14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that most of the major mobile phone operating systems available today on the market are getting ready to show new faces into the wild in the near future. Windows Mobile 6.5 is getting closer and closer to its October 6 launch date, the iPhone OS 3.1 should come around in the near future too, and now we learn that Android and its software portal Android Market are also ready to get dressed in new clothes.
Rumors about a new interface for the Android Market have been cycling around for the past few days, and now it’s official. A post on the Android developers blog, coming from Eric Chu, Android Mobile Platform, shows that the application portal is getting ready to show a series of updates, though he doesn't say when exactly users will be able to enjoy them.
“First, we will soon introduce new features in Android Market for Android 1.6 that will improve the overall experience for users. As part of this change, developers will be able to provide screenshots, promotional icons and descriptions that will better show off applications and games,” is what the blog post says. The video below is set to shed more light on the changes.
At the same time, Eric Chu also notes that four new sub-categories for applications have been added to the Android Market, namely sports, health, themes, and comics. Both new and existing applications can be put into these categories, via the publisher website, and developers should also learn that seller support for developers in Italy has also been added to the equation.
The new Android Market should come around with Android 1.6 it seems, and, given the way Google names its Android updates, it might be safe to assume that this will be the Donut flavor that we've all heard about a few times before. While Android 1.6 doesn't seem to be that far in the future now, it remains to be seen when Eclair, supposedly Android 2.0, will arrive. Though we should mention that Android 1.x and Android 2.0 are expected to coexist.