Digital Design Blog

Disruptive Mobility Roundup: Blackberry, MSFT and AT&T Join Contest Fray

Blackberry announces mobile application contest

It all began with Nokia and its MobileRules contest. Then Google announced the Android Developer Challenge with $10 million in prizes in late 2007 (which has since drawn in 1,788 entries from over 70 countries), followed soon after that by Kleiner Perkins and the $100 million i-Fund set to coincide with the release of the new iPhone software development kit. Now the american idolization of mobile application development has reached a new milestone with the announcement by Research In Motion of a new $150 million Blackberry Partner Fund. (Via Tech Crunch)

Microsoft and AT&T follow suit
In related news: AT&T, Microsoft, HTC Corp. and mobile game developer I-play will be hosting the inaugural AT&T Game Development Contest. $25,000 will be awarded for the best game developed for Windows Mobile in addition to “prime game placement” and a distribution contract. The contest deadline is July 31, 2008 and the winner will be announced at in September at CTIA in San Francisco. (Via Silicon Alley Insider)

Next generation mobile internet access
Google, in partnership with Sprint Nextel, Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner and Clearwire, is getting ready to build the “next generation of high-speed Internet access” for mobile users, fast enough to deliver video and advertising according to the New York Times. The deal is valued at $14.5 billion, and the network is expected to take two years to build. (Via Slashdot, NY Times)