New Android Developer Challenge

I’ve just read from the Android Developer’s Blog the announcement of the second Android Developer Challenge (ADC). The expanded ADC 2 to involve a very important part of the Android community—the users who will be running these applications.

Users of Android-powered devices with Android Market will now get to participate the judging of the winner in ADC 2. By downloading a special Android judging application and use it to download and rank applications submitted to the Challenge.

The results from this round will determine the top ranking applications in each of the 10 categories.

1. Education/Reference
2. Games: Casual/Puzzle
3. Games: Arcade/Action
4. Social Networking
5. Lifestyle
6. Productivity/Tools
7. Media
8. Entertainment
9. Travel
10. Misc

Prizes will be distributed as follows; all prizes are in USD. For each of the 10 categories:

• 1st prize: $100,000
• 2nd prize: $50,000
• 3rd prize: $25,000

Overall (across all categories)

• 1st prize: $150,000 (meaning the overall winner will receive $250,000)
• 2nd prize: $50,000 (meaning the 2nd prize winner will receive up to $150,000)
• 3rd prize: $25,000 (meaning the 3rd prize winner will receive up to $125,000)

Timeline is subject to change until the Official Rules are published.

• May 27 – Google I/O: ADC 2 announced
• June: Full Terms and Conditions made available
• Beginning in August: submission site opens, developers submit apps
• Approximately 2 weeks later: submission site closes; ADC2 client/scoring app goes up on Market; users begin reviewing apps
• Mid October: first-round judging ends
• Mid November: final judging ends, winners announced

In addition, attendees of selected developer events will be provided with devices intended for use in developing submissions for ADC 2.

These top applications will then be ranked by a combination of users and a panel of Google selected judges through a similar process as the first round to determine the final winners.

For more details on ADC 2, please see the official site.