Following last week's announcement of its Open Handset Alliance and Android platform, Google has unveiled a $10 million Android challenge.Part of its mobile technology strategy, Android is an open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices designed to break down barriers to building new applications.
The newly revealed challenge will see developers who build "great applications" for Android receive monetary awards.
According to the Official Google Blog, "with so many brilliant minds striving to design engaging, innovative applications, mobile users around the world (three billion and counting) can expect phones equipped with dynamic and unprecedented applications very soon".
The $10 million prize money will be distributed evenly between two Android Developer Challenges, the first of which will be open from January 2nd until March 3rd 2008.
Following this time, the 50 most promising entries will each receive a sum of $25,000 to fund further development, with the potential to receive even greater recognition in the form of ten $275,000 and ten $100,000 awards.
Google has said it will welcome all types of innovative applications that will make full use of Android's capabilities.
The search engine has recommended that developers should focus on the areas of social networking, gaming, re-thinking of traditional user interfaces, humanitarian benefits, use of local-based services and applications in service of global economic development, among others.
Details of the second Android Developer Challenge are yet to be released.
