Apple Launches App Store in New Countries

Apple has added support for new countries to the iTunes App Store, allowing developers to reach out to more customers around the world. Newly supported countries include Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Tunisia, and more.

Via the News and Announcements section of its iPhone Developer Connection website, Apple informs developers that, “You can now distribute your apps to more customers with the addition of App Store support in Armenia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, and Uganda. Log in to iTunes Connect to view and update the countries where your applications are available.”

A suite of web-based tools created for submitting and managing iPhone and iPod touch applications for sale via the App Store, iTunes Connect allows developers to check the status of their contacts, manage iTunes Connect and In App Purchase test users, obtain sales and finance reports, view application-crash logs, request promotional codes, as well as add or manage application metadata, binaries, and in-app purchases.

A newly updated iTunes Connect Developer Guide is now available from Apple. Described by the company as “a revised version of the iTunes Connect Developer Guide (version 5.3),” it includes updates such as enhanced instructions on creating Demo Accounts; an explanation of the “New Territories as Added” checkbox; revised app description character count recommendation based on the new design of App Product pages on the App Store; and additional information on export compliance.

In related news, 9to5mac recently reported that Apple was beginning to add and remove the shine/glare attributed to the application icons and images featured in a given app’s description, at its discretion. If Apple is not satisfied with an app’s icon, it could choose to make its own adjustments, people familiar with the matter allegedly told the website. The developers themselves can also choose to add shine to their applications’ icons, as revealed in the iTunes Connect Developer Guide.