MobileActive.org

Post Date

11.12.07

Author

| KatrinVerclas

MobileActives, start coding! We called for an "Android for Good" last week and here it is. Google and the Open Handset Alliance's open platform released its software developer kit (SDK) today and issues a mobile application challenge that includes a call for applications for humanitarian benefit and economic development. The challenge will issue a total of $10 million USD, initially in a first phase that will award $25,000 each to 50 applications received by March 3rd, 2008. The second part of the challenge, launched after the first handsets built on the Android platform become available in the second half of 2008, will then award ten $275,000 and ten $100,000 prizes for the most promising apps that warrant further development.

According to the FAQ, the Alliance is "looking to reward innovative, useful apps that make use of Android's capabilities to deliver a better mobile experience." These include applications in these areas:

• Social networking
• Media consumption, management, editing, or sharing, e.g., photos
• Productivity and collaboration such as email, IM, calendar, etc.
• Gaming
• News and information
• Rethinking of traditional user interfaces
• Use of mash-up functionality
• Use of location-based services

Of specific interest to the MobileActive community are these two categories:

• Humanitarian benefits (monitoring and response for diseases, climate change, natural disasters, etc.)
• Applications in service of global economic development for the 3 billion people living on less than $2.00 per day

For round one of the challenge, the pertinent deadlines are:

• January 2, 2008: Start date for application submissions for Android Developer Challenge I
• March 3, 2008: End date for application submissions
• Late March, 2008: $25,000 awards are announced for 50 most promising entries

MobileActives, start coding! We are lokoing forward to seeing wht you come up with! Keep abreast of the latest developments on the Android Developer blog.

• KatrinVerclas's blog