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Mobile & Wireless
NAVTEQ wireless location-based services competition
Asian developers win prizes for innovative applications
by Ek Heng, Asia-Pacific Correspondent
The second day of IMBX saw the results announced for the 2009 NAVTEQ LBS challenge which is open to developers from the Asia Pacific to build innovative applications for mobile devices using dynamic positioning technology and NAVTEQ maps.
Some US$1.8 million in prize money was handed out, comprising US$557,500 for the grand prize winner, and US$417,500 each for the three runner-ups. First launched six years ago, the competition has brought to the fore many new wireless applications for location-based services using digital maps by NAVTEQ.
The grand prize winner from Japan under “NAVITIME” is an application developed for point-to-point route search and navigation service that takes into account any transportation mode – walking, driving, trains, buses, taxis and aircraft – to help users get to their destination.
The other three runner-up winners are under their entry names of tenCube, Urban Team and Yoose/Fox Mobile Distribution.
tenCube’s WaveSecure application helps users to remotely track down the location of their lost phone while allowing owners to lock down, back-up and remotely wipe out any sensitive information. As for Urban Team, its FastFoot-Challenge delivers an exciting GPS multiplayer game where mobile device owners can transform any park, forest, or cities into their playing field on their handsets. The third runner-up developed a location-based global couponing application allowing users to win coupons from businesses based at a location where mobile device owners are playing a game or using the social network services.
To date, some 30 percent of past semi-finalists have secured venture capital funding or have launched commercially-distributed applications. Participants can develop applications that fit into any of the five categories, namely navigation, content, enterprise, entertainment and leisure, and social networking. The winners are selected based on commercial feasibility, functionality, ease of use and design of the applications, as well as the finalists’ ability to make an effective pitch to the individual expert judges.
In a statement, NAVTEQ said: “Asia is becoming a developer hotbed and the increased number of submissions to the LBS Challenge is a reflection of the strong interest. Over 38 percent of the applications qualifying for the final judging rounds in the Asia Pacific originated from India.”
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