Apple on Thursday night rolled out a new look to its App Store directory, putting more of an emphasis on both the top paid and free applications within each category's listing pages. These lists now appear on the left and right sides of the results, giving users a chance to see what's currently the cream of the crop.

While this information has been available on the iPhone version of the App Store since the 2.2 firmware update, users searching for new applications in iTunes have had a less exploratory experience.

According to a developer who had contacted AppleInsider about the news, the change means that some applications are getting more exposure among iTunes shoppers. Developers had even gone so far as to change their pricing to get better screen real estate on the store's pages.

iTunes now features the top free and paid applications, which sandwich each category's listing pages.

(Credit: CNET Networks)