pro • Twitter for iOS Updated to Allow App Installs and Launches from Within Tweets
http://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/05/apple-updates-online-store-with-touch-friendly-navigation-and-search-result-tweaks/
