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Google isn't looking for the next Commander Data, but mobile applications for the free, open platform they recently announced.

Google Flashes $10M At Android Developers

The time-honored motivator, money, comes into play for application developers intrigued by the possibilities of the Android mobile platform. Android's opening came as part of the Open Handset Alliance announcement from earlier in November.

"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," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said in a statement. "We'd like to reward these developers and recognize them as much as possible."

Those rewards come in the form of the Android Developer Challenge. Prizes from $25,000 to $275,000 await those developers whose work grabs the attention of the judges overseeing the entries in the Challenge.

Developers will first need the Android SDK, which became available for download today. The first round of entries will be accepted between January 2 and March 3, 2008.

Fifty of these will be picked for awards, and invited to apply for the next round of the Challenge. Google said ten awards of $275,000 and ten awards of $100,000 will be up for grabs in that second round. Those winners will be announced at the end of May 2008.

Google also noted the first handsets built on the Android platform will become available in the second half of 2008. Once that takes place, Challenge II will be announced for mobile application developers.

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