Nokia announces finalists in 2009 "Calling All Innovators" global developer competition

Nokia announces finalists in 2009 “Calling All Innovators” global developer competition

Finalists chosen from over 1,700 submissions from developers in 85 countries

Espoo, Finland - Forum Nokia Developer Community (FNDC) today announced the finalists in its 2009 Calling All Innovators contest, a global mobile developer competition designed to generate applications and solutions that enhance the use of Nokia mobile devices in real-world scenarios.

The total cash and prizes for the 2009 Calling All Innovators contest are worth more than $250,000. The top three submissions in each category will receive a cash award, and prizes that include premium placement featuring the winning application in Nokia’s Ovi Store, and the opportunity to demo their winning apps at Nokia World.

Over 1,700 submissions were received from developers in 85 countries signaling a strong answer to Nokia’s challenge to think big and create mobile applications and services that can help build a better mobile user experience. More than 421,000 visits to the contest website from around the world engaged with FNDC, the world’s largest mobile developer community.

“The quantity and quality of the applications we received are astounding,” said Purnima Kochikar, vice president, Forum Nokia Developer Community, Nokia. “We encourage our developer community to work with us to extend their market reach, taking advantage of our global presence, global distribution through Ovi Store and local market knowledge. Turning the spotlight on our developers in marketing efforts like Calling All Innovators is just one way we can expose the best mobile applications from our developer community to consumers around the world.”

A complete list of Forum Nokia’s Calling All Innovators finalists including video demonstrations of the applications can be found online at www.callingallinnovators.com. Following are the finalists in the 2009 Calling All Innovators global contest:

Internet Innovation - Developers were asked to submit either web applications known as Web Runtime widgets, or websites which are optimized for mobile browsing with Nokia devices.

- Pixelpipe for Share Online - This WRT widget application from San Francisco-based Pixelpipe, enables individuals to create and configure Nokia Share Online to use the Pixelpipe Media Gateway to distribute photos, video, audio and files to more than 90 popular social networking, photo/video, and blog services directly from the built-in phone gallery and camera applications. Developer website: http://pixelpipe.com/

- Dianping - This widget for one of the top websites in mainland China provides information about more than 275,000 restaurants, including descriptions, recommended dishes, address, phone number, price range and more. Individuals can search for restaurants by districts, categories, price range and key words. The application includes access to more than 7.5 million restaurant reviews, and coupons for restaurants, too. Developer website: http://www.dianping.com/citylist

- Tech Buzz Homescreen Widget - The Tech Buzz Widget from UK-based Mippin, is a fast, elegant way to reliably access the latest tech news anywhere on Nokia mobile devices. It regularly downloads tech stories from across the web, displaying the headlines and images in rotation on the Nokia N97 home screen, to give users immediate access. Developer website: http://www.mippin.com/web/index.jsp?p=2

Flash - Developers were asked to submit applications that expand the capabilities of Adobe Flash Lite on Nokia devices.

- FLORIN - Personal Finance Tracker - With the FLORIN flash-based application from UK-based BlueskyNorth, consumers have access to a highly capable, but easy to use personal finance tracker for use on Nokia Series 60 5th Edition devices. Developer website: http://www.blueskynorth.com/index.php

- Reuters Slideshow - The Reuters Slideshow app from UK-based Tui Interactive Media, combines Flash and WRT widget functionality to deliver a constantly updated feed of pictures and news. Coupled with its mini-view for use on S60 5th Edition devices, the application offers an engaging way to catch up on the latest news. Developer website: http://www.tui.co.uk/

- ActiveChinese - This mobile educational application, from the company of the same name, is comprised of 10 flash-animated lessons for English speakers to begin to learn how to speak Chinese. A series of built-in flashcards provides the most useful word and phrases, and includes: the Chinese character, Chinese pronunciation, PinYin, and the English translation. Developer website: http://www.activechinese.com/

Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities - Developers were asked to submit applications or solutions that are the most innovative application using Nokia platforms, ranging from SMS through Series 40 and S60 device platforms. All applications would be evaluated, including those developed using Java, Python or open source.

- Mobile JobHunt - Inspired by Nokia Life Tools in India, Mobile JobHunt from LEG aims to help people in rural areas in China. JobHunt provides timely and accurate job information from major cities on Series 40 Nokia phones. Other related services include employment news, skills training, employment legal rights, and entertainment. Developer website: http://www.leg3s.com

- Mobile Credit Card Terminal - Mobile Credit Card Terminal from 2C2P in Singapore gives business owners the ability to charge a credit card/debit card, and to manage transactions securely from Nokia S60 devices without additional equipment. Developer website: http://www.2c2p.com/

- Blue Home - Created by Binu Johnson in India, Blue-Home installed on a Nokia S60 mobile device, and hardware in the home that can be purchased for approximately $30, an individual can monitor and operate six home appliances via Bluetooth in the mobile device. Developer website: http://www.bluehome.info/

Apps on Maps - Developers were asked to submit new ideas that harness the power of location-aware services using Ovi Maps on Nokia devices. From all of the ideas submitted, 14 developers were given exclusive access to the Ovi Beta SDK to turn their ideas into a completed application for use on Nokia devices.

- PocketLife - from Wanaka, New Zealand, is an established location-based social network for web and mobile. As a location-based lifestyle app, with Pocket Life for Ovi Maps on your Nokia device, individuals can always be in touch with their closest friends, down to knowing precisely where they are at that given time. Using Pocket Life, individuals can discover new places, share photos, and quickly know their way around like a local. Developer website: www.pocketlife.com

- Ground Guidance - How do you navigate when there are no roads? Ground Guidance with Ovi Maps solves this problem. With technology originally built for the U.S. Army, St. Paul, Minnesota-based Primordial uses an innovative, patented technique, combined with a wide range of data sources to create a walk-able route where no road data exists. Pick any two points in the app, and the user will be presented with a walk-able path to take. Developer website: www.primordial.com

- Smart Eggs - submitted by Forum Nokia PRO member company, MSCorp based in Coral Springs, Florida, will bring the thrill of discovery and surprise to your explorations when using Ovi Maps. Crack open a Smart Egg to get a multimedia review of the latest movie, or tips about special promotions from nearby shops. Engage in a mobile treasure hunt with your friends, collecting codes inside Premium Smart Eggs. This mobile app for brands, artists, and venues interacts with consumers at the local level, while promoting the use of multiple Nokia services and platforms, including Ovi Maps and more. Developer website: http://www.mscorp.com/

The winners in the Internet Innovation, Flash, and Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities categories will be announced on September 1, in the evening prior to Nokia World 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany at an awards ceremony being held at the Porsche Museum. The Apps on Maps winners will be announced on September 3, during Nokia World.

In the Flash category, there is an additional prize of $10,000 USD for one application that also received funds from the Open Screen Project Fund (http://openscreen.forum.nokia.com/) this year.

Finally, the top 10 submissions in all three categories will receive the “Judge’s Choice Award”, which provides a one-year membership in Forum Nokia Launchpad (value of 300 euros). All Forum Nokia Launchpad members receive access to exclusive resources and support.


About Forum Nokia Developer Community
Nokia’s global developer program, Forum Nokia Developer Community (FNDC) connects developers to tools, technical information, support, and distribution channels they can use to build and market applications around the globe. From offices in the U.S., Europe, India, Japan, China, and Singapore, FNDC provides technical and business development support to developers and operators to assist them in achieving their goal of successfully launching applications and services to consumers and enterprises. More information is available at www.forum.nokia.com.

About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.Networks.