android

Ben Rigby imagines people sitting in airports during a layover, using their mobile phones to do something for a cause. Using an application called Volunteer Now!, potential volunteers could instantly be connected with short-term "mini" volunteer opportunities near their present location. "We could utilize people's spare time to do good in the world," he said.

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We have written previously about the Android Developer Challenge by Google that has a strong emphasis on humanitarian applaications. Because (we think) the process and SDK was rather buggy, Google has decided to move the submission deadline for the first Android Developers Challenge to 14 April 2008.

From the Android blog:

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The submission form for the first Android Developer Challenge is now available. As you recall, Android is the new Google mobile platform. The developer challenge will provide $10 million in total in awards -- no strings attached -- for great mobile apps built on the Android platform.

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A new software project called Loadstone-GPS provides navigational assistance to blind and visually impaired individuals. The software, which is open source and can be downloaded for free, uses screen readers such as Mobile Speak and Talks and can be operated on a Nokia phone with the S60 smartphone platform.

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NGO practitioners from around the world will convene November 24 and 25 in Sao Paulo, Brazil for MobileActive07 at Mobilefest, the global gathering of mobile innovators who are making the world a better place. Nokia representatives from its Brazlian research lab INdT will present and participate in trainings and skillshares as part of MobileActive07.

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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:

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