Application development for Google’s Android cellphone platform is entering a more serious stage as the company releases version 0.9 beta to its developer community. Scheduled for a September or October release, the final version appears to be on scheduled and perfectly aligned with HTC Dream smartphone, which also made a first showing yesterday. Android carries the hopes to become an iPhone like platform that is not tied to just one company, but we already know that the platform will not be complete when it launches and lack key features – such as Bluetooth.

Apple’s iPhone will see its first serious competitor soon: T-Mobile preps HTC "Dream" for an October release and is expected to launch its own application store alongside the handset. However, the Dream faces an uphill battle, since first reports claim that the device lacks Apple's appealing design and, if we believe these sources, the operating system is not as elegantly integrated with the handset as Apple’s OS X-based OS with the iPhone.