It’s been a long week waiting around for more updates or really anything new regarding the Open Handset Alliance or Android. Alas, today is November 12th, and they have released the SDK for Android.

Not only have they dropped the SDK on us, but $10 millions dollars up for grabs by the developers who make the best Android based apps. If you are a first time programmer, there are several tutorials, tips, toolkits, API’s, the list goes on, but they are all there to help you get started, so this competition, if you will, isn’t limited to those who have PhD’s in Computer Science or 30 years of programming experience, anyone with the desire to make something great can get in on the action.

The SDK is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. On top of that, the geniuses behind Android thought it pertinent to make an Eclipse plug in, so, if you though it was easy to code for Android with a standard SDK, debugger, and some sort of text editor, Eclipse should take that and make it look like a 3rd grader taking calculus, Eclipse works a lot more like VB, but better, and more open, so you can more or less drag and drop and entire app together, with the exception of a few values you have to enter.

So, it’s out, and available. Even if you don’t have a desire to program for the platform, go take a look, maybe you’ve got some other feed back to offer up. Also, for more fun, and for an interactive community to work with/discuss your ideas with, head on over to AndroidCommunity.com.