We still have a lot of complaints about the Android Market (like downloads stalling), but it was nice to see it finally get an update with Android 1.6. Among the new features was the ability for developers to include screenshots (2) and the priority placed on top paid apps.
At least one developer is reporting a big growth in sales since the recent Market update. Larva Labs announced their game Battle for Mars (review) has seen a roughly 50% increase in sales. This is due largely in part to their app being displayed in the upper portion of the top paid listing for games.
It’s nice to see the positive aftereffects that resulted from the new Android Market, but several popular devices have yet to receive this update. The Sprint HTC Hero, Samsung Moment, and T-Mobile Motorola Cliq are all shipping with Android 1.5 (old Market) and there is no word on when any of these phones will be updated. We could go on and on about Android fragmentation and Market improvements, but I’ll save those topics for another day.
In case anyone was wondering, Larva Labs also posted on their blog that they are working on their Intelligent Homescreen prototype and intend to release it to the Android Market.
