The competition is being endorsed by Dean Kamen (best known for inventing the Segway). Here's what he has to say:
"For over 15 years, I've been focused on sparking the curiosity of up-and-coming inventors, especially kids, by showing them that science, technology and problem solving is rewarding, and important," said Kamen. "Now that mobile devices are becoming as powerful as personal computers and more ubiquitous, challenging mobile developers and young inventors to develop the right applications can take the device simply known as a cellular phone and transform it into a catalyst to help society in many different ways."
A developer competition that looks to encorage social responsibility is an interesting idea; it'll be fascinating to see what applications are produced for the challenge.
Here's an extract from the press release:
- 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.