Using an app on a smartphone can be both easy and fun. Browsing through dozens or hundreds of them, on the other hand, might result in an unscheduled trip to the optometrist. So this afternoon, Google introduced the Android Market website in the midst of some other Android announcements.
The Android Market website is exactly what its name should lead you to expect: a site that lets users navigate the Android Market from a normal browser. A post on the Google Mobile Blog explained, "The website makes it easy to discover great new apps with a bigger, brighter interface."
This development isn’t just about screen sizes and the accuracy of mice, however. The post continued, "You can also send apps directly to your Android device with just a few clicks – no wires needed. We’ve built in new social features, too. You can share apps with your friends through Twitter. And you can read and post app reviews directly to Android Market from the web or from your device."
The Android Market website should be live in the very near future (or now, actually, except some people have reported problems signing in). Expect app sales to increase as a result.
As for those other announcements, Android developers are sure to welcome new support for in-app payments. This will help them sell small add-ons and upgrades to users without cooking up a whole new app.
Then just about everybody who comes into contact with Honeycomb should appreciate improved graphics brought on by hardware acceleration, built-in video chat, easy multitasking, and a new notification system.
