The Sony Ericsson Content Awards are about recognizing developers who have created great applications and content for Sony Ericsson phones. The awards, however, dovetail into a broad range of strategies at the heart of Sony Ericsson's vision of becoming the world's leading mobile phone company.

"Traditionally we have sold phones, but the industry is evolving and content and applications are becoming part of the value proposition for any new phone," says Ulf. "Only a couple of years ago it was our UIQ phones that allowed consumer to add sophisticated games, applications, and content: Mass market phones came with preloaded content and Java phones could run just a handful of games. Now entry level phones can run quite complex applications, at the same time mid-tier phones are becoming even more capable, and UIQ is pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with a mobile phone. So applications and content are becoming core to what we do."

The awards are therefore not an end in themselves. The awards need to be seen in the context of initiatives such as PlayNow™ Arena, which - Ulf emphasizes - will be the focus of increasing marketing and promotion next year. So what is that broader context?

"I believe we at Sony Ericsson are at the forefront of mobile applications and content," says Ulf. "But it is not something we can do alone; it is key for us to partner with other companies, on both a business and technology level. Our goal is to be a partner friendly company. As such, one aspect of the awards is to highlight and give recognition to some of our best partners."

While the awards are about recognizing achievements, Ulf also sees the awards as a way of encouraging others by showcasing good applications and content. In doing so Ulf hopes to inform developers about the features Sony Ericsson believes makes an application or content item stand out from the crowd. "Great content is usable and useful, but also makes the most of our phones' capabilities," says Ulf. "So in judging the awards we are looking at how developers use sound effect, graphics, animations, and alike to make the most of the phone and its user interface. This is why we have published the judging criteria on the awards Web site; so other developer will be able to see why the nominees and winners are great games, applications, and content." [To see the criteria follow the Awards link on www.sonyericsson.com/contentawards/ and select Categories.]

Perhaps the most surprising goal for the awards is to educate people within Sony Ericsson. However, this ties back to Ulf's opening comment that Sony Ericsson has traditionally been about selling phones. "Those of us working directly with developers to create games, applications, and content are a relatively small part of Sony Ericsson," says Ulf. "At the same time third party applications and content are a key part of what all of us at Sony Ericsson do, from the engineers who design and build phones through to the people marketing our phones. We are also in a significant period of growth and have many new faces in the company. The content awards are therefore also about helping us all understand the importance of applications and content as part of our company's future."

And that future, to Ulf, is very much about fulfilling the demands of an increasingly smart user population who want more from their phones. "Ultimately it is the users who matter and we have involved them in the awards too. This is why we included, for example, the 'Can you pick a winner?' feature on the awards Web site," says Ulf. "Also, for users who have not discovered the full capabilities of their phone, the awards are part of the education process: showing users what they can do. For that reason there are links from the awards site to Fun & Downloads and the Application Shop."

While the awards fulfill a number of objectives for Sony Ericsson the key one is to acknowledge those developers who have brought great applications to Sony Ericsson phones. "There are a lot of small companies working hard for a long time to create applications for our phones," says Ulf. "We always like to do things differently at Sony Ericsson; do things people have not done before and think a little differently. These awards are part of that thought and action, and the opportunity for us to applaud the developers taking that journey with us."

The winners of the Sony Ericsson awards will be announced online on 18 December. In the meanwhile, check out the nominees and see if you can spot the winner at www.sonyericsson.com/contentawards/.