The 50 finalists will be getting an early look at the SDK before a public version is released. Although, the participants will be bound by a NDA prohibiting them to give out any screenshots or feature lists. Google sent out emails to all the finalists,As a Round 2 participant, we'll be providing you with the most up-to-date Android SDK so that you can take advantage of the latest tools & platform capabilities that will be shipping in devices later this year. These early access SDKs have many enhancements, additional features, and bug fixes. However, these SDKs have not had the same level of testing as public SDKs, so there are bugs; these releases are definitely "bleeding edge." As we continue to update the platform, you'll receive periodic drops of updated early access SDKs. We'll do our best to give you a rough timeline on when these early access SDKs will be available so that you can better plan your development schedule. Approximately 3 weeks before the submission deadline, we will provide a final early access SDK. You will need to submit your entry using this version of the SDK.
Since these early access SDKs are not ready for the public, you need to execute a special SDK license. This is the same SDK license that governs the public SDK with the addition of a confidentiality clause. We've attached the SDK license document to this email.
And like every other deadline in ADC 1, the deadline for Round 2 of submissions has also been extended to July 28th. Via [HelloAndroid]
Android is getting onto new phones. Many small/big manufacturers have embraced the Android platform. The latest to join in is RKS, a South Californian company with their concept phone - Mimique. According to RKS, "The Mimique is a response to feature-heavy cell phones that look more like PDAs than phones. Playful and engaging, the Mimique's design marries the heritage of old-school cell phones with next-generation style and touch-screen technology."
The selling point is said to be downloadable features and skins, so the user need not buy a new phone for new features. "Skins will allow users to change the graphic interface to match their mood or preferences. Designed for users who don't take themselves or their phones too seriously, the eye-catching Mimique concept phone is poised to play a whole new game."
take a look, 
Via [Pocket-lint]
So Google has come out describing the backstage events of ADC 1. Good to know what was happening when the whole Android community was wondering what would happen.
Dan Morrill, Developer Advocate, explains the details of how they got started with appointing the judges, shipping of the Ubuntu laptops around the world, collecting the scores and making sure no evil happened. The full story can be read here.
Its nice that they have opened up the process. This should somewhat calm down the backlash going on for the last few days about how the final 50 were chosen. When I first looked at the winners' list, my reaction was like "enh ?!" although it should have been more like "wow !". And going through the mailing list and the irc echoed the same reaction from other developers. I think when an app/idea exists on some other platform then the score for "Originality" stands at zero and when such an idea makes to the top 50...., I guess this was probably one of the reasons for the discontent.
Nevertheless, ADC 1 is done and over. Some are happy, many are unsatisfied but have moved on(possibly to other platforms). It will be interesting to see how many individuals return for ADC 2 or will it be a corporate play ?
