Apple unveils Macintosh software with apps store

Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs has unveiled Mac software that lets users video-chat and buy from its huge online applications store, hoping to accelerate market share gains against Microsoft Corp's Windows-based PCs.

Nicknamed "Lion," the newest Mac software includes an improved "iLife" multimedia suite and incorporates FaceTime video chat which the company recently launched on the iPhone. Apple provided a sneak peek at the software on Wednesday.

The company is expected to tout later a new version of its high-end ultra-thin MacBook Air laptop, sporting a smaller screen and better battery life. The Mac user base now spans 50 million people.

In the quarter that just ended, Mac revenue was $4.9 billion, less than a quarter of Apple's overall revenue.

But while much of the consumer and investor attention is focused on the iPhone and iPad, the Mac has been critical to the company's success over the past few years. Apple sold 13.6 million of its personal computers in fiscal 2010 ended September, up more than 30 percent and far outpacing the overall market.

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In the third calendar quarter, Apple became the No. 3 personal computer maker in the United States with a 10.6 percent market share, according to IDC. Its global market share is less than 5 percent, and the company is aiming to increase sales outside its U.S. stronghold.

Apple shares rose 0.9 percent to $312.32 at mid-afternoon on Nasdaq.

Investors have wondered whether the iPad, a 10-inch touchscreen tablet that began selling in April starting at $499 and runs on the same operating system as the iPhone, would cannibalize sales of the Mac, as it has done for lower-end laptops.

But Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer dismissed those concerns during an interview on Monday.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Robert MacMillan and Richard Chang)