“Autodesk, the design-software specialist that abandoned Apple’s computers for years and then returned to the fold, is taking another unusual step for a maker of high-end business programs–adopting the Mac App Store,” Don Clark reports for The Wall Street Journal.
MacDailyNews Take: What is “unusual” today will be commonplace tomorrow.
“The San Rafael, Calif., company on Tuesday is holding an event to announce new versions of its widely used AutoCAD software that support the new Mac OS X Lion operating system, including two that will be available exclusively from the Apple-run store,” Clark reports. “An $899.99 version called AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac, for example, is set to be available for download Tuesday from Apple.”
“Among other things, the arrangement puts Autodesk in a position of splitting revenue from its software with a computer maker–an arrangement that is routine with iPhone and iPad apps but is unusual in the PC business. Autodesk is not discussing how much Apple will get, but it ordinarily receives 30% on content sales through its app store,” Clark reports. “‘They are acting an agent for us,’ says Amar Hanspal, Autodesk’s senior vice president for platform solutions and emerging business. ‘They are commercially rewarded for doing that.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Precisely.
Clark reports, “Autodesk has no immediate plans to use the store to distribute the updated full version of its flagship product, which is called AutoCAD 2012 for Mac and retains a hefty list price–$3,995. “There is a price level you cannot exceed” at the online store, Hanspal says… Autodesk’s other Mac offering through the app store is AutoCAD WS for Mac, a simpler free program that is designed to enable users to view and collaborate using AutoCAD files.”
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