If browsing for new applications from your phone doesn't qualify as fun in your book, take heart. Microsoft recently made Windows Marketplace for Mobile available from any desktop browser.While it is important for customers to be able to purchase apps directly from their devices, having an easier-to-use portal that is accessible online is a really good idea. Apple's iPhone Apps Store was available within iTunes on Day 1. The Android Marketplace, BlackBerry Apps World and Palm Apps Catalog later followed suit. And now, so has Microsoft.

The new Web site (Marketplace.WindowsPhone.com) is an online compendium of applications for devices running Windows Mobile 6.5 (support for WinMo 6.0 and 6.1 should be available by the end of November).

The Windows Mobile Developer Blog explains:

Starting today, Windows phone customers can browse, buy and download applications online at the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site. The selected applications are delivered wirelessly to the customer's Windows phone and install the next time the Windows Marketplace client runs on the device. This creates another way for customers to easily find and purchase applications and gives developers a whole new level of exposure.

I decided to give it a whirl this morning, and it really does work well. The first thing I noticed is that there is a filter available to choose between Windows Mobile Professional (touch) and Windows Mobile Standard (non-touch) devices. That means users will only see applications that are compatible with their version of WinMo. A slew of categories are listed on the left side of the page, including Business, Communication, Entertainment, Games, Maps & Search, News & Weather, Social Networks and several others. There's a little number next to each category that indicates how many apps are available in each. Some quick addition reveals that there are 368 apps in total right now.

Aside from the categories, the online storefront has a showcase for 12 different applications, giving them a prominent spot at the top of the page. There are two smaller sections -- Whats New and What's Popular -- below the showcase.

Clicking on any of the apps that are featured takes users to an information page about that app. On this page, users can read a description of the application, what its main features are, when it was released, what version number is current and how large the application is. There are also user reviews at the bottom of each app page. Screen shots are also available.

In all, it's a clean and simple design, making it easy for Windows Phone enthusiasts to browse for new applications.