Apps are like books: no matter how much you love them, you’ll probably never have the time to check out all of them in your lifetime. When it comes to find new Mac Apps, you’ve got a few options: read a tech blog to discover cool new apps, search for the app by name (or by keyword) on Google, or poke around the App Store on your Mac. These are all okay options. But there’s another way to discover and download Mac Apps that might have passed under your radar. It’s called Bodega, and it’s a virtual storefront for browsing and selecting cool new apps that you might have otherwise missed out on. Bodega is developed by Winninpeg-based freshcode.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

Bodega lets users search, research, and browse new apps, as well as learning the latest Mac news. Bodega is like a storefront right on your Mac’s desktop, and contains an ever-growing catalog of software to meet your every computing need.

Pros

• Cute “storefront” interface
• Presents different apps from what the Mac App store is featuring that day
• Easy to browse/navigate by sales rank, “Featured” status, or category
• “Apps in the News” section curates Mac-related press releases, tutorials, app news, and more to keep you up-to-date
• Bodega automatically saves a receipt of each application you buy through Bodega. What’s more, it stores the registration numbers of purchased apps in one locations in case you need them in the future.
• For app developers: Bodega offers analytics and marketing aid

Cons

• When you install Bodega, you are taken to a site and asked to consider purchasing in-app advertising
• Mac App store interface is arguably cleaner (though Bodega’s interface is more content-rich)
• “Shopkeeper’s Pick” section not as chock-full of little known apps as I had hoped
• Automatic updates seem like a good idea…but what if the next version of an app isn’t as good as the old one?

Discussion

Okay, I’m probably dating myself here, but here goes. Do you remember going into video rental stores back in the day? My favorite part of the experience was always checking out the wall of employee picks. There were always some cool movies that had flown under my radar, and I was thankful for the tips. Bodega is a bit like that, although I wish the “Shopkeeper’s Picks” section had a deeper bench of indie and overlooked apps. There were a lot of big, well-known app names on that recommendations list.

That being said, I do think it’s super convenient that Bodega will automatically update any apps you’ve purchased through them. However, sometimes the new version of an app isn’t as feature-rich or stable as the old version, so you might dislike this feature.

Bodega is a lot easier to navigate than the App Store, in my opinion. I also love the thrill of finding a new Mac App that I never would have stumbled across while using the App Store. There are some seriously cool apps I’ve found that are sure to be the subject of future reviews.

Conclusion and download link

I don’t think Bodega will replace the App Store for me, but I do plan to keep using it in concert with the App Store to help me track apps that aren’t getting App Store exposure. One big benefit on my older Mac is that Bodega doesn’t send my CPU temp flying like the App Store does. Bodega is a cool idea, and definitely worth checking out for yourself.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 1.6.4

Requires: Mac OS X 10.6.0+, Intel CPU

Download size: 4.9 MB

Bodega homepage