So much for those widely-spread rumors of a noon EST launch for the Mac App Store -- Apple pulled the trigger at 8:30am EST with a Mac OS X 10.6.6 update which includes the Mac App Store, complete with more than 1,000 apps ready to purchase.

As promised last month, Apple has released a minor Mac OS X 10.6.6 update, the main purpose of which is to install the Mac App Store first announced at the company’s media event back in October. A trip to the Software Update panel, a relatively svelte 114.8MB download and a restart later, and you’ll find a new Mac App Store icon sitting in your Dock, right next to the Finder icon.

According to Macworld, the Mac App Store is launching with “more than 1,000 apps” out of the gate, including three of the key components of the $49 iLife ’11 suite for only $15 each (iPhoto, iMovie or GarageBand) -- if you want iDVD or iWeb, you’ll still have to buy the boxed copy.

Unfortunately, those of you hoping for iWork ’11 at launch (as widely rumored) will be disappointed -- while Pages, Keynote and Numbers are each available from the Mac App Store for $20 a pop, they are all the previous, long in the tooth iWork ’09 versions. With iWork ’09 selling in boxed form for $79, it’s not much of a bargain, either -- unless you only want one or two of the apps, in which case you’re saving a few bucks going with the Mac App Store.

Aperture 3 also makes its Mac App Store debut, and it’s a bargain at only $80 compared to the boxed retail edition which sells for $199.

We’ll be taking a nice long look at the Mac App Store here on MacLife.com later today -- in the meantime, head to Software Update and get your downloading on!

Follow this article’s author, J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter