The site PersonalDemocracy.com features a section devoted to Mobile Technology. In a blog posting on September 23, 2008, Justin Oberman writes about a Nokia Mobile Application Contest to Change the World.
Oberman reveals some interesting statistics that the average American consumer is probably unaware of:
“The Finnish company (Nokia) has 40 percent of the world market. That means 1 in every 4 phones sold in the world is a Nokia phone. In emerging markets it’s almost always the only phone you will find.”
Nokia is the number one phone distributor in the world.
The importance of mobile technology in the developing world is staggering. The introduction of mobile tools has allowed countries to leap-frog past the technology development cycles and go straight into mobile use. Some countries may have never had “regular phones” and their first introduction is to cell phones. Now that the technology has been improved and the cost relatively low, it is easier for such technologies to be shared with the developing world.
Developing countries can utilize mobile phones for communications beyond social use. They can use the technology to share critical health information as well as to share agricultural information in a timely manner. When introduced for these purposes, mobile technology can have a huge impact on a country that has never been able to communicate in these ways before.
Details about the Nokia “Calling All Innovators” contest follow below, as found in the Nokia press release announcing the program:
Calling All Innovators challenges mobile application developers worldwide to create applications that will enhance the use of mobile devices in real world scenarios, in one of the three following categories:
- ECO-Challenge: Make a difference by submitting an application that will work to minimize mobility’s global environmental impact and develop ways to offer mobile solutions that help consumers make sustainable choices such as reducing their energy consumption or carbon footprint.
- Emerging Markets: This category opens up new opportunities for developers to imagine the possibilities of pioneering applications and services impacting the daily lives of millions in developing nations, which could include solutions for education, health data access, infotainment, rural agriculture, or any other application that improves lives in emerging markets.
- Technology Showcase: This is an opportunity to create and showcase compelling, experience driven applications, using any technology that runs on Series 40 or S60 devices, such as Flash Lite, Java, Python, or open source. From a single-purpose application to completely community driven, this developer’s showdown will help open consumers’ minds about what an application can do.
First place winners in each category will receive USD 25 000, a trip to Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, and distribution of their application for free through a variety of Nokia channels. Second place winners in each category will receive USD 10 000 and third place winners will receive USD 5 000.
The contest opens on September 16, 2008 and all entries are due by December 15, 2008. Finalists will be selected and notified in January 2009.
