Android smartphone owners are now longer stuck with browsing for new apps on the small screen of their device — Google has just launched a new web-based version of the Android Market that can be accessed using a web browser on any computer.

The Android Market web site isn’t quite as slick as the similar iPhone app store accessed with iTunes, but it’s very easy to use. Apps can be browsed both by category and free/paid versions, and can be rated and reviewed by users.

Better still, apps can be installed on an Android smartphone directly from the web browser — just click the ‘Install” button and it’s sent to your Android smartphone wirelessly (although judging by some of the comments, this feature is still a little troublesome).

The Android Market web site was announced as part of a larger Google event that also introduced version 3.0 of the Android operating system, called Honeycomb. Rather than smartphones, Android 3.0 is intended for new tablet computers designed to compete with the Apple iPad, though no models are on sale just yet.

[Android Market]