The first boards are expected to ship at the end of July, and are "designed to help with prototyping and development of modules for the Ara platform, including modules for the current (first) prize challenge that we formally announced at Google I/O," Google wrote in an email to developers.

Developers interested in applying for the first round of development kits will have until July 17 to submit applications, while the window for the second round will close August 17, according to the email. There is a limited supply of the first boards, and Google said it will grant submissions based on "technical experience and the strength of your module concept."

Google showed off some of the first boards in April during its Project Ara developer conference, and ATAP head Paul Eremenko demoed a somewhat functioning Ara prototype last month at Google I/O.

Some of the first boards will go to teams competing in Project Ara's prize challenge— also announced during I/O — which will award $100,000 to the winning team based on four criteria, including whether or not the module enables "something you can't do today with a smartphone."

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