T-Mobile set to add “T-Mobile Top Picks” section to Android Market (1.6 only)

I just got word from T-Mobile USA that the carrier will be unveiling a “T-Mobile Top Picks” feature in the Android Market. The new feature will be a Market subsection that lists “a variety of innovative applications that help customers customize their device and manage their T-Mobile account.”

T-Mobile Top Picks is much like the AppPack and T-Mobile’s previous effort to highlight the top apps that Android newcomers should download. Top Picks will start with 20 apps, including Absolute Fitness, Location Scout, FlightStats, and Pandora Radio, among others. Not a bad place to start for people looking for new apps in the Android Market.

In order to see the Top Picks, users will need a 1.6 device (sorry Cliq and Behold II folks). A rollout to enable the new feature will occur “over the next couple of weeks,” so keep your eyes open if you have a G1 or myTouch phone.

It’s good to see T-Mobile encouraging customers to discover good apps, some of which are paid. This, along with the added support for in-carrier billing, is something that I’m definitely looking forward to testing out. I hope more carriers will embrace a similar philosophy for their Android devices.

UPDATE: Thanks to Aymon7 and benderunit9000 for photo examples.

From these photos, we can now garner that the 20 apps are:

1. T-Mobile My Account
2. Absolute Fitness
3. AlphaMixr
4. Barcode Scanner
5. E! Online
6. Express News
7. FaceIT
8. FlightStats for Android
9. Gem Miner
10. Guitar: Solo Lite
11. Location Scout
12. Musical Lite
13. Pandora Radio
14. Layar Reality Browser
15. Sherpa
16. USA Today
17. T-Mobile Green Perks
18. T-Mobile HotSpot Connect
19. T-Mobile Visual Voicemail
20. T-Mobile Mobile Backup