Google To Give $10 Million Away To Android Developers

There are 10 million reasons for developers to begin building applications around Google's new Android open-source mobile operating system.

Google has announced $10 million in awards to developers "who build great applications for Android," wrote Steve Horowitz, engineering director, on Google's corporate blog.

The awards come on top of Google's release of its Android software development kit, which last week it said would be available soon.

The money will be distributed between two Android developer challenges. The first will run from Jan. 2, 2008, through March 3, 2008. The second will launch after the first handsets are available in the second half of 2008.

In the first challenge, 50 entries will receive $25,000 for further development. Twenty of those entries are then eligible for one of 10 $275,000 awards and 10 $100,000 awards.

"We welcome all types of applications but are looking to reward innovative, useful apps that make use of Android's capabilities to deliver a better mobile experience," according to Google's Android Web site. The company suggests 10 areas of focus for applications: social networking, media consumption [management, editing or sharing], productivity and collaboration, gaming, news and information, rethinking of traditional user interfaces, use of mash-up functionality, use of location-based services, humanitarian benefits and applications in service of global economic development.

Google's site also includes several tools and documentation to help developers in their quest to build Android applications, including tutorials and other tips.