• CNET News.com, Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:45 AM

Last week, Google launched Android as a mobile software operating system. Yesterday, Google released its software development kit for Android and posted a demonstration video on YouTube that shows off the platform, urging developers to start creating software. The search giant also set aside $10 million to give out as prizes for developers who create programs for Android.

Co-founder Andy Rubin says that the key differentiator between Android and Windows Mobile or OS X is "openness." Rather than just an open SDK, the entire operating system is open to inspection, meaning that the whole mobile industry will have access to the source base. As expected, Google plans to recoup its return on investment by making its ad-supported services available on the mobile OS. Rubin says there is no "direct-advertising component" in the platform, meaning there will be no special Android-only advertising, just more of the same services Google offers on the Web. Users can choose whichever Web browser they like.

Rubin contends that Android will not compete with the Apple iPhone. "Apple has a great business in building really, really high-quality consumer products, and the platform that we're building can go into a lot of different products," he said.

Read the whole story at CNET News.com »