Apple is well known for its unique and visually appealing devices and operating systems, launched OS X Lion today. The Mac OS X was launched back in 2001 and since then has given all other operating systems a run for their money. The latest version of Mac OS X has many new features inspired by the iPad like the Launch-pad which gives users one click access to all their apps.

Lion is said to be the best Mac OS X version yet and it has been made available in the App Store from today. This is the first version of the Mac OS that is available for download-only. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. “Lion makes upgrading a Mac easier than ever before; just launch the Mac App Store, buy Lion with your iTunes account, and the download and install process will begin automatically.”

Apple just declared phenomenal $26.74 billion revenue in Q1 2011 and a quarterly profit of $6 billion. Quarter 1 results show sale of 4.13 million Macs, 16.24 million iPhones, 7.3 million iPads and 19.5 million iPods and this is expected to increase in the coming quarters.

Anyway, coming back to the Lion, If you’re on a Mac and REALLY want get your hands on the new OS, its just a matter of a few keystrokes and the low price of $29.99 which is a huge step down from $129.99. Like I mentioned earlier, Apple has made this upgrade available for download via the App Store.

NOTE: You need to have Snow Leopard installed on your machine before you can upgrade to “Lion”

Here’s a guide on how to upgrade:

1. Installing a new OS is a big step, so first things first. BACK UP EVERYTHING! Put everything onto a back  up drive, check and re-check and unplug it before starting the setup process. Here’s a guide on how to back up and restore files

2. Ensure that your current software is up to date. Run Software Update and update everything that needs to be updated. I would recommend you install Migration Assistant
3. Open up the App Store and download “Lion”. Be patient as it is a 4GB download so it might take a few hours. Calculate how long it will take here

4. Let the setup run it course, it might take anywhere between 30-45 minutes for the setup to complete. If you’re using a laptop, keep it plugged in for the duration

I’ll be covering the feature the new OS has in a second post since it would make this one way to long.

Good luck!