The new and improved Android Market has arrived, in the form of a ripped APK (Android package) released onto the web.
Website Android Police has managed to load the new Market on to a number of its handsets and has uploaded some images of the UI.
The biggest change is in the look of the interface. Google definitely likes the colour green at the moment, with a green curve taking up most of the screen.
This curve now houses a carousel, which means the tabs of old have completely disappeared.
Unfortunately it seems that most of the changes are just cosmetic. There's no discovery engine to find new apps, merely a related apps list at the bottom of each app.
It would have been nice if Android introduced something like AppsFire – which looks at the apps you already have and recommends other applications to you.
There is a 15-minute preview feature which is much welcomed, though. This allows you to preview an app and get a refund if it turns out to be a pile of pants.
There's also two new categories: Widgets and Live Wallpapers.
Google said about the new Android Market: "With this release, we aimed to deliver features that are most requested by users and developers.
"However, we're not done yet. We plan to continue to rapidly enhance Android Market for both users and developers and make it the best content distribution service for the Android ecosystem."
An image makeover it may be, but it does seem that Android Market is now a much slicker beast and will be available to all when it lands in the UK in two weeks.
Via Android Police
