Android Market on mobile phones running Android 2.2 or higher is being updated and will be available gradually on supported devices. Now that it’s out, devices will get updated automatically without the user having to perform any installation.

Recently, we’ve been hard at work improving Android Market to give you new ways to find great applications and games, purchase books, and rent movies. Today, we’re releasing a new version of Android Market which makes all of these available on phones (Android 2.2 and higher).

The new Android Market will be rolling out in the coming weeks to Android 2.2 and higher phones around the world. You don’t need to do anything – the update is automatic on supported phones. If you’re in the U.S., you’ll also be able to download the Videos app, rent movies, and buy books once you receive the new Android Market.

The update brings major improvements in both UI and performance. It’s obvious that the new Market has now a touch of Microsoft’s Windows Phone interface, especially the start screen, which displays unsorted panels containing the week’s Featured Apps. You can just slide the screen to the left or right to browse through Categories, Featured, Top Paid, Top Free, Top Grossing, Top New Paid, Top New Free and Trending apps. Here is the official hands-on video:

Although browsing or searching for an app is faster, the interface looks a bit untidy in most of the different screens. For example, Top Paid shows everything in a Grid view with 2 Panels (3 on the Galaxy Tab), mixing them up and making it harder to decide which app comes first. The Categories option fixes that allowing only Top Paid apps in a specific category.

 

There is lack of transitions in the overall UI and tapping on an app immediately brings up a moving circle to show the app loading up. Once the app loads, you can view the information, screenshots and install it on your phone. The screenshots can be browsed by swiping, similar to the iPhone’s App Store.

According to Google, the new Market will be available in each supported devices in a few “weeks” automatically. But can you get it now? Yes, simply follow the link to this .apk file and install it on your phone! Note that this version might get updated when officially released.