As I usually do, I logon to to the iTunes Store on Tuesday and check to see what new content is available. I happened to do this last night after midnight right before I went to bed. Imagine my utter shock to see iTimeZone in the NEW section on top of the App Store home page. Here is a screenshot for posterity's sake:
Real estate is even more precious on the App Store app on the iPhone and iPod touch, but iTimeZone also managed to make it to the top of the list. Here are two images, one the default loaded, the the second slightly scrolled to show the iTimeZone row completely:
Why Now, What's Changed?
I have no idea why iTimeZone has been granted pretty prominent placement in the NEW section on the App Store home page now. iTimeZone 1.0 was released when the App Store opened, iTimeZone 1.1 was released on October 21, 2008, and iTimeZone 1.1.1 (small bug fixes) was released on October 30, 2008. I have not been contacted by Apple, but if anyone from Apple is reading this and you can comment, I would love to hear why (dave dot murdock at mac dot com). It is entirely possible this is an accident, but I think that unlikely. Each of those tiles on the any of the iTunes Store home pages (Movies, TV Shows, App Store) is premium real estate and clearly under editorial control. I think iTimeZone's promotional position on the App Store will last a week and I am hopeful it will accelerate sales. Thanks Apple!