Nokia Unveils 'Calling All Innovators 2010' Competition

Espoo, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia announced today the launch of its Calling All Innovators 2010 competition, a contest that aims at inspiring “creativity and change,” and which welcomes developers from all around the world. The new challenge, unveiled by Forum Nokia, is set to prove that 2010 is a year during which good ideas can make a difference in peoples' lives. The new competition is set to kick off come February 1, when submissions will start being accepted. The 2010 Calling All Innovators contest will stop accepting submissions on May 18.

According to the company, there are four categories for submissions opened for developers that want to participate at Calling All Innovators 2010:
- Eco/Being Green: apps that help to save the planet with innovative, eco-friendly uses.
- Productivity: apps that make your life easier, and help you to be more efficient, such as utilities, business, or personal finance applications.
- Life Improvement: apps that positively affect the daily lives of people living in developing countries by using the prevalence of mobile devices to teach children and illiterate adults critical skills, and agriculture health.
- Entertainment: apps that bring out your inner rock star, and show off the coolest multimedia features, including music, multimedia and games - because mobile also has to be about having fun!

At the same time, Forum Nokia also mentioned that it teamed with Sesame Workshop, the people “behind the Sesame Street, for the education subcategory of the life improvement category.” The partnership is aimed at offering applications that will teach early literacy on Nokia devices. Moreover, Sesame Workshop will offer guidance in the judging process as well and is set to help developers enhance relevant projects.

“Today's announcement is brought to you by the letter S,” said Purnima Kochikar, vice president Forum Nokia. “Teaming up with Sesame Street allows us to inspire the imagination of developers to help educate children worldwide through advances in mobile technology with quality, branded content.” Jeffrey Fleishman, assistant vice president for Media Distribution Business Development, Sesame Workshop, added “ We're looking for creators who can bring a fresh perspective and local knowledge to the growing field of educational mobile applications. Our goal is to find some partners with which we can work to extend the power of Sesame Street to new platforms and places”