A new beta software development kit is out for Android, the open-source mobile operating system backed by Google. Version 0.9 of the SDK was announced Monday on the Android Developers Blog.

An early version was released in November and, although some developers praised it, many said they found it buggy.

First Step Toward 1.0

The goal with the early version, wrote Google Developer Advocate Dan Morrill on the Android Developers Blog, was "to give developers insight into the platform as early on as possible, and to get some initial feedback." Since that release, he added, Google has been working with the Open Handset Alliance to utilize developers' feedback and get ready for the release of the first devices, now expected in the fourth quarter.

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