14 DAY TRIAL // The winners of the 14th Annual Global Mobile Awards were announced last week at a gala dinner, at the National Palace in Barcelona. One of the highlights of the Mobile World Congress, the ceremony has been hosted by comedy star Michael McIntyre. This year more than 450 companies submitted their entries in various categories such as: Internet, finance, advertising, music, television and gaming. Around 900 senior executives and mobile industry leaders attended the ceremony. The main event of MWC 2009 included a special guest appearance from producer, artist and frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am, but also Jamie Cullum, the Grammy, BRIT and two-time Golden Globe nominated jazz artist.
By far the most expected award was for Best Mobile Handset or Device, which was contested between five finalists: INQ1, Nokia E71, RIM Blackberry Storm, LG KS360 and T-Mobile's G1. Because INQ's device was not as popular as the other two smartphones, everyone thought that it would just be a second or third runner-up. Still, judges thought otherwise and voted INQ1 Best Mobile Handset or Device award winner.
Nokia E71 and T-Mobile's G1 smartphones received the 'Highly Commended' title and could be considered the big losers of the competition. Comparing all five phones you can easily find out that in terms of performance and tech specs, INQ1 is totally inferior to most of the other four. Nevertheless, this year's award for Best Mobile Handset or Device was given based on a new trend, which sees mobile phones as full social networking hubs.
The main reason for which INQ1 took the 'cherry on the cake' was the perfect implementation of Facebook and last.fm social services, as well as the integrated support for messengers such as Skype and Windows Live Messenger. Moreover, INQ's handset has the ability to transform itself from a phone to a 3G modem by simply plugging it into a USB port. Finally, the jury considered that INQ1, also known as the “Facebook phone,” offers excellent value for money, which means that it will be available to the mass market for an affordable price.In terms of mobile entertainment, there wasn't much of a surprise when Gameloft was announced as the winner of the Best Mobile Game. The game that took the 'laurels', 'Real Football 2009', is both intuitive and playable, with excellent graphics, though it also makes great use of mobile features including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth multiplayer, as well as network connectivity for online leagues.
The runner-up of the award was Digital Chocolate's 'AvaPeeps: FlirtNation' game. Again, the new trend that involves social interaction proves to be a successful recipe, as the game is significant in its innovative way of building communities, technological achievement and delivering a rich entertainment experience never before seen on mobile phones. AvaPeeps seems to be taking the concept of socially connected clubs to the next level. The addictive game provides a mobile interactive entertainment experience that is fresh and new every day of the year, based on how you want your AvaPeeps character to look, date and interact with other players' characters.The Best Mobile Internet Service was awarded to Nokia's web-based application for mobile devices, Nokia Sports Tracker. The app simply monitors exercise and tracks fitness levels making it possible to share these pieces of information online with friends. An interesting fact is that the S60 3rd edition-compatible application has been downloaded by more than 2.5 million people to date, recording a total exercise distance of 31 times the distance to the moon.
Innovation was also present at the event in the form of a much craved award - Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough. This year the award was 'secured' by RIM's Blackberry Storm 9500 SurePress Screen technology. The revolutionary BlackBerry Storm 9500 SurePress touchscreen allows users to navigate through the phone using their fingertips, similar to a computer's mouse, and "click" the screen by pushing down to select. Users have the ability to adjust the screen's settings so that double tapping can be employed as an alternate method to select and navigate the phone. The typing and navigation precision enables a whole range of applications and features that have not been possible on a touchscreen mobile device. An interesting award category, but so up-to-date, the Green Mobile Award, has been received by Smart Communications, Inc., for their "Alternative Power for Cell Sites" program. The program uses renewable energy sources to power cell sites in off-grid locations. Basically, these cell sites are powered by wind energy, or hybrid solutions such as wind and solar energy. It seems that the successful deployment of alternative energy-powered cell sites has also encouraged the company to pursue other pro-environment alternative energy solutions. Thumbs up for 'green' companies.
