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iTunes Store Adds Pop-Up Windows for Quick Access to Content Details and Previews

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Italian site iSpazio notes [Google translation] that Apple has made a small but helpful tweak to the iTunes Store when accessed from a computer, now allowing users to access information on content such as songs, albums, videos, apps, and books via a pop-up window rather than needing to click through to a separate page within the store. The new option, which appears in most locations within the store as a small "info" button in the lower right corner of the content's icon when the user hovers over the item, is available on both main iTunes Store and App Store feature pages as well as in search results.

itunes_store_hover_info_hipmunk.jpg



The pop-up windows offer different content depending on which area of the store the user is in, with music, books, and podcasts offering a description of the selected item. In the App Store, the pop-up windows contain multiple tabs with each item's description, reviews, and iPhone and iPad screenshots. Users can also easily purchase the items from their respective pop-up windows.

itunes_store_popup_hipmunk.jpg



Finally, movies and TV shows display a small "play" icon instead of the "info" icon, and immediately pop up a window with a video preview and details on each item.

Article Link: iTunes Store Adds Pop-Up Windows for Quick Access to Content Details and Previews
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/01/13/itunes-store-adds-pop-up-windows-for-quick-access-to-content-details-and-previews/
WiiDSmoker

WiiDSmoker

macrumors 68000
Sep 15, 2009
1,883
7,239
Dallas, TX
I was playing with a Mac earlier this week, why isn't the Mac store and the iTunes store combined? Seems silly to have them separated.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
soco

soco

macrumors 68030
Dec 14, 2009
2,840
119
Yardley, PA
In related news, 43,291 new apps were submitted to the App Store under "iTunes Pop-up Blocker" today.

One of which, was Free.
 
Shrink

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
Good new feature. If you are just browsing, it's more convenient than clicking through to read the copy, reviews,etc. and then having to come back to the display page to browse more. Thumbs up.:D
 
U

Ulf1103

macrumors 6502
Jan 5, 2011
282
0
Wow, this really is a great new feature...

Now maybe I'll even download my apps on my pc instead of on my iPhone :D
 
Icaras

Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,344
3,393
Shrink said:
Good new feature. If you are just browsing, it's more convenient than clicking through to read the copy, reviews,etc. and then having to come back to the display page to browse more. Thumbs up.:D
Click to expand...

Agreed. Very cool feature. Thumbs up as well.

Also one thing I'd like to see on the iTunes store are Safari-like swiped page transitions if you use a magic trackpad or magic mouse.

The gesture swipes to go back and forth do actually work in the iTunes store but you don't actually see or control with greater detail the page transition like in Safari in Lion.
 
M

marc11

macrumors 68000
Mar 30, 2011
1,618
4
NY USA
Icaras said:
Agreed. Very cool feature. Thumbs up as well.

Also one thing I'd like to see on the iTunes store are Safari-like swiped page transitions if you use a magic trackpad or magic mouse.

The gesture swipes to go back and forth do actually work in the iTunes store but you don't actually see or control with greater detail the page transition like in Safari in Lion.
Click to expand...

I agree.
 
J

Jelite

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2008
668
1
UK
I don't see the point, it's quicker to click anywhere on the app icon and go to the full page and then 3 finger swipe back than it is to specifically click on the 'i' icon and then click on the 'x' to close.
 
C

chris200x9

macrumors 6502a
Jun 3, 2006
906
0
That's a nice machine, make me rethink my position on tablets being dumb :p

edit: holy crap how did I post in the wrong thread?!
 
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pavinder

macrumors regular
Jan 16, 2009
155
98
This sounded great when I first read it, but reading further it seems only of minimal value.

It's still impossible to compare apps without clicking backwards and forwards repeatedly.

Until there is some kind of tabbed browsing implemented within the store, or the ability to open a few of these new popup windows and arrange them side by side to compare apps - only then will it become a great feature.
 
W

writingdevil

macrumors 6502
Feb 11, 2010
254
32
Jelite said:
I don't see the point, it's quicker to click anywhere on the app icon and go to the full page and then 3 finger swipe back than it is to specifically click on the 'i' icon and then click on the 'x' to close.
Click to expand...

