Google has released a software development kit (SDK) for its Android open handset project.

The SDK will allow developers to create applications to work with Google’s mobile operating system.

The applications will then be able to run on any handset produced by members of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of software and handset manufacturers formed around the Android platform.

The first Android-based handsets are expected by the second half of 2008.

A set of online documentation for developers will accompany the SDK, and a new blog has been launched by the Android development team.

Google is conducting a $10m programming contest for Android in an effort to generate interest in the platform.

Developers will be challenged to create new software for the platform, and the top 50 entries will receive funding for additional development.

The contest will open in January and Google will accept entries until 3 March. Each of the top 50 applications will be awarded $25,000. Ten winners will be selected for a $275,000 top prize and 10 more will receive $100,000.

Google also is planning a second Android development contest for the second half of 2008.

Google has officially unveiled Android, a mobile software platform that is generally referred to as the Google Phone.

An early version of a software development kit is slated for release by next week. The first phones powered by the software are expected to hit the market in the second half of next year.

Android bundles an operating system, middleware, user interface and applications. The platform will be made available under an open source licence.

Phones currently rely on proprietary software such as the Symbian operating system and Windows Mobile. Vendors also are increasingly experimenting with Linux.

The multitude of platforms, however, has caused the market to fragment. Users ordering games or ring-tones, for instance, need to know the model of their phones.

Android aims to create a common platform for the mobile phone similar to the PC, allowing developers to craft applications without interference from device makers or operators.

Those operators and device makers, however, will still be able to customise the platform to add features and their corporate brand.

The platform was developed through the Open Handset Alliance, a new industry body that includes technology and mobile providers as well as operators, such as T-Mobile, Motorola and Texas Instruments. Nokia, the majority shareholder of Symbian, is not part of the alliance.

“This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for billions of users around the world,” said Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.

“A fresh approach to fostering innovation in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will change the way people access and share information in the future.”

Google has been at the centre of mobile rumours ever since the company acquired Android, a company set up by mobile pioneer Andy Rubin.

Fed by an image of an early mock-up, speculation suggested that Google was developing a mobile device that would rival Apple’s iPhone and Nokia phones.

“Today’s announcement is more ambitious than any single ‘Google Phone’ that the press has been speculating about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models,” said Schmidt.

Apple,s highly anticipated iPhone is due for launch in the UK on Friday, but the market has already been flooded with fake and ‘grey’ import handsets.

Domain registrar NetNames has reported that the past three days has seen more than 450 online auctions for “unofficial” iPhones.

The analysis, carried out through NetNames’ Envisional brand protection unit, revealed that 62 per cent of the iPhones offered in these online auctions originated in the UK, where the iPhone is not launched until 9 November.

In 70 per cent of these auctions the iPhones were advertised as ‘unlocked’, despite the fact that official iPhones in the UK are only being offered on the O2 network.

“Consumers need to be aware of the threats posed by counterfeit goods and grey market imports online and make sure that they purchase only from reputable sources,” said Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer at NetNames.

“The growth of online auction sites has unlocked major new opportunities for counterfeiters and grey market traders to move large volumes of products.

“Major brands need to have a greater visibility into what is happening to help protect the consumer and their own reputations.”

The iPhones offered online are selling mainly on eBay for an average price of £335, alongside CECT iPhones which are sophisticated replicas from China selling for an average of £56.

This influx of unofficial iPhones is characterised by mass grey market traders who push large numbers of goods into the UK market through the internet .

In this case, the top 10 sellers found by NetNames have been responsible for over a third of all UK iPhone movement prior to the launch.

Charlie Abrahams, vice president at internet fraud prevention and brand protection company MarkMonitor, warned vnunet.com of the disastrous implications these fake and grey imports can have on a brand.

“Well publicised launches and peak seasons such as Christmas are bound to attract the fraudster,” he said.

“Manufacturers of desirable consumer products, including mobile phones and electronics, are especially susceptible to counterfeit sales on the internet eroding reputation and revenues.”

Abrahams explained that it is easy for fakes to be portrayed as the real thing because the online purchaser does not get a chance to examine the product until after it has been delivered.

“We see many examples of sites that abuse well known brands by diverting their traffic to a fake site through techniques such as domain kiting, pay-per-click and cyber-squatting,” he said.

“At this point the fake site can sell counterfeit or competitive products without the consumer being aware.”

Abrahams advises brand owners to focus more attention on the internet as the fastest growing route to market for counterfeit products.

They should also develop plans to deal with these products, including consumer education, online intellectual property ownership strategies and aggressive detection and enforcement processes in order to deal with infringements.

Apple’s much vaunted iPhone launches in the UK today at 6.02pm, selling at Apple Stores, Carphone Warehouse outlets, O2 shops and online.

Queues started forming yesterday outside Apple’s flagship store in London’s Regent Street, with early birds suffering a night of rain for their troubles.

The UK launch of the iconic phone has been backed by a number of companies. Entertainment firm Jamster has set up a web portal offering music, videos and games for all iPhone owners, which will be free to access at launch.

Meanwhile, Geodesic Information Systems has created a version of its Mundu instant messaging service for the device.

Visto is offering a free 60-day trial of its push email and directory service to try and tempt business users of the smartphone.

However, the iPhone has not gone without criticism from some observers.

Analyst Aleksandra Bosnjak, from StrategyEye Digital Media , described the device as “a toddler product without the sophistication of some of its rivals”.

Bengt Nordström, a consultant with VeriSign, added that the lack of 3G shows that Apple “does not know the European market or has not thought it through”.

Immersion, which makes tactile feedback technology, also pointed out that the iPhone lacks, well, tactile feedback technology.