Just like the good folks promised, the early look software development kit for Google’s soon-to-be huge phone OS has hit the streets… er, internet. From what we can tell, the OS is as comfortable on larger, VGA devices as it is on more traditional smartphone layouts. Oh yeah… and it plays Quake. Here’s what we know the software will support out of the box:

• Touchscreen
• 3G
• Webkit-based browser
• Threaded text messaging
• MPEG-4, h.264, MP3, and AAC file formats
• Accelerated 3D graphics

Below you can see an alternate fullscreen version of the phone (a hardware reference model, not a device you can expect to buy anytime soon) up and running its browser app. If you really want to get serious, pedal your steam-engine over to the Open Handset Alliance site where you can download the SDK for a variety of platforms. You might want to get cracking on that code, too, as Google has created the Android Developer Challege, a contest meant to spur production on the devices, with a sweet $10 million pot that will be divided amongst winners. If you’re not ready to jump into that game just yet, check out the gallery and view some videos after the break — you’ll see and hear more info about Android than you can shake a stick at.

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If you’re not keeping up on the news, you may want to know that Google released its Android early look SDK to the waiting public today. Not only that, but we’ve got videos and pics of the prototype phones in action, doing all kinds of nasty OS activities, like browsing, Google-mapping, and most importantly: playing Quake. Confused? Excited? Freestyle-breakdance your way over to Engadget, where you’ll find the breaking news and videos of Android at work, as well as a charming visual tour of the UI that we’ve put together for you.

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