It's actually easy, for me, at least. Click on the "i" then click anywhere else and it goes away. You don't have to click on the "x".

A better use is on Audible where all you do is hold the cursor over a book image and a window appears with detailed info, then, when you move the cursor, it disappears.

I spend a lot of time on both phone and laptop, so having it on both is great.
 
M

macguy360

macrumors 6502a
Feb 23, 2011
829
468
unfortunately, Apple still believes customers shouldn't be allowed to search categories within categories so if you want to see games, your stuck viewing only the top 100 or you have to scan through hundreds of pages of games according to when they were made....
 
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pavinder

macrumors regular
Jan 16, 2009
155
98
Still don't understand why it isn't possible for them to:

1. Introduce tabbed/multi-window browsing to enable comparisons between apps.

2. Introduce tagging for apps to enable detailed searching (or even a basic "advanced search" function).

Such functionality is commonplace on websites and within apps themselves, so why not the iTunes app store?
 
MacAddict1978

MacAddict1978

macrumors 68000
Jun 21, 2006
1,653
883
arcite said:
Nice touch.... though from the limited browsing I have done of the App store, I would prefer a greater variety of parameters to sort Applications. As the numbers pile up, it will just get more difficult to find something useful.
Click to expand...

The categories they have now are too limited. News apps for example are all under news. Even if they broke it down to types of news (music, movies, current events, world, etc.) it still needs a way to drill down deeper in search.

WiiDSmoker said:
I was playing with a Mac earlier this week, why isn't the Mac store and the iTunes store combined? Seems silly to have them separated.
Click to expand...

Because it is integrated into the OS. The only relation is the payment systems. To be honest, the Mac App store is not running via a piece of bloatware (yes, I mean you iTunes) and is pretty smooth. If anything, I almost wish they would make the iTunes store it's own thing and let iTunes actually be a functional music player again. I don't know if iTunes can be stuffed full of anything else. iTunes has an obesity epidemic. It doesn't do any one thing well anymore... forget it as a music player.

macguy360 said:
unfortunately, Apple still believes customers shouldn't be allowed to search categories within categories so if you want to see games, your stuck viewing only the top 100 or you have to scan through hundreds of pages of games according to when they were made....
Click to expand...

Not true. All games aren't under games. There are game categories for each genre. Other app categories are similar, but have less options to diversify.

pavinder said:
Still don't understand why it isn't possible for them to:

1. Introduce tabbed/multi-window browsing to enable comparisons between apps.

2. Introduce tagging for apps to enable detailed searching (or even a basic "advanced search" function).

Such functionality is commonplace on websites and within apps themselves, so why not the iTunes app store?
Click to expand...

I agree 200%. Comparing apps is the one thing I could care less about. Having tabbed browsing would make that unnecessary. It's not like comparing computer specs.
 
W

welterweight

macrumors newbie
Dec 13, 2011
3
0
us
Kudos for Apple to add this new detailed pop-up feature to the App Store.
However I'd like to report fixing an issue for the download button when purchasing an app.

Previously any app that I downloaded the button will be greyed out as "DOWNLOADED" when I browsed the App Store. I guess this is to prevent people from unnecessarily downloading it twice.

Similarly, if there was an update for a particular app, it would indicate to me on the button "UPDATE" so I can download the app straight from browsing the App Store instead of requesting downloading

Does anyone know when this fix is going to happen? I'm finding it hard to find the apps that need to be updated or downloaded.
 
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macguy360

macrumors 6502a
Feb 23, 2011
829
468
Let me rephrase my previous post.

On the Ipad and Iphone app store, there are no subcategories for main categories. Sure there are like 6 quick links in the ipad games category but they don't actually identify all of the possible games under those quick links. for instance, the online multiplayer quicklink only lists 21 games and doesn't even include the major mmo's that the ipad currently has such as order and chaos.

Whats the point in having half a million apps on an app store if you can only see the top 100 apps and then have to search through thousands of pages of apps in order to find the app you want.
 
S

showson1

macrumors newbie
Sep 4, 2008
21
0
Haha.. another feature that apple stole from Google (in this case from the 'Chrome Web Store') that they will no doubt try to call one of their 'innovations'.
 
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