• Forbes.com, Wednesday, April 16, 2008 11 AM

Monday marked the first major deadline for Google's Android Developer Challenge, a contest to build cool apps for the Web giant's mobile operating system. Fifty winners of the challenge's first round, which will be announced the week of May 5, win $10,000 each and the opportunity to compete in round two for $275,000 in prizes. Winners also receive bragging rights that their application was one of the first to show-off what the mobile operating system can support.

It's been said before that Google's Linux-based service could be a potential game-changer for the mobile wireless industry. Prior to Android's launch, which is still a few months away, Google has assembled a coalition of more than 30 companies, including Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and LG to create handsets that will run Android. Carriers Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile have said their networks will support Android-powered phones.

Meanwhile, Google said that developer enthusiasm has also been high: on Monday, the company said its response to the developer challenge had been "overwhelming." Some of the programs include GPS-based services and games, productivity software such as a bar code-scanning service that uses a phone's camera and then offers comparative pricing, product reviews and local store info.

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