Google to start highlighting tablet-optimized apps

Google is set to make it easier for Android tablet owners to find apps that really were designed for their devices.

Second-generation-Nexus-7-Photo-AFP

Google is set to make it easier for Android tablet owners to find apps that really were designed for their devices.

While iPhone and iPad owners take such sorting for granted, until now, visiting the Google Play Store in search of something for a tablet was potluck with no clear way to tell whether the file downloading is actually built for the larger screen real estate of a Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 or if it is simply a stretched phone app pretending to be something it isn't.

As of November 21, tablet-using visitors to Google Play will discover that, by default, app lists will have tablet-optimized titles at the top while smartphone apps will be tagged with 'designed for phones' to avoid any confusion. And, with the number of available apps on the Google Play store already topping 1 million titles, the changes can't come soon enough.

However, the fact that the changes are still a month away from going live is fueling speculation that Google might be planning to launch a new product, possibly a new, high-resolution 10-inch Nexus tablet on the same date.