Later this year Google and a number of partners in the Open Handset Alliance will debut the much-hyped Android platform for mobile phones, with big names such as HTC, Samsung and Motorola all launching handsets running the open-source platform. While information is scarce regarding specific phone models, there’s enough excitement surrounding the Android platform itself and Google has taken the time to show some of its capabilities recently.

Google's Android platform is designed around the fact that most modern day phones equipped with a 200MHz or better processor will be able to run it easily. It will be available in both touch screen and button-based versions and will include, as expected, around 20 Google applications by default – among those is Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps.

Of course, Android’s open-source nature allow developers to create their own applications – Google has even set aside $10 million in awards for developers who submit the most creative apps to the Android Developer Challenge. Another noteworthy feature is Android’s ability to run multiple applications at the same time while reportedly conserving memory usage and battery life. Check out some screenshots and impressions at Hardwarezone.com and CNet.com.