Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

How to find Android tablet apps

By

A minor mystery exists when it comes to Android tablet apps. At the press event announcing the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the first Android tablet PC, it was noted there would be revised or new apps “optimized” available for it.

But what, exactly, does “optimized” mean?

Recommended Videos

The semantic mystery

No one connected with the device could elucidate the optimization then or now. Over the last month, we’ve queried Samsung, Google and Sprint about the technical aspects of optimization and how an Android user can easily find or identify an optimized app. Unlike iPad-optimized apps in iTunes, optimized apps are not segregated in the Tab’s Android Market. Each party kept referring us to ask the other in a seemingly never-ending circle. The closest we got to an answer was this off-the-record quip:

Related

“I think they just made the app more conducive to viewing on a large screen and probably increased the button sizes and whatnot in the assumption that someone is using the app on a device that is being handled with two hands (i.e. a tablet) rather than one.”

That’s it?

The difference is in the details

Discerning a difference between optimized and non-optimized apps is easy – but only after you’ve downloaded them. Non-optimized apps float in the middle of the Tab’s screen, and can’t be blown up as iPhone apps can on the iPad. Since the Tab’s Market app doesn’t segregate optimized apps, we did a search for “Galaxy Tab.” Up popped 114 results, many simply different versions of the same apps (such as multiple Museums city choices listed below).

But there really isn’t any way to know if an “optimized” app simply has been imperceptibly blown up from, say, 800 x 480 pixels (the resolution of the four Samsung Galaxy S phones) to the Tab’s barely larger 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, or if more extensive tinkering has been done to exploit the slightly more expansive Tab screen real estate.

Finding optimized Android tablet apps

Technically, all Android apps have to be “optimized” to work not only for specific Android devices (largely because screen sizes and buttons differ from phone-to-phone) but for differing Android operating system versions. Theoretically, the Market on any Android device should list only apps “optimized” for that device, one reason why you can buy Android apps only on the devices themselves, and not from a PC.

That being the case, the best way to dredge up apps that will look great on your new Android tablet remains search terms like “Galaxy Tab,” or simply checking out our guide to the best Samsung Galaxy Tab apps.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stewart Wolpin
Stewart Wolpin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
How to find your phone number on iPhone or Android
Rebtel Calling

If you're here, you've likely just had this experience; needing to enter your digits for an account of some sort, you realize you don't remember your own phone number. As you don’t call your own phone number very often, this isn't an extremely uncommon scenario. And it gets even worse if you frequently use a second phone number alongside your main one. It's still embarrassing enough, however, to not want to ask your partner or buddy, "Hey, what's my phone number?"

Luckily, the ability to locate phone number data comes directly on your phone, so checking your friend's address book won't be necessary. Whether you’re using an iOS or Android device, you can quickly locate your own number — as well as your IMEI number — on your phone if you know where to look. Just grab your phone, find the appropriate section below, and we'll show you how to do it.
How to find your phone number on iPhone

Read more
A new Google Pixel Tablet is coming, but it’s not what you think
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

It's been almost a year since the Google Pixel Tablet went up for preorder, leading many Android tablet fans to wonder when the inevitable Pixel Tablet 2 will arrive. A new rumor suggests that Google could release a new Pixel Tablet as early as next month, but it's probably not what you were expecting or hoping for.

According to @MysteryLupin on X (formerly Twitter), Google is planning to "relaunch" the Pixel Tablet without the charging/speaker dock included in the box. As you'll likely recall, the speaker dock is the Pixel Tablet's standout feature. You can use the Pixel Tablet on its own as a traditional Android tablet when you want, and when you're done, you throw it on the dock to transform it into a smart display. The idea of Google selling the Pixel Tablet without its claim to fame is an interesting one.

Read more
How to view Instagram without an account
An iPhone 15 Pro Max showing Instagram via a web browser.

Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms on the planet. Whether you want to share a family photo, what you had for lunch at your favorite cafe, or a silly video of your cat, Instagram is the place to do it.

Read more