Lion App Updates: GrowlMail, Pixelmator, Plex, Backblaze

Earlier today, Apple released new hardware, OS X Lion, and a series of software updates to bring new OS compatibility to apps such as the iWork suite, Cocoa enhancements to iTunes, and new features to Safari. Apple also released several minor updates on its Support website, which we outlined in a separate Lion article here. But on the other hand, developers of third-party apps for the Mac haven’t missed the opportunity to update their software following the release of Lion, which is likely being installed and tested for the first time by hundreds of thousands of Mac users as we speak. In the past few hours, we’ve collected the most interesting app updates released today, so check them out after the break.

GrowlMail, the popular utility to enable Growl notifications for new email messages in Apple Mail, has been updated to work on Lion. In fact, according to the release notes, the new GrowlMail 1.3 won’t even work on older versions of OS X. And whilst Growl is going Mac App Store-only with a new paid version, you can install GrowlMail alongside the current version of Growl, and use it with the new Mail on Lion. The app will install through a package installer and be accessible as a preference panel in Mail’s Settings. (Note: this version is a clone of the github.com hosted repository for GrowlMail – official website is here)

Backblaze, the backup and data recovery service for Mac, has announced full Lion support as well. The new 1.5.5 version is out, it supports Lion and according to the developers it works seamlessly with Lion’s new security and backup features such as Versions for documents, or FileVault 2. Backblaze recently launched new location services to help you track and locate a stolen or lost Mac.

Pixelmator has updated its award-winning image editing tool to include preliminary Lion support. The upcoming Pixelmator 2.0 will take full advantage of Lion and is set to ship later this year, however you can download the latest 1.6.6 update to start working with the new OS in anticipation of the bigger update.

To easily update to Pixelmator 1.6.6, simply use your Mac App Store app. For non-Mac App Store users, it is highly recommended to transition to the Mac App Store at this time. However, if not ready to transition yet, users can run the Software Update feature in Pixelmator.

High-end support for OS X Lion is coming along for Pixelmator 2.0 Chameleon. With Lion-specific features, the new version is going to totally rock on OS X Lion. If you haven’t yet noticed, we have a sneak preview website for more info about what’s coming in Pixelmator 2.0.

Last is Plex, the fantastic media manager /media player / all-in-one solution for streaming music and movies we have covered and love here at MacStories, especially when paired with its iOS counterpart. The updated Plex – which happens to be a great piece of software to install on your new Mac mini – sports Lion support and fixes bugs with the new OS. The developers have also posted a lengthy article detailing some new features in this update, such as initial support for iPhoto sections, support for deleting files in the Library, and better handling of subtitles.

More updates to popular Mac applications will likely follow in the next few hours and throughout the week. As usual, buying and installing software from the Mac App Store remains the easiest way to keep your apps organized & up to date.