Just announced over at - http://blog.dota2.com/

The Dota 2 client is now available to anyone with a Steam account. The catch is, you can only spectate live games / tournaments until the server capacity is increased. Once that happens, you will be able to play games. If you see matches and want to dive in, you can purchase the Early Access bundle for $30. If you have yet to see Dota 2, now is a great time to just download the client and see what it is about.

It looks like open beta is right around the corner, I would expect it to be fully open by the end of September.

Not a big deal for myself, but that is pretty sweet for those without beta access. I have found myself leaving spectator mode on while I do house-hold chores and seeing some crazy encounters.

It kinda bothers me how people act like this game is already released, so you should obviously know all this DOTA 2 specific stuff they're talking about, but at least this is a step closer to actual release for people like me who still haven't gotten an invite.

Except for not being able to download the client though Steam says I own the game, this would be cool to. Guess it's not as available as it says it is.

@Roddykat said:

Except for not being able to download the client though Steam says I own the game, this would be cool to. Guess it's not as available as it says it is.

Are you already playing the beta? The spectator client is the exact same version as the current Dota 2 client. The only difference is the "Play" tab is grayed out.