Location-based Android apps take home the money

Google made several software developers a little richer last week, distributing $3.75m in prizes for 20 applications designed for its Android mobile phone operating system.

Fifty finalists were in the running for the big money after receiving $25,000 each for making the first cut. Google awarded $275,000 to 10 winners and $100,000 to 10 others. Each of the 10 big winners jumped on the location-aware bandwagon in some way with their applications.

For example, cab4me lets you hail a nearby cab without having to know the number of a local cab company or even your exact address. GoCart turns a scan of a product's bar code into a comparison-shopping exercise using data from stores near your location. And Locale will change the settings on an Android phone depending on the phone's location, such as automatically setting the phone to vibrate when you enter a cinema.

The full list of winners is listed on Google's Android Developer site. The company plans to distribute the applications through its recently launched Android Market, a web-based location for all its apps similar to Apple's App Store.

Original article: Android Developer Challenge winners focus on location from CNET News.com