Apple will be closing down their iTunes Connect, the online system that shows new applications to its digital store, from December 23 to December 28. The digital store will be closed during this time so new applications will not be available during this period. However, existing applications can still be purchased and downloaded during that time frame.
This means people who receive the iPod Touch, iPad, or iPhone during the holiday season will have to be content playing the applications that already exist. The reason for this is that the release of Apple's applicaions to their online store is not automated. Apple has a team of individuals who test these applications for conflicts of policy before releasing them to the applications store and this team will be on hiatus during the holiday block.
Meanwhile, Google's Android Marketplace will continue to add new applications to their store throughout the holidays because their digital store is automated.
