Four Grand prize winners to each receive €25,000, free Forum Nokia PRO membership; early entrants get free on-site technical consultancy, free Symbian-signed testing
 
Espoo, Finland - Nokia, the global leader in mobility, today announced the Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Challenge, a competition designed to drive development of innovative new mobile enterprise, music, location-based and Macromedia Flash applications for the S60 3rd Edition Platform.
 
Any company that creates mobile applications can compete for €100,000 in grand prizes awarded for C++ and Flash applications for smartphone devices built by Nokia and other S60 licensees based on the S60 Developer Platform 3rd Edition. Grand prize winners in each of the four competition categories - mobile enterprise, mobile music, location-aware applications and Flash Lite(TM) mobile media applications -- will receive €25,000 each, plus free one-year membership to Forum Nokia PRO. Co-sponsored with Macromedia, the contest will also award top winners a demo spot at a Nokia event, free on-site technical support and consultancy, devices and additional marketing support from Nokia partner, Handango.
 
Providing developers with a consistent set of technologies, the S60 3rd Edition Platform supports new C++ Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enabling a wide range of possibilities for creation of location-based applications, as well as several new Java Specification Request (JSR) APIs that allow applications that include scalable 2-D vector graphics, wireless messaging, robust security and authentication and other advanced application features.
 
Introduced in February 2005 at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, the S60 3rd Edition Platform enables developers to create "smarter" applications both in terms of better user experience and more efficient development, and offers an enhanced security model that provides better protection for valuable applications and content.
 
Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Challenge registration is open until Dec. 15, 2005 at http://mktools.forum.nokia.com/challenge. Registered contestants will receive notification by Dec. 31 of availability of the final S60 3rd Edition SDK. The first 25 companies to enter the competition will receive two technical support requests free-of-charge from Forum Nokia Technical Services and Consultancy, with Symbian providing the first 50 registrants with a free round of Symbian Signed Testing for mobile applications.
 
"We've invited all developer companies to register for the Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Challenge in order to open the doors as widely as possible to development of dynamic new C++ and Flash applications for the widely popular S60 platform," said Lee Epting, vice president, Forum Nokia.  "We're anticipating competition among the best and most innovative applications being developed by the S60 community and the large global base of Macromedia Flash developers, who are now able to use the S60 platform to bring greater levels of performance and targeted features and applications to best-selling S60 smartphone devices."
 
Contestants in the Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Challenge will submit the final versions of their mobile applications by March 31, 2006, with a shortlist of finalists announced April 28, 2006. Winners will be invited to the S60 World event in Cannes at end-May 2006, where the winners and prizes in each of the categories will be announced.
 
Submissions in the Enterprise applications category of the Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Challenge can include applications that give mobile workers real-time access to information and co-workers, create cost-efficiencies in management of mobile and enterprise communications hardware and networks or let business users find practical solutions to real-world problems.
 
Location-aware applications and services submissions can include any innovative, lucrative-to-consumer, easy-to-use standalone or client-server application, which uses maps and/or automated positioning (BT GPS, GPS, A-GPS, network based positioning) in the areas of search navigation and travel; gaming, music, entertainment, sports and outdoor activities; imaging and personal content; the enterprise and personal productivity.
 
The Mobile Music applications category is focused on applications for music consumers and can address the superior usability of a given music application, innovative playback or collection management features, combinations of various media and usage types, or consumer sharing of music play lists, experiences and information.
 
Submissions to the Flash category can include Macromedia Flash Lite(TM) applications using Flash mobile technology in the areas of gaming, media and entertainment; tutorials and interactive help; personal and enterprise productive; or experimental and other innovative mobile Flash applications.
 
Full details on categories, prizes and registration requirements for Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Challenge can be found at the competition website at: http://mktools.forum.nokia.com/challenge.
 
About Forum Nokia
Nokia's global developer program, Forum Nokia connects developers to tools, technical information, support, and distribution channels they can use to build and market applications around the globe. From offices in the U.S., Europe, Japan, China, and Singapore, Forum Nokia provides technical and business development support to developers and operators to assist them in achieving their goal of successfully launching applications and services to consumers and enterprises. More information is available at http://www.forum.nokia.com/.
 
About Nokia
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations.