Google Android - The Android Log
Google ‘guarantees’ Android compatibility
November 13th, 2007 by Head RobotGoogle and its Open Handset Alliance have released the preliminary software development kit (SDK) for their new mobile platform, Android.
From http://www.builderau.com.au
The web giant has also confirmed that the members of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) have signed a “non-fragmentation agreement”, thus answering doubts that have been raised over the level of co-operation at the code level between members. Depending on the details of this agreement, this could stop various implementations of Android being incompatible.
The Linux-based mobile software stack –— incorporating everything from the operating system to applications –— was announced a week ago. The OHA includes 34 companies, ranging from major manufacturers, such as Motorola and HTC, to operators, such as Sprint and T-Mobile. HTC recently announced that it would have the first Android-based handset on the market in the second half of next year.
To attract developers to Android, Google has launched a $10m competition to find applications that can be run on the various handsets that will use the platform.
“We’ve built some interesting applications for Android, but the best applications are not here yet, and that’s because they’re going to be written by developers,” said Google co-founder Sergey Brin on Monday. “We’d like to reward these developers and recognise them as much as possible.”
There will be two phases of the Android Developer Challenge, each of which will involve a total of US$5m in prizes. The first phase will run from 2 January to 3 March, 2008. The top 10 applications in each phase will win US$275,000 in funding, with the next 10 earning US$100,000 each.
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