I think I've talked with at least a couple of you about the upcoming, open source phone platform developed by Google: Android. It's due out this October.

Anyway, they had a developer challenge to get some applications on the way. The challenge is now over and here are the winners:
http://code.google.com/android/adc_gallery/

What this means for the end-user: come October, you're going to start seeing the HTC Dream coming out and all of these applications will be FREE for it. Not only that, but there will be a whole slew of more and faster development for the phone since this is an open platform.

Besides the HTC Dream the other android phones are due out next year.

Please explain the HTC dream and its significance.

The greater significance is the Android platform.

Android is an open-source linux-based software stack made for mobile devices. This includes an operating system and key libraries so that any coder can develop free applications for mobile devices. End result: rapid community development of massive amounts of free handheld software!

It also makes it so all Android devices will run on the same operating system.

The HTC Dream is simply the first full-production Android-enabled phone. It is supposed to compete head-to-head with the iPhone and is scheduled to hit the market next month